Decommissioning Projects - USA 
(last updated 23 Jul 2008)
Contents:
> See also:
Site Index (includes UMTRA Title I and In-situ leach projects)
Ambrosia Lake (Title I) ·
Ambrosia Lake (Quivira Mining) ·
Bear Creek ·
Belfield mine ·
Belfield tailings ·
Bighorn Canyon ·
Bluewater ·
Bowman ·
Boots/Brown ·
Bruni ·
Burns/Moser ·
Canonsburg ·
Cave Hills ·
Christensen Ranch ·
Church Rock mill ·
Clay West ·
Cottonwood Canyon area ·
Crooks Gap district ·
Crow Butte ·
Day Loma ·
Durango ·
Durita ·
Edgemont ·
Falls City (Title I) ·
Fernald ·
Ford ·
Gas Hills (ANC) ·
Gas Hills (Umetco) ·
Grand Junction ·
Grants ·
Graysill ·
Green Mountain ·
Green River ·
Gunnison ·
Highland (Exxon) ·
Highland (PRI) ·
Hobson ·
Holiday ·
Irigaray ·
JJ Number 1
Juniper ·
Lakeview ·
L-Bar Mine
L-Bar mill ·
Lisbon ·
Lucky Mc ·
Maybell ·
Midnite ·
Moab ·
Monticello ·
Monument Valley ·
Mt. Lucas ·
Naturita ·
Navajo Indian Res. ·
North East Church Rock ·
O'Hern ·
Orphan ·
Palangana ·
Pawnee ·
Rifle ·
Riverton ·
San Rafael Swell ·
Section 27 ·
Sherwood ·
Shiprock ·
Shirley Basin (Pathfinder) ·
Shirley Basin (Petrotomics) ·
Shootaring Canyon ·
Slick Rock ·
Split Rock ·
Spook ·
St. Anthony ·
Tex-1 ·
Tuba City ·
Uravan ·
West Cole ·
Zamzow
Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials From Uranium Mining, Volume 2: Investigation of Potential Health, Geographic, and Environmental Issues of Abandoned Uranium Mines 
, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 402-R-05-007, August 2007 (Updated April, 2008)
This report, which is the second of two volumes, provides a general scoping evaluation of potential radiogenic cancer and environmental risks posed by small abandoned uranium mines in the western United States. While this technical report has been peer reviewed, EPA will take into consideration public comments for revision before the report is finalized. Comments should be provided by no later than October 30, 2007.
Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials From Uranium Mining, Volume 1: Mining and Reclamation Background , U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 402R-05-007, 182 pp., January 2006, Revised June 2007 [describes the uranium mining processes (conventional and in situ-leaching) used in the United States, the volumes and characteristics of the wastes generated, and the schemes used for reclamation of former uranium mine sites.]
Status of Decommissioning Program, 2004 Annual Report, Final Report,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NUREG-1814, January 2005
> Download full report · alternate source (660k PDF 
)
Uranium Recovery Sites Undergoing Decommissioning (NRC)
EPA, in response to House Committee request, announces plan towards cleaning up the legacy of abandoned uranium mines on the Navajo Nation
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in partnership with the Department of Energy, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Indian Health Service and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, finalized a five-year plan for cleaning up the legacy of abandoned uranium mining on the Navajo Nation.
The plan, requested by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, is the first coordinated approach created by the five federal agencies. It details the strategy and timeline for cleanup over the next five years.
EPA is currently addressing the most urgent risks on the reservation - uranium-contaminated water sources and structures. This spring, the Agency tested 50 water sources and over 100 structures for radiological contamination. EPA and the Navajo Nation EPA have launched an aggressive outreach campaign to inform residents of the dangers of consuming contaminated water. EPA will also use its Superfund authority to address contaminated structures, and has already targeted at least 13 structures for remediation.
Beginning in the 1940s nearly 4 million tons of uranium ore were mined at various locations throughout the Navajo Nation's 27,000 square mile reservation. During the next five years, EPA will complete a tiered assessment of over 500 abandoned mines, taking action to address the highest priority risks.
(EPA Region 9 release, June 13, 2008)
> Download Health and Environmental Impacts of Uranium Contamination in the Navajo Nation, Five-Year Plan, as requested by
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, June 9, 2008 (667k PDF)
> View more information on abandoned uranium mines on the Navajo Nation (EPA Region 9)
Contaminated groundwater from radioactive waste dump near Tuba City migrating towards Hopi drinking water spring
After years of unsuccessfully petitioning various federal agencies to remove radioactive waste at a dump near Tuba City, Hopi officials now say any cleanup might come too late.
A plume of contaminated water has migrated to within one-third mile of a spring the Hopi village of Lower Moencopi uses for drinking water, new data shows.
But the EPA does not consider the dump an emergency cleanup site, and at this point, village drinking water is still safe, according to EPA standards.
That could change very soon, however. Two out of three testing wells -- those located closer to the dump -- are registering levels of radioactive water slightly above what is federally considered safe in drinking water, according to hydrogeologist Mark Miller, a consultant contracted by the tribe.
