In a federal whistleblower complaint seeking more than million in damages, Earle Dixon said he was fired by the Bureau of Land Management in October in retaliation for his aggressive research and public comment on the health and safety risks to workers and residents near the former Anaconda copper mine bordering Yerington, an agricultural town in northern Nevada.

A copy of the administrative complaint obtained by The Associated Press said Dixon refused to go along with repeated attempts by BLM management and the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection to downplay the issues.

BLM spokeswoman Jo Simpson said Wednesday that the agency was not surprised by the complaint but had no immediate direct response.

''We welcome the investigation and we believe the investigation will bear out that our actions were appropriate,'' she said.

Division of Environmental Protection spokeswoman Cindy Petterson said the agency has made no attempt to downplay the seriousness of the mine's pollution. She said personnel changes BLM made in the management of the project a month ago have ''led to an improvement in the process.''

The complaint says cleanup costs at the abandoned mine owned by Atlantic Richfield Co. have risen dramatically - from an estimated 0 million or $20 million to potentially more than $200 million - as a result of research Dixon conducted or directed on dangers from uranium and other toxins.

Tests this summer found unusually high levels of radiation in soil samples at the mine.