A small amount of radioactively contaminated pharmaceutical waste leaked onto the parking lot at a Richland motel from a shipment awaiting treatment, according to the Washington State Department of Health.

The waste was being sent to Pacific EcoSolutions in Richland for treatment, said Earl Fordham, regional director of the Office of Radiation Protection for the department. The 4-inch-diameter spot at Days Inn does not present a health risk, but the motel is talking to the department about how it could be removed, Fordham said.

A leak in a container included in the shipment was discovered at PEcoS, which led to the discovery of the spot in the parking lot, Fordham said. The spot has very low levels of radiation, he said. The waste was generated in California but had been stored in a Chicago warehouse.