MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- The first test results are in for radioactivity at Murfreesboro's Middle Point landfill.

Video: 'Very High' Radioactive Levels In Landfill Runoff Says Expert

Channel 4 uncovered a little known state program that allows low-level radioactive waste from all over the country to be buried along with household trash at the landfill.

It's been happening for nearly 20 years, but the state has never required testing to monitor the effects of the dumping.

On a rainy Sunday afternoon, Channel 4 rode to the top of the Middle Point landfill to see what a state scientist could measure with a hand-held radiation detector.

Somewhere in the mountain of dirt and garbage, millions of pounds of low-level radioactive waste have been buried along with the household trash.

"If we stood around here all year, or anywhere else, with 11 micro r per hour, we would get about 96 millirem for the year," said state radiological inspector Billy Freeman.

The numbers sound complicated, but they're no higher or lower than you'd expect to find in this area from decaying rock, soil, the sun, what the scientists call "natural background".

The state said the added risk, even from tons of processed radioactive waste at the landfill, is minimal.

"(It is) almost inconsequential. It would be 1 percent of a member of the public's limit. One millirem per year is an inconsequential dose. Is it a realistic dose? Yes, it is a very realistic dose and that's why we chose it," said Freeman.

But even the state's radiation expert admits Channel 4's walking tour was less than realistic in terms of what might be going on deep under our feet.

"We did a rough and dirty walkover with a portable survey instrument. It's a very sensitive survey instrument, and I trust its readings. It's a calibrated device, so these are accurate readings. If your question is what is two feet down, six feet down, 100 feet down, in no way did our survey today give you an estimation of that, no," said Freeman.

This brings Channel 4 to another set of tests.

In the nearly 20 years, Tennessee has allowed treated low-level radioactive waste to be dumped here; there has never been a requirement to test the air, water or soil for radioactivity.

The very first tests on the liquid runoff from the landfill, what's called leachate, paint a potentially troubling picture.

“The readings are very, very, very high," said Dan Hirsch, Expert of Nuclear Policy at the University of California at Santa Cruz.

Gross Alpha radiation in the leachate measured 82. The EPA standard for drinking water is 15.

Gross Beta, the leachate, measures 3,395. This is 68 times higher than the maximum allowed in drinking water.

Tritium, a radioactive element that attaches itself easily to water, measured at more than 38,000. This number is nearly twice what the Environmental Protection Agency allows.

It is true that no one drinks leachate, so is drinking water a fair comparison?

"It is relevant because landfills do leak," said Mark Quarles, ground water expert.

A professor of nuclear policy compared the numbers to a 2002 survey of 50 landfills in California.

“The gross beta readings are just astronomical. I've not seen radiation readings that high for leachate. The monitoring that we had in California suggested we had a problem. Although the highest reading we had was eight times lower than the reading reported in Tennessee," said Hirsch.

They also looked at waste-water sludge, comparing Middle Point's to a landfill that's not taking radioactive waste in Clarksville.

"When you look at the sludge of Murfreesboro to Clarksville, the gross Beta radiation is 9.5 times higher than that of Clarksville. The Tritium is 139 times higher than that of Clarksville," said Quarles.

Tennessee officials said a lot of everyday, careless disposal could be to blame.

Tritium, for example, is found in old illuminated exit signs, the kind that light up without a power source and quite often end up in landfills.

But Tritium, or Hydrogen 3, was also in loads of contaminated soil taken from Middle Point landfill by officials from the University of California at Los Angeles almost six years ago at the rate of 400 tons per month.

What's causing the problem? Is there a problem?

Without baseline testing, it may be impossible to know.

"Now were so far into it they don't have the baseline, and the way you're supposed to do it is you’re supposed to sample for all these constituents before you place the waste," said Quarles.

The state is still waiting for results of testing at the four other landfills in Tennessee that are accepting low-level treated radioactive waste.

A state advisory board will meet Thursday to discuss more testing and the 60 day moratorium the legislature has put on the dumping program.