One of those wells sits at the same elevation as the spring used by Lower Moencopi.
"This is a major concern of ours," said Bill Havens, special assistant to Hopi Chairman Ben Nuvamsa.
The contaminated water has reached the canyon used to water nearby crops, raising health concerns about potentially tainted corn, beans and melons.
"It's close enough to the water that we irrigate with from Pasture Canyon that we need more conclusive data and some action to start doing something about the cleanup," said Lorena Naseyowma, assistant community services administrator for Lower Moencopi.
The unlined dump was opened by the Bureau of Indian Affairs decades ago and covered over with dirt and sand when it was closed in 1997. Cleanup is estimated to top $23 million and would require pumping contaminated water from the ground.
There is currently no plan to clean up the dump, although meetings are scheduled later this month between Hopi officials and federal regulators.
A chemical analysis has linked waste found in the dump to byproducts of a uranium mill formerly located a few miles from Tuba City.
The Department of Energy has previously dismissed any such link.
(Arizona Daily Sun Dec. 2, 2007)
House Committee appalled at federal agencies' incompetence to deal with mess left from Cold War era uranium mining on Navajo land
On October 23, 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
held a Hearing on the Health and Environmental Impacts of Uranium Contamination in the Navajo Nation. The Committee was appalled by the obvious incompetence of the involved federal agencies (EPA, DOE, NRC, IHS, BIA) to deal with the legacy left from historic uranium mining on Navajo land, although the situation is notorious for decades. The Committee urged the agencies to tackle the problem without further delay and to identify any areas where Congressional action may be required.
> Download Testimonies
Aerial survey of abandoned uranium mines identifies excess radiation areas
"Aerial radiological surveys of forty-one geographical areas in the Navajo Nation were
conducted during the period of October 1994 through October 1999. [...]
The aerial survey and subsequent processing characterized the overall radioactivity
levels and excess bismuth-214 activity (indicator of uranium ore deposits and/or
uranium mines) within the surveyed areas. A total of 772,000 aerial gamma spectra
and associated position parameters were obtained and analyzed during the multi-year
operation. The survey determined that only 15 square miles (39 square kilometers) of
the 1,144 square miles (2,963 square kilometers) surveyed (approximately 1.3 %) had
excess bismuth indications above the minimum reportable activity, thus reducing the
area requiring further investigation by a nominal factor of 76."
Source: An Aerial Radiological Survey of Abandoned Uranium Mines in the Navajo Nation, by T. J. Hendricks, DOE/NV/11718--602, August 2001
> Download full report (1.1M PDF)
Tribe urges cleanup for radioactive homes
"...thousands of Navajo men who worked in hundreds of
uranium mines across the reservation from the late 1940s through the
1970s, mining the fuel for America's nuclear weapons arsenal.
The miners found that with a little chipping, the waste ore rocks from
mines could be squared up for excellent building material for walls,
floors and foundations." [...]
"The Navajo tribe's office of the Navajo Abandoned Mine Lands
Reclamation Program has identified 1,300 abandoned uranium mines. Since
1989, about half the mines have been sealed with concrete and other
materials. But piles of exposed uranium ore waste rock remain. The rock
can contain 'hot spots' of uranium ore.
Even where mine reclamation has occurred, there are waste rock houses
left standing or only partially dismantled. And because traditional
Navajo families are sheepherders who live spread out from one another –
their high desert homeland covers parts of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico
– the EPA does not know how many uranium homes exist on the reservation."
(The Dallas Morning News, Dec. 26, 2000)
> see also: Letter from US EPA Region IX to Elsie Mae Begay
> Download Community Fact Sheet Orphan Mine Site (PDF - National Park Service)
Park Service to advance cleanup cost for abandoned Orphan Mine Site, as responsible parties duck
The abandoned Orphan uranium mine sits on the Grand Canyon's south rim, three miles from the park's famous El Tovar Hotel. Nearly 40 years after one of America's top-producing uranium mines was closed down, it is still leaching radioactive waste into a creek that feeds the Colorado River.
The two major defense contractors responsible for the site, whose lobbyists have close ties to Arizona Sen. John McCain, are refusing to cooperate with the National Park Service to clean up the Orphan Mine Superfund site. The park service has been trying since 2005 to negotiate a clean-up agreement with the companies. But the talks ended abruptly in February 2008 with no resolution.
The cash-strapped park service is now being forced to pay for the mine clean up, which could cost taxpayers more than $15 million. A park official said they would try to recover costs from the defense contractors later. "We can't wait," said Martha Hahn, the park's chief of science and resource management. "We need to get this cleaned up."
Shawn Mulligan, National Park Service senior environmental program adviser, said "negotiations have broken down" with Tech-Sym and Cotter Corp., subdivisions of DRS Technologies and General Atomics, over paying for an engineering evaluation to clean up the site's surface area. Mulligan said the park service will pay for the initial studies, estimated at between $1 million and $2 million.
Once a clean up plan is designed, Mulligan said the park service would ask the defense contractors to cover the work. If the companies refuse, Mulligan said the government could go ahead with the remediation, and file a lawsuit to collect damages. The cost for remediation of the Orphan Mine's surface area is estimated at $15 million. This would be the first clean-up phase.
