Washington, Oct 8 (IANS): A peace rally was held near the White Mesa uranium mill in the US state of Utah to protest the mill's environmental and health impacts.

The rally on Saturday was sponsored by the White Mesa Concerned Community, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and their partners to protect the Ute community, health, water, air, land, culture, and sacred sites from the contamination of nearby White Mesa uranium mill, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to White Mesa Concerned Community, "The mill belches acrid smoke from its stacks and dumps toxic and radioactive waste in ponds built atop ancient burial grounds."

A protest walk to the uranium mill followed the rally.

The White Mesa mill has been processing uranium ore next to the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation in southeast Utah for more than four decades.

The mill, the only operating conventional uranium mill in the US, has sparked increasing concerns for its impacts on the environment and public health.