LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) -- Environmentalists are demanding an independent analysis and regular monitoring of radiation levels on the fire-ravaged land around Los Alamos National Laboratory.

A federal air-monitoring team last week reported elevated background radiation levels, which it said would be normal when vegetation burns. But the levels, in some cases 2 to 10 times higher than normal, triggered concern among some New Mexico residents.

''We're calling for an independent citizens review board to assess the monitoring data and risks, and we want a long-term health study of people exposed to the smoke,'' Suzanne Westerly, director of Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety in Santa Fe, said Thursday.

Russian nuclear and atmospheric scientist Sergei Pashchenko, a consultant to a non-governmental group which works to ban weapons containing depleted uranium, said he analyzed the limited data available on the lab's Internet site and determined it could not be discounted as naturally occurring effects of the fires.

Lab spokesman Kevin Roark had no comment on the claims but said he wasn't surprised.

''Every time we put out data, the activist groups dispute it,'' he said.

The wildfires burned more than 48,000 acres and destroyed more than 200 homes near the labs in northern New Mexico.