The cost to deal with contamination inside the underground mine and in a nearby creek is unknown.
(Washington Independent July 22, 2008)
Forest Service releases cleanup plan for abandoned Juniper uranium mine
The Forest Service today announced that the Engineering Evaluation and Cost Analysis (EC/CA) for the Juniper Uranium Mine Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) project is available for a 30-day public review and comment period, with comments on the document due by August 27, 2005.
> View USDA Forest Service release July 27, 2005
Forest Service closes access to abandoned Juniper uranium mine site
On June 10, 2003, the Forest Service announced the closure of Forest Road 5N33 and the abandoned Juniper Uranium Mine area. New data indicates piles of waste rock emit more radiation than previously detected. At some locations within the site where levels reach 11 mrems an hour [0.11 mSv/h], human exposure to gamma radiation would exceed the EPA's recommended Maximum Dose Limit (MDL) of 15 mrem per year [0.15 mSv/a] when the exposure duration exceeds an hour and a half. The Forest Service has determined that erosion may have exposed gamma-emitting material to the surface, and that water runoff has contaminated about a half mile of Red Rock creek. The Forest Service is closing the area, fencing it off and posting warning signs.
The Juniper Mine site is located at 8,500 feet [2590 m] elevation on the Stanislaus National Forest, south of Sardine Meadow. The mine operated from 1956 to 1966 under private ownership and produced approximately 500 tons of uranium ore for processing in Salt Lake City, Utah. (USDA Forest Service release June 10, 2003 )
Cleaning up the site will take about two years and $2 million dollars from the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). That cleanup work will involve putting all waste rock left over from the mining process back into the pit and burying it. (Union Democrat June 10, 2003)
> See also: Stanislaus National Forest CERCLA information (U.S. EPA)
> for the Maybell UMTRA Title I uranium mill tailings site, see here
Proposal for uranium mill tailings deposit in former Maybell uranium mine
The U.S. Department of Energy has filed an application
requesting the Secretary of the Interior to withdraw from surface entry
and mining and transfer jurisdiction of 160 acres of public land in
Moffat County, Colorado, to be utilized as a uranium mill tailings
disposal site. This notice segregates the land for a period of 2 years
from surface entry and mining.
Comments and requests for a public meeting must be received January 26, 2006.
Federal Register: October 28, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 208) p. 62138 (download full text )
On Aug. 17, 2005, members of grassroots organization Moffat County Cares submitted a letter to the Colorado State Board of Land Commissioners opposing Standard Uranium's request to lease 1,100 acres north of Juniper Springs. The company's goal is to mine uranium on that lease in conjunction with 15 square miles it already holds the rights to.
(Craig Daily Press, Aug. 18, 2005)
Northwest Colorado Cares is a group of residents that formed after they heard that a Northwest Colorado landowner, Jim Ross, had plans to use the pits left by uranium mining on his property in the 1950s as a dump site for low-level radioactive waste. Ross has said he'd like to fill the pits primarily with spoil piles -- the overburden of dirt that was removed while uranium was being mined. Standard Uranium, a Canadian business, has bought the mining claims to 10,000 acres near Maybell and has the opportunity to lease an additional 2,400.
(Craig Daily Press, July 12, 2005)
A decision by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to encourage Eastern Slope communities to accept low-level radioactive waste has the attention of a Craig group already opposing a proposed site in Moffat County.
Terrie Barrie, chairwoman of Northwest Colorado Cares, said the move could make it easier for local real estate agent Jim Ross to collect low-level radioactive waste in pits in his property that were originally dug to mine uranium.
(Craig Daily Press, June 13, 2005)
A preliminary proposal to retool a defunct uranium mine to accept uranium tailings was presented at the Craig/Moffat County Economic Development Partnership (EDP) meeting on Nov. 17, 2004.
Jim Ross, owner of Intermountain Realty in Craig, received a $6,500 EDP Growing Local Business grant to process more than 25,000 pages of documentation about other repository sites and the history of the former uranium mine located on his property outside of Maybell.
(Craig Daily Press, Nov. 18, 2004)
Aerial view: Google Maps 
· Terraserver
License No.: Colorado RML # 317-02 (Hecla Mining Co.)
NRC demands re-installation of monitoring wells at Durita uranium mill site
In a letter dated December 2, 2005, NRC finds that the Colorado Department of Public Healh and Environment's permission to Hecla Mining Co. to discontinue the groundwater detection monitoring program and plug the wells prior to license termination was premature. The NRC now demands that Hecla installs new monitoring wells.
In a letter dated March 9, 2006, NRC reinforced its view.
CDPHE issues Draft Completion Review Report for decommissioning of Durita heap leach site
On October 1, 2004, the Colorado Department of Public Healh and Environment issued its Draft Completion Review Report For the Durita Site Located in Montrose County, Colorado:
"In conclusion, CDPHE believes that the Hecla Mining Company's Durita site has met all applicable standards and requirements. With a determination by NRC, as required by Section 274c(4) of the Act, that all applicable standards and requirements have been met, the Colorado radioactive material license, 317-02, may be terminated."
