Decommissioning Projects, USA - UMTRA Title I 
(last updated 17 Sep 2024)
Contents:
Site Index
Ambrosia Lake ·
Belfield and Bowman ·
Burrell (PA) ·
Canonsburg ·
Durango ·
Falls City ·
Grand Junction ·
Green River ·
Gunnison ·
Lakeview ·
Lowman ·
Maybell ·
Mexican Hat ·
Monticello ·
Monument Valley ·
Naturita ·
Rifle ·
Riverton ·
Salt Lake City ·
Shiprock ·
Slick Rock ·
Spook ·
Tuba City
> See also:
Monument Valley · Tuba City
NRC Docket No. 
> U.S. DOE Office of Legacy Management: Monument Valley site
Aerial view: Google Maps 
· MSRMaps
Monitoring of uranium mill tailings sites on Navajo land suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic
> See here
Pilot study on "in situ biosequestration" of groundwater contaminants at former Monument Valley uranium mill site
Laboratory and field tests were performed to investigate the potential for groundwater cleanup by forced contaminant precipitation within the aquifer. A reagent solution was added to stimulate microbial activity and generate reducing conditions, which induces sequestration (via bioprecipitation and/or enhanced absorption) of targeted contaminants. While laboratory tests showed a massive reduction of uranium concentrations in groundwater, field tests were less effective. Moreover, most of the sequestration effect was reversed, after the addition of the reagant ceased.
"The efficacy of in situ biosequestration using four different electron donors, acetate, benzoate, ethanol, and glucose, was evaluated in laboratory experiments. The results of the laboratory experiments indicated that ethanol was the most effective electron donor. Uranium concentrations in solution decreased greatly during and after the acclimation phase. Specifically, concentrations decreased from approximately 400 to approximately 1 microgram per liter (µg/L), which is significantly below the regulatory standard of 44 µg/L established by UMTRCA. Massbalance calculations showed that approximately 76% of uranium input was sequestered. Uranium concentrations rebounded upon the introduction of oxygenated water with no electron donor. Approximately 80% of the sequestered uranium was released, with 20% of that originally sequestered remaining so.
Ethanol solution (0.5%) was injected over a 1-day period into several closely spaced wells at the site. The results of groundwater and sediment characterization conducted before, during, and after the injection demonstrated that reducing conditions were generated. Large decreases in nitrate, along with moderate decreases in sulfate, were observed. Concentrations of uranium at the downgradient monitoring wells decreased by approximately 25%, from approximately 600 to approximately 450 µg/L. Uranium concentrations rebounded approximately 1 year after ethanol injection. The concentrations were not reduced to below the UMTRCA regulatory standard. [...]
Based on the results of this study, successful application of this biosequestration approach would likely require periodic electron-donor injections to maintain reducing conditions and associated sequestration effects. [...]"
> Download: Pilot Study for In Situ Biosequestration for the Remediation of Uranium in Alluvial Groundwater at the Monument Valley, Arizona, UMTRCA Site , Sep. 30, 2017 (16.2MB PDF)
Further wells exceed uranium standard in groundwater at former Monument Valley uranium mill site; bee hive found in one monitoring well...
At a Dec. 7-10, 2015, sampling event, four groundwater monitoring wells at the Monument Valley processing site showed an increase of uranium concentrations above the 0.044 mg/L Maximum Concentration Limit (MCL) after having met the standard for several consecutive years. And, of the four wells that already had been exceeding the standard in the preceding years, only one showed a decrease below the MCL, while the others showed stable or increasing values.
At the same occasion, a bee hive was found in a monitoring well that had no excessive uranium concentrations.
> Download: Data Validation Package, December 2015 Groundwater and Surface Water Sampling at the Monument Valley, Arizona, Processing Site , LMS/MON/S01215, U.S. Department of Energy, Legacy Management, March 2016 (7.3 MB PDF)
DOE completes pilot study on alternatives to active pumping and treatment for groundwater remediation at Monument Valley uranium mill tailings site
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM) has completed a
suite of pilot studies designed to evaluate, on a landscape scale, proposed passive and active
remedies for ammonium, nitrate, and sulfate in an alluvial aquifer and in a source area at the
Monument Valley, Arizona, Processing Site. Pilot studies are trial studies or experiments
conducted to evaluate and demonstrate alternative remedies before a final remedial action is
selected and implemented. The passive remedies, monitored natural and enhanced
phytoremediation and denitrification, were evaluated as alternatives to active pumping and
treatment technologies. Land-farm phytoremediation was evaluated as an alternative to
conventional active remedies.
