RAPID CITY - The South Dakota National Guard has postponed plans for training exercises on federal grasslands in the Black Hills.

Maj. Gen. Tim Reisch, adjutant general of the Guard, says the group will hold off until it can be determined that radiation levels in the area do not pose health hazards to soldiers.

Reisch says the Guard was contacted by Defenders of the Black Hills coordinator Charmaine White Face about the possibility of contamination.

The Guard leader tells the Rapid City Journal there's no indication based on previous air samples that radiation samples at the proposed training area would be above safety standards, but the state will take the necessary precautions.

The area includes about 800 acres in the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands.

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