> Download full report (3.4MB PDF - ADAMS Accession No. ML042870433)
Forest Service plans cleanup of abandoned Graysill uranium mine
The public is invited to comment on a report covering the cleanup and cost of reducing hazardous situations at the abandoned Graysill uranium mine near Bolam Pass between Hermosa Creek and Barlow. The Forest Service plans to start remedial work in July 2004.
The study covers the closure of mine shafts, placement of a cover over radioactive rock near the road and costs involved.
Copies of the report are available at the San Juan Public Lands Center, 15 Burnett Court, Durango, CO; the Silverton Public Library, 1111 Reese St.; and at the town hall in Rico. The report is not available online.
Written comments about the mine cleanup must be received by June 21, 2004.
They should be addressed to Kay Zillich, Abandoned Mines Staff, San Juan Public Lands Center, 15 Burnett Ct., Durango CO 81301.
(Durango Herald May 22, 2004)
Aerial view: Google Maps · Terraserver
> See also:
CDPHE Uravan info
EPA Region 8 Superfund Uravan page
Study finds no increased mortality among residents near former Uravan uranium mill
A cohort mortality study was conducted of all adult residents who ever lived in
Uravan, Colorado, a company town built around a uranium mill. Vital status was
determined through 2004 and standardised mortality analyses conducted for 1905
men and women alive after 1978 who lived for at least 6 months between 1936 and
1984 in Uravan.
This community cohort study revealed a significant excess of lung cancer among males who had been employed as underground miners. The authors attribute this excess to the historically high levels of radon in uranium mines of the Colorado Plateau, coupled with the heavy use of tobacco products. There was no evidence that environmental radiation exposures above natural background associated with the uranium mill operations increased the risk of cancer.
Mortality among residents of Uravan, Colorado who lived near a uranium mill, 1936-84, by Boice JD Jr, Cohen SS, Mumma MT, et al., in: Journal of Radiological Protection, September 2007, Vol. 27 (No.3), p.299-319
Funding awarded for Uravan Mine Restoration project
On February 11, 2005, Colorado's Natural Resource Trustees authorized nearly
$2.1 million for three projects designed to enhance natural resources in the Uravan area in western Colorado with funds from the Uravan Superfund cleanup.
One of these projects is the Uravan Mine Restoration project, which receives $852,000 for abandoned uranium mine reclamation and stream restoration adjacent to the Uravan mining and milling site.
The funding for the projects came from an award to the state from the UMETCO Minerals Corporation in a 1987 settlement resulting from environmental damages resulting from mining and milling activity on the site near Uravan.
> View CDPHE release Feb. 14, 2005
EPA announces partial deletion of the Uravan Superfund Site from the National Priorities List
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 8 is publishing a direct final notice of partial deletion of 9.84 acres within the Uravan Superfund Site (Site), located in Montrose County, Colorado, from the National Priorities List (NPL).
This direct final deletion will be effective February 18, 2005.
If adverse comments are received by January 19, 2005, EPA will publish
a timely withdrawal of the direct final deletion in the Federal
Register informing the public that the deletion will not take effect.
Federal Register: December 20, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 243) p. 75847-75850 (download full text )
EPA to enter into settlement agreement on Umetco Uravan Superfund site
The proposed Agreement resolves Superfund liability for certain costs under section 107 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (CERCLA), against UMETCO Minerals Corporation. The Agreement requires UMETCO to pay EPA $125,000 in full satisfaction of EPA's claim for costs incurred and to be incurred in connection with the deletion
of the Uravan Superfund Site from the National Priorities List.
For 30 days following Feb. 2, 2004, EPA will accept written comments relating to the proposed Agreement.
Federal Register: February 2, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 21) p. 4935 (download full text)
Former Uravan residents sue Umetco in suspected radiation-related illnesses
A group of Coloradans has sued Union Carbide, saying the firm failed to protect them from deadly radiation when they lived near a company uranium mine.
The 28-page suit filed on Jan. 23, 2004, in U.S. District Court in Denver accuses the company of causing the death from radiation exposure of four people and illness among more than 70 others.
Union Carbide took over a uranium mine and mill in Uravan in 1928 and ran them until 1984. By 1986, contamination forced evacuation of the town south of Grand Junction along the Dolores River.
(Denver Post Jan. 24, 2004)
Disposal of off-site material at Uravan uranium mill site
Umetco Minerals Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Union Carbide , is seeking renewal of its license to dispose of 600,000 cubic yards (460,000 m3) off-site contaminated material at the site of its former Uravan uranium mill. The company plans to bid early in 2001 for an EPA project to remove some 94,000 cubic yards (72,000 m3) of contaminated waste from the old Shattuck Chemical Co. site in Denver and dispose of it at its Uravan site.
The license renewal is being opposed by the environmental group Western Colorado Congress (WCC) .
Public Hearings on the issue were held at Naturita, Colorado, on November 15/16, 2000.