> Download: Monitored Natural and Enhanced Attenuation of the Alluvial Aquifer and Subpile Soils at the Monument Valley, Arizona, Processing Site: Final Pilot Study Report, LMS/MON/S07670, U.S. DOE Legacy Management, April 2013: Main text - Appendix B · Appendices C - J
On May 11, 2016, DOE submitted a revision of the Pilot Study Report adressing written comments received.
> Download: Monitored Natural and Enhanced Attenuation of the Alluvial Aquifer and Subpile Soils at the Monument Valley, Arizona, Processing Site: Final Pilot Study Report , LMS/MON/S07670, U.S. DOE Legacy Management, May 2016 (56MB PDF)
Radiological assessment of stained soils at the Monument Valley, Arizona,
uranium mill site finds no elevated risk - if you stay away 99.86% of the time
"Following observation in the field of stained soils, samples were taken at locations that were scanned and indicated elevated gamma readings. The area was marked-off as radiologically contaminated pending analysis results as a conservative protective measure. The area in question was a former evaporation pond during processing and it was deemed clean during the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRCA) surface program. Sample analysis indicated that the area is elevated in uranium but not in radium, and therefore is still within regulatory standards for soil cleanup at UTMRCA sites."
The risk analysis performed showed that the dose estimates are well below NRC's 25 mrem/year [0.25 mSv/a] site decommissioning criterion. These dose estimates, however, are based on an annual exposure time of just 12 hours per year - as assumed appropriate for the workers currently surveying the site.
> Download Radiological Assessment of Stained Soils at the Monument Valley Processing Site , June 2010, U.S. Department of Energy, Legacy Management
U.S. DOE releases Final Environmental Assessment and FONSI Documents for Groundwater Restoration at Monument Valley, Arizona, Uranium Mill Tailings Site
The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management (DOE-LM) announces the availability of the final Environmental Assessment of Ground Water Compliance at the Monument Valley, Arizona, Uranium Mill Tailings Site and the Finding of No Significant Impact documents for the site.
> Download DOE LM release April 11, 2005 (PDF)
> Download Environmental Assessment of Ground Water Compliance at the Monument Valley, Arizona, Uranium Mill Tailings Site, Final, DOE/EA-1313, March 2005 (2.2MB PDF)
U.S. DOE issues Draft Environmental Assessment Document for Groundwater Restoration at Monument Valley, Arizona, Uranium Mill Tailings Site for Public Comment
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management in conjunction with the Navajo Uranium Mill Tailing Remedial Action Program announces the availability of the draft Environmental Assessment of Ground Water Compliance at the Monument Valley, Arizona, Uranium Mill Tailings Site.
The proposed compliance strategies are mostly based on natural flushing and passive remediation through phytoremediation.
> Download DOE release Nov. 10, 2004 (PDF)
> Download DOE release Dec. 8, 2004 (PDF)
> Download Draft Environmental Assessment of Ground Water Compliance at the Monument Valley, Arizona, Uranium Mill Tailings Site, DOE/EA-1313, Nov. 2004 (1.54MB PDF - Navajo AML)
Environmental Assessment of Groundwater Cleanup Available for Review
"The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Grand Junction Office (GJO) announces the availability of the Draft Environmental Assessment of the Ground Water Compliance Activities at the Monument Valley Mill Tailings Site.
This Environmental Assessment analyzes the potential environmental impacts for the proposed action, which is to conduct active remediation using a pump-and-treat methodology coupled with phytoremediation (using plants to clean up the contaminant). Groundwater would be extracted and fed into a distillation system. The treated groundwater would then be re-injected into the aquifer. DOE determined this compliance strategy as appropriate for the contamination that exists in the groundwater as a result of the milling operations at the former Monument Valley mill tailings site."
Any public comments on the Environmental Assessment should be submitted no later than November 15, 1999.
> View DOE GJO release (Oct. 25, 1999)
> View Monument Valley general site info · DOE-GJO groundwater info
NRC Docket No.
