TULITA/FORT NORMAN - Soil contaminated with low levels of radiation was barged out of Tulita last week.

Packed into 755 bulk bags, the soil will be transported to the United States to be stored at a containment area in Idaho.

The soil was contaminated between the 1930s and the 1950s when uranium mined at Port Radium was transported south via Great Bear River and the Mackenzie River. Workers in Tulita (then known as Fort Norman) unloaded and reloaded the uranium ore between two barges.

The soil shipped out last week was not pure uranium ore but the ground upon which sacks of ore were stored.

Mayor Louise Reindeer said Tulita residents have been waiting a long time to get rid of the soil. "The community is relieved that the contaminated soil is finally being moved south from the community," she said.

Crews with Tulita-based Red Dog Mountain Contracting bagged the soil under the supervision of officials from the Low Level Radioactive Waste Management Office (LLRWMO), a branch of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.

Even though it is measurably radioactive, the soil is still relatively safe.

"One hundred hours of exposure to the soil would be equivalent to the same dose of radiation as a person who took an eight-hour airplane flight," said Sue Stickley, senior communications officer with LLRWMO.

Safety was a priority, and workers had to undergo special training before working. Because radiation levels were so low, no special clothing other than standard coveralls were required to work on the site.

The soil was originally gathered up from what is now a residential area near the shore of the Mackenzie River. It was stored near the Tulita airport for several years.

In 2006 workers packed the soil into weather-resistant bags and placed a tarp over the bags. Last week the bags were finally placed on a barge to be taken to Hay River. From there they will be shipped by rail to Idaho.

Stickley is based in Port Hope, Ont., where the uranium ore was sent for processing in the mid-20th century. She said workers used to handle radioactive uranium ore without any knowledge of the dangers involved.

"There are actually documentaries and what not about how people carried the ore sacks on their shoulders," said Stickley.

Another contaminated area in the Territories known as Bennett Field is located at a former airstrip along Great Bear River. Plans are in the works to clean this site up within the next few years.