On June 8, 2001, Judge Richard Dana, of Judicial Arbiter Group, Inc., approved the renewal of Umetco's state-issued radioactive material license, but imposed conditions. He concluded that some fears voiced by an environmental group were unfounded.
Western Colorado Congress, which had opposed the license renewal, also claimed victory. It cited license conditions that regulate offsite waste disposal at the facility. (Rocky Mountain News June 8, 2001)
In July 2001, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has decided not to truck waste from the Shattuck Chemical Co. site to Uravan. Instead, the waste will be shipped by rail to one of three sites already operating under a federal contract. Those sites are in Idaho, Utah and Texas. (Denver Post July 7, 2001)
> See also: Exploration pits in Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area (Wyoming/Montana)
High radiation levels from abandoned uranium mines also found in Pryor Mountains (Montana) near Bighorn Canyon
High levels of radioactivity found at abandoned uranium mines in the Pryor Mountains has prompted the Custer National Forest to close one area and the Bureau of Land Management to consider closures at other nearby sites.
The Forest Service took radiation readings at the Sandra and Old Glory mines after an abandoned mines inventory suggested they may have high radiation levels. The mines are just west of Crooked Creek above Demijohn Hollow and southeast of the Red Pryor Ice Cave.
At the Sandra Mine, the Forest Service found readings that ranged from 1.8 times the natural background level to 369 times.
After finding the high radiation levels, the Forest Service notified the BLM. BLM lands in the Pryors also contain abandoned uranium mines.
On July 1, the BLM took readings at the Marie, Lisbon and Dandy mine sites, which are just south of the mines on Forest Service land. The highest readings were found at the Lisbon Mine, where radiation near the mouth of the mine measured 2 rems per hour [?!? presumably should read 2 millirems per hour], said Chuck Ward, a BLM ranger.
(The Billings Gazette Aug. 17, 2003)
> View operational issues
Crow Butte Resources seeks approval for bioremediation test for groundwater restoration at in-situ leach mine
By letter dated Nov. 9, 2007, Crow Butte Resources (CBR) is seeking approval from Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) for a proposed Bioremediation Test in the north section of Mine Unit 4, Wellhouse 9.
> See extra page
State to reclaim abandoned Belfield uranium mine
North Dakota's Public Service Commission's Abandoned Mine Lands Division plans to reclaim an old open pit uranium mine northwest of Belfield in summer 2004, using about $1.5 million from the federal Abandoned Mine Lands program. It is a relatively small mine, about 15 acres [6 ha], and one of the last known uranium mines in southwestern North Dakota, where uranium was mined in several locations in the 1950s and 1960s.
(Bismarck Tribune Dec. 16, 2003)
Fernald Closure Project homepage
IEER issues critical assessment of management of Fernald Silo wastes
Shifting Radioactivity Risks: A Case Study of the K-65 Silos and Silo 3 Remediation and Waste Management at the Fernald Nuclear Weapons Site , by Annie Makhijani, Arjun Makhijani, Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, Takoma Park, Maryland, USA, August 2006
Congo high grade tailings to be trucked to Texas Low-Level Waste site for interim storage
Waste Control Specialists has applied to the Texas Department of State Health Services to amend the license for its Low Level Waste site in Andrews County, Texas, so it can store uranium tailings from a former U.S. Department of Energy uranium processing plant in Fernald, Ohio. Originally, the Department of Energy was going to send the silo waste to the Nevada Test Site. But the State of Nevada has threatened to sue DOE if silo waste is sent there, so DOE is considering other options.
(Odessa American Oct. 22, 2004)
On April 28, 2005, DOE announced that the silo waste will be stored at the Waste Control Specialists site in Texas. The agreement covers two years of interim storage at the site. DOE still owns the waste and will look for a long-term storage or disposal arrangement. Waste Control also wants to dispose of the waste and has an application pending with the Texas Department of State Health Services.
(AP Apr. 28, 2005)
> Download Fluor release Apr. 28, 2005 (PDF)
> Download DOE Factsheet, Transporting DOE Silos 1 & 2 Material from Fernald, Ohio, Apr. 28, 2004 (PDF)
The last load of the waste will be shipped to the Texas storage site on May 26, 2005 (AP May 25, 2006).
Cleanup of Silos 1 and 2 begins
The cleanup of Silos 1 and 2 (also known as K-65 Silos) has begun. The silos contain the uranium mill tailings left over from the processing of extremely high grade uranium ores received in the late 1940's and early 1950's from the Shinkolobwe mine in then Belgian Congo (now DR Congo). It is planned to remove the 8,890 cubic yards [6,796 m3] of so-called "high activity low-level waste"(!) from the two concrete silos and store them in steel transfer tanks, then to chemically stabilize the waste and ship it off site for disposal.