> U.S. DOE Office of Legacy Management: Tuba City site
Aerial view: Google Maps · MSRMaps
DOE issues revised Interim Treatment Plan for groundwater at Tuba City uranium mill tailings disposal site
The Interim Treatment Plan outlined the groundwater pumping strategy, treatment, and sampling procedures to be made following the shutdown of the groundwater treatment plant at the Tuba City site in 2014. The amendments suggested herein updates this document to accurately reflect current monitoring and extraction practices and optimize the pumping and monitoring efforts during this interim period at the Tuba City, Arizona, Disposal. The procedures outlined in the Interim Treatment Plan will be superseded by the upcoming revision of the Groundwater Compliance Action Plan, scheduled to be completed in 2025.
> Download: DOE letter to NRC , March 29, 2023 (364kB PDF)
> Download: Plan for Interim Treatment During Distillation Shutdown for the Tuba City, Arizona, Disposal Site, April 2015, Revised March 2023 (3.3MB PDF)
Uranium concentration in groundwater exceeds upper baseline limit for the first time at Tuba City uranium mill tailings disposal site
"Uranium concentrations in central downgradient well 0941 have gradually increased since 2005
from 0.05 mg/L to 0.27 mg/L. Concentrations in well 0906 have more recently increased from 0.36 mg/L in February 2017 to 1.4 mg/L in February 2020. The February 2020 concentration is above the UBL [upper baseline limit] of 1.17 mg/L and is the first recorded UBL exceedance of uranium at the site."
> Download: 2020 Annual Site Inspection and Monitoring Report for Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title I Disposal Sites , U.S. DOE Legacy Management, March 2021 (31.8MB PDF)
Monitoring of uranium mill tailings sites on Navajo land suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic
> See here
DOE discontinues groundwater pump and treat scheme at Tuba City uranium mill tailings site due to ineffectiveness
The Tuba City groundwater treatment plant's operation has been discontinued for
an indeterminate time.
The groundwater pump and treat system has proven to be ineffective at achieving
remediation goals after 10 years of operation.
DOE-LM has prepared an Alternatives Analysis of Contaminated Groundwater Treatment Technologies. The most favorable alternative is to directly evaporate a much smaller volume of the most contaminated water.
> Download DOE letter to NRC, Nov. 5, 2014, including Alternatives Analysis of Contaminated Groundwater Treatment Technologies, Sep. 2014 (31.2MB PDF - ADAMS Acc. No. ML14314A858)
Significant decreases in contaminant concentrations are "not apparent" with groundwater remediation at Tuba City uranium mill tailings site
"Although measureable progress is indicated by cumulative contaminant mass removed from the aquifer, significant and wide spread decreases in contaminant concentrations are not apparent."
(Annual Groundwater Report, April 2011 through March 2012, Tuba City, Arizona, Disposal Site, U.S. DOE, July 2012)
"Consistent with previous annual reporting, after more than 10 years of operation, significant and widespread decreases in contaminant concentrations in groundwater are not apparent. This is despite measureable progress in groundwater treatment, as indicated by the cumulative volume of contaminated groundwater and the cumulative mass of contaminant extracted from the aquifer to date."
(Annual Groundwater Report, April 2012 Through March 2013, Tuba City, Arizona, Disposal Site, U.S. DOE, August 2013)
Groundwater remediation at Tuba City uranium mill tailings site suspended after major sulfuric acid spill
The Tuba City, Arizona, Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA), Title I site, has been shut down temporarily following an incident in which one of the critical unit operations was compromised and will have to be repaired before the site can resume operation. During a routine delivery of concentrated sulfuric acid to the site, there was a minor spill of acid when the storage tank was overfilled, which necessitated the release of a minor amount of fluid to provide headspace in the tank. Operation of the outlet valve caused a minor leak to develop behind the valve, and eventually the entire tank contents were emptied into secondary containment and thence to the evaporation pond.
The amount of acid released to the pond was the full tank volume of 3000 gallons [11,356 litres], of 98 percent sulfuric acid.
> Download DOE letter Dec. 8, 2010 (PDF - ADAMS Acc. No. ML103500341)
Contaminated sites on Navajo land near former Tuba City uranium mill
Remediation of U.S. Highway 160 Site on Navajo land near former Tuba City uranium mill completed
Remediation activities of the U.S. Highway 160 Site were conducted from June through September 2011. The site is located six miles east of Tuba City, Arizona, across U.S. Highway 160 from the former Rare Metals uranium processing mill that was remediated under the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Program.