> View News Release: Fernald begins removing waste from K-65 Silos (Sep 29, 2004)
Composition of the stored material
| | Concentrations | Totals |
|---|
| Silo 1 | Silo 2 | Silos 1 & 2 |
|---|
| [pCi/g] | [Bq/g] | [pCi/g] | [Bq/g] | [Ci] | [TBq] | [kg] |
|---|
| Th-230 | 60,000 | 2,220 | 48,300 | 1,787 | > 600 | > 22.2 | > 29.7 |
| Ra-226 | 391,000 | 14,467 | 195,000 | 7,215 | > 3,700 | > 136.9 | > 3.7 |
| Pb-210 | 165,000 | 6,105 | 145,000 | 5,365 | > 1,800 | > 66.6 | > 0.023 |
| Po-210 | 242,000 | 8,954 | 139,000 | 5,143 | | | |
Source: 1994 ROD, unit conversion added; TBq = 10^12 Bq
It is also estimated that Silos 1 and 2 contain more than 28 t of uranium; other significant metals include more than 118 t of barium, 830 t of lead, and 2.6 t of arsenic (t = metric ton).
Air samples collected in 1987 from the unfilled, upper portions of Silos 1 and 2 showed maximum radon concentrations of 30 million pCi/l [1.11 billion Bq/m3], that is approx. 60 million times background. External radiation monitoring on top of the silo domes showed exposure rates in excess of 200 mrem/h [2 mSv/h], that is approx. 20,000 times background. The silo contents was later covered with a bentonite clay layer to reduce radon emanation and gamma radiation.
Based on the concentrations of Ra-226, the original ore grade of the uranium ore processed can be estimated at approx. 54% U (Silo 1) and 37% U (Silo 2). The total amount of uranium contained in the original ore processed can be estimated at 11,080 t U (t = metric ton).
Silos 1 and 2 Project
Silo 1 and 2 Project Fact Sheet: Part 1 (1.8MB PDF) · Part 2 (1.6MB PDF)
Silos 1-4 Final Record of Decision (ROD), Dec. 1994 (623k PDF)
Silos 1 and 2 Final Record of Decision Amendment (RODA), June 2000 (336k PDF)
Silos 1 and 2 Final Record of Decision Amendment (RODA), July 2000 (2.81MB PDF, including appendices)
Final Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD) for Operable Unit 4 Silos 1 and 2 Remedial Actions, October 2003 (136k PDF)
Silos 1 and 2 ESD Attachment 2 Responsiveness Summary (37k PDF)
Fremont National Forest Uranium Mines - Superfund Info (EPA Region 10)
NPL Site Narrative for Fremont Nat. Forest Uranium Mines (USDA) (EPA HQ)
Reclamation of White King and Lucky Lass mines to start in summer 2005
Cleanup work begins this summer and is expected to take two summer seasons. Kerr-McGee Chemical Worldwide, Fremont Lumber Co. and Western Nuclear will pay the $8 million cleanup cost. Kerr-McGee is the successor to the Lakeview Mining Co., which was formed by Lakeview-area people whom the energy commission recruited to conduct mining activities from 1955 to 1959.
At White King excavation pond, both the surface water and the ground water are contaminated, as are sediments. The pond covers about three acres and is 70 feet deep.
The most contaminated soil from both mines is to be combined and covered. The acidic water in the White King pond is to be neutralized.
About 430,000 cubic yards, from the White King overburden stockpile, 35,000 cubic yards of off-pile material and 15,000 cubic yards of haul road material will be excavated, consolidated and relocated atop a 138,000-cubic-yard stockpile.
The materials will be covered with "clay-like" material. A 2-foot soil cover will be placed over the 25-acre repository. Vegetation will be re-established atop the cover. The pond will be fenced to discourage use.
After excavation, the disturbed areas, which are expected to cover about 36 acres, will be reclaimed and revegetated.
(Herald and News, May 8, 2005)
One-man 'occupation' of Slim Buttes protests slow clean-up of old uranium mines
Harold One Feather is waging a one-man protest to spur the U.S. Forest Service into a quicker clean-up of an old uranium mine in the Slim Buttes in northwestern South Dakota.
One Feather, founder of the new Grand River Environmental Equality Network, said he was "occupying" the Slim Buttes, which are part of Custer National Forest.
The Grand River runs from Custer National Forest through several communities on the Standing Rock reservation, about 60 miles to the east.
One Feather and other Standing Rock residents say runoff from uranium mines may be making people on the reservation sick, though the Forest Service denies that charge.
(Rapid City Journal May 17, 2007)
New study shows environmental pollution from abandoned uranium mines in Cave Hills area, but no health problems determined
Abandoned uranium mines in northwestern South Dakota are polluting nearby waters, but a new study doesn't determine if that has caused health problems downstream. A School of Mines engineering professor says creeks flowing out of the Cave Hills north of Buffalo contain greatly elevated levels of uranium and arsenic, but the chemicals are undetectable less than ten miles downstream. The water is not used for drinking, and state data show normal cancer rates in the area. (AP Sep 12, 2006)
The final study report was released on April 18, 2007.
Final Report: North Cave Hills Abandoned Uranium Mines Impact Investigation , by Dr. James Stone, Dr. Larry Stetler, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, and Dr. Albrecht Schwalm, Oglala Lakota College, April 18, 2007
Hazard cleanup at abandoned uranium mines in Harding County may cost $20 million
The clean up at abandoned uranium mines in Harding County will cost an estimated $20 million, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
The agency hopes to have the Riley Pass Uranium Mines site included in the Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund program.
Hazardous materials contaminate 12 bluffs in the Sioux Ranger District of Custer National Forest, said Laurie Walters-Clark, on-scene coordinator of the project.
In the 1950s, uranium mining claims were filed on the 65,000 acres of the North Cave Hills, South Cave Hills and Slim Buttes areas. By 1965, the mining companies had left.
In 1989, the Forest Service built five catch basins to trap sediment washing down from the former mine sites. By the next year, the Forest Service removed more than 6,700 cubic yards of sediment from the basins. With an estimated $2 million price tag, Forest Service officials decided against further reclamation efforts.
Later soil testing showed the bluffs as sources of hazardous substances.
The Forest Service is taking public comment on its plan and will hold public meetings to explain the clean up measures that were chosen, Walters-Clark said.
(Aberdeen News July 21, 2005)
> See also: Riley Pass Abandoned Uranium Mines (U.S. Forest Service - Custer National Forest)
Group calls for action on abandoned uranium mines
Uranium mines in northwestern South Dakota that were abandoned decades ago without being cleaned up pose health threats and other problems, residents and others say.
Defenders of the Black Hills , a group of volunteers that works to ensure that the United States government upholds the Fort Laramie Treaties of 1851 and 1868, sponsored a meeting on Feb. 26, 2005, to learn more about the mines. The mines are located in the Cave Hills area northwest of Buffalo in Harding County, considered sacred by many American Indians. They are located on public lands managed by the Custer National Forest .
Beginning in the late 1940s, more than 200 uranium mines were dug in South Dakota. The Cave Hills area contains 27 which were abandoned by the companies that originally dug them. They have been polluting the air, land and water for the past 50 to 60 years, members of the group said.
(Aberdeen News Feb. 27, 2005; Defenders of the Black Hills)
> See also: Study of abandoned uranium mining impacts on private lands surrounding the North Cave Hills, South Dakota (South Dakota School of Mines & Technology)
> See also Myspace discussion group: Defenders of the Black Hills
NRC Docket No. 40-1341 (TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY, CHATTANOOGA, TN)
NRC Material License No. SUA-816
License Termination
On June 27, 1996, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff
terminated the site-specific license for the Tennessee Valley
Authority's (TVA's) Edgemont, South Dakota uranium mill tailings
site. This is the first license terminated for a Uranium Mill
Tailings Radiation Control Act, Title II facility.
> View NRC press release No. 96-92
> See also Notice in Federal Register Vol.61 p. 35272 (July
5, 1996), download via GPO Access
Aerial View · Detail (annual Jeep Safari approaching Hey Joe mine) (Google Maps)
The Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining will begin a project in September 2006 to close 22 abandoned uranium mines in Emery and Grand counties.
The mines are located in Labyrinth Canyon along the Green River northwest of Dead Horse Point State Park.
The project is an ongoing part of the division's Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program and is funded by a per ton tax on current coal production in Utah.
(Deseret News Sep. 7, 2006)
> Download related Division files
A proposed abandoned mine reclamation project that will seal 22 open
abandoned mines along the Labyrinth Canyon area of the Green River will be
discussed at an open house at the Moab Bureau of Land Management Office February 15, 2006.
The Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining’s Abandoned Mine Reclamation
Program is proposing to conduct a reclamation project in the late summer and fall
of 2006.
> Download DOGM release Feb. 6, 2006 (PDF)
> See also: Utah Division of Radiation Control - Uranium Mill Facilities - Plateau Resources Limited
> View more recent issues
NRC issues Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact concerning the proposed Reclamation Plan for the Shootaring Canyon uranium mill
Finding of No Significant Impact and Notice of Availability of
the Environmental Assessment Concerning the License Amendment Request
for Consideration of the Proposed Reclamation Plan for the Plateau
Resources Limited Shootaring Canyon Uranium Project
Federal Register: October 2, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 191) p. 56852-56853 (download full text )
Plateau Resources to decommission Shootaring Canyon uranium mill
On October 24, 2002, Plateau Resources requested a change in its License status from operational to reclamation and submitted a Reclamation and Decommissioning Plan (RDP) for its Shootaring Canyon uranium mill. The mill had been in operation during 76 days in 1982 only and has since been held on stand-by.
"Plateau Resources, Ltd. is planning to decommission its uranium mill, referred to as the
Shootaring Canyon Uranium Project. The mill is licensed to operate under a U. S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) source material license (SUA-1371). The mill operated for a
very limited period of time and the tailings facility contains only 25,000 C.Y. of tailings
material. An additional volume of 39,100 (18,907 tons Hanksville and 26,500 C.Y. Hydro-Jet)
C.Y. of 11.e(2) material exist in the east and north dikes from the cleanup of the Hanksville
buying station and the Hydro-Jet plant. Interim cover placed over the tailings is 39,310 C.Y. An
additional 114,000 C.Y. of contaminated materials are planned to be added to the tailings cell."