> Download Highway 160 Project Remediation Completion Report, 28 Dec. 2011 (Navajo Nation
Environmental Protection Agency)
> Download Independent Verification Report, Oct. 2011 (DOE)
Federal Appeals Court rules DOE not responsible for cleanup of contaminated sites on Navajo land near former Tuba City uranium mill
A federal appeals court ruled today (Jan. 28) that the Department of Energy does not have to remediate two sites on Navajo Nation land that are adjacent to an old uranium mine.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled against the Navajo Nation and the El Paso Natural Gas Co., the successor company to the mine operator, on technical grounds.
The mill itself, in Tuba City, Ariz., was one of the properties DOE initially agreed to remediate.
The Navajo Nation only became aware that the two sites nearby were also contaminated in the early 2000s.
In 2003, DOE denied a Navajo request to remediate the sites. In doing so, the government questioned whether the pollution came from the mill.
The natural gas company subsequently filed suit in 2007 over concerns it would be left to foot the bill.
(New York Times Jan. 28, 2011)
> Download Court opinion: El Paso Natural Gas Company v. USA, No. 10-5080, Jan. 28, 2011 , United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (66k PDF)
Concerns about hazards from alleged illegal waste dump near former Tuba City uranium mill
The Navajo Nation claims former mill owner Rare Metals Incorporated allegedly dumped some waste from the mill off the site illegally in the 1960s. And just as with the tailings at the mill, it believes that waste is leaking contaminants into the groundwater below, threatening nearby wells.
Bill Walker, a private geologist on the tribe's payroll, says he's linked the waste at the dumps to the mill with the help of some telltale chemicals Rare Metals used in the milling process. He's found the same chemicals in the dumps. He's also found a plume of contaminated water beneath the old landfill, but is still working on linking the two.
El Paso Natural Gas Company, which bought Rare Metals Incorporated, says the Energy Department still bears some responsibility for the mill and its waste. El Paso sued the Energy Department insisting it take responsibility for the dump sites in May 2007. The government has yet to file a formal response.
(Gallup Independent Aug. 2, 2007)
Environmental Assessment of Ground-Water Cleanup Strategy
The U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) Grand Junction Office (GJO) announces the availability of the Draft Environmental Assessment of Ground-Water Compliance at the Tuba City Uranium Mill Tailings Site near Tuba City, Arizona. The Environmental Assessment identifies the proposed ground-water compliance strategy that will be used at the former uranium-ore processing site near Tuba City.
> View Grand Junction Office press release (Oct 14, 1998)
> Download Tuba City Environmental Assessment (PDF)
> View Tuba City general site info · DOE GJO groundwater site info
Durango · Grand Junction · Gunnison · Maybell · Naturita · Rifle · Slick Rock
NRC Docket No.
> U.S. DOE Office of Legacy Management: Durango sites
Aerial view (processing site): Google Maps · MSRMaps
Aerial view (disposal site - Bodo Canyon): Google Maps · MSRMaps
The gods strike back: Durango uranium mill tailings disposal cell hit by lightning strikes
|
Lightning Strike on Side Slope of Durango, Colorado, Disposal Site
in: 2021 UMTRCA Title I Annual Report , U.S. DOE Legacy Management, March 2022, page 4-15 (35.8MB PDF)
(click for full size)
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DOE to investigate source of elevated uranium concentrations in monitoring well at Durango uranium mill tailings disposal site
Well 0618 is completed in the alluvial deposit above the compliance aquifer to the northeast of the disposal cell at the Durango, Colorado, Disposal Site. This well has been monitored as a best management practice since 2003 because uranium concentrations measured from this well have been variable and typically elevated above background. [...] The purpose of this investigation is to verify the source and identify location(s) of exposure; evaluate risk; and, if needed, implement an appropriate risk-informed mitigation measure.
> Download: Planning Approach to Investigate Variable Uranium Concentrations in Well 0618 Alluvial Groundwater at the Durango, Colorado, Disposal Site , LMS/DUD/S32845, U.S. DOE Legacy Management, July 2021
> See also: Rising uranium concentration in monitoring well at disposal site of Durango uranium mill tailings causes concern; groundwater standard miraculously no longer exceeded
More than 100 vicinity properties may still contain uranium mill tailings at Durango
It turns out more than 100 properties in Durango were missed during a massive, multi-million dollar cleanup in the 1980s of radioactive waste that