[1 C.Y. = 0.765 cubic meters]
> See Federal Register: December 23, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 246) p. 78262-78263 (download full text ):
Notice of Amendment Request and Consideration of Proposed
Reclamation Plan for the Shootaring Canyon Uranium Project, Ticaboo,
Utah, and Opportunity to Provide Comments and to Request a Hearing
> View older issues
Reclamation project for abandoned uranium mines near Blanding, Utah
"A historic uranium mining area now riddled with hazardous abandoned mine openings is the target of the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining’s Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program. Construction activities this fall will close abandoned uranium mine openings and remove dump materials from the Cottonwood Creek drainage west of Blanding, Utah. The project, a partnership with the Bureau of Land Management and the USDA Forest Service, will improve the watershed area while protecting the public from radiation hazards associated with the mines. [...]"
> FTP-Download Utah DOGM release (Oct 4, 2002) (PDF)
State of Utah to close abandoned uranium mines in San Rafael Swell area
The Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining's Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program has
begun planning the closure of abandoned uranium mines in the San Rafael Swell, approximately
20 miles north of Hanksville. The Temple Mountain Project would close approximately 140
uranium mines in a historically significant area.
> FTP-Download Utah DOGM release (Nov. 26, 2001) (PDF)
NRC Docket No. 40-8084 (RIO ALGOM MINING CORP., MOAB, UT)
NRC Source Material License No. SUA-1119
Aerial view: Google Maps · Terraserver
NRC approves erosion protection design for Lisbon uranium mill tailings
Federal Register: May 12, 2004 (Vol. 69, No. 92) p. 26416-26417
(download full text )
NRC approves relaxed groundwater standards for Lisbon mill site
In a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) of January 2004, NRC concludes that the relaxed groundwater standards would have no significant impact:
"On the basis of the draft EA, NRC concluded
that there would be no significant environmental impacts from the proposed action.
Accordingly, the staff has determined that there is no need to prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement for the proposed action. A Finding of No Significant Impact will be published in the
Federal Register if there are no significant concerns noted by the consulted agencies."
By letter dated Feb. 3, 2004, NRC requested the Utah Department of the Environment to provide any comments within 30 days.
The Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) was published in
Federal Register: April 23, 2004 (Vol. 69, No. 79) p. 22100-22101 (download full text )
The license amendment was issued on May 11, 2004.
> Download final Environmental Assessment (April 2004)
Rio Algom applies for relaxed groundwater standards for Lisbon mill site
Notice in Federal Register Vol. 67, No. 142, p. 48495 (Jul. 24, 2002)
(download full notice ):
"SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) has received, by letter dated May 22, 2002, an application from
Rio Algom Mining LLC (Rio Algom) to establish Alternate Concentration
Limits and amend the Source Material License No. SUA-1119 for the
Lisbon uranium mill facility.
"
A request for hearing must be filed within 30 days of
July 24, 2002.
From Rio Algom's May 22, 2002, application:
"Results of this assessment indicate that aquifer restoration cannot be achieved in less than 28 years or for less than $23,000,000 given any active remedial scenario. In contrast, the cost to implement natural attenuation in conjunction with institutional controls is only about $ 388,000."
Rio Algom wants to defer completion of radon barrier by 18 years
Notice in Federal Register Vol. 63, No. 239, p.68802-68803 (Dec. 14, 1998)
(download full notice ):
"SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) has received, by letter dated October 23, 1998, a
request from Rio Algom Mining Corporation (Rio Algom) to amend License
Condition (LC) 55 A.(3) of Source Material License SUA-1119 for the
Lisbon, Utah, facility. The license amendment request proposes to
modify LC 55 A.(3) to change the completion date for placement of the
final radon barrier on the pile. The date proposed by Rio Algom would extend completion of the final radon barrier by 18 years."
> See: extra page
> See: extra page
Washington Department of Health License No.: WN-I0133-1
WA Dept. of Health and NRC terminate Sherwood license
The Sherwood uranium mill near Wellpinit, operated by Western Nuclear, Inc. from 1978 to 1984, on March 9, 2001, received license termination by the state Department of Health.
> View WA DOH release March 9, 2001
On March 9, 2001, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) concurred with the State of Washington’s decision to transfer the Sherwood Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 (UMTRCA) Title II Site to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Grand Junction Office (GJO) for long-term custody.
> View DOE GJO news release March 13, 2001
Open questions related to proposed License Termination
"On June 21, 2000, staff from the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and
Safeguards (FCSS) met with state of Washington personnel to determine if
the Sherwood tailings embankment located near Spokane, Washington, should
be classified as a dam under the Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety.
Contractors from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
accompanied FCSS staff. If the structure meets the Federal definition for a
dam, procedures for license termination and costs for long-term
surveillance and monitoring may be affected.
Embankment design information was reviewed, and questions related to dam
stability, liquefaction, and surface disruption from seismic events were
discussed. A preliminary determination of the dam classification will be
made, and the FERC report will identify additional information that may be
required for the final assessment."
(NRC Weekly Information Report For the Week Ending June 30, 2000)
Background documents are available through ADAMS .
> see extra page
> View background information on Uranium Mill Tailings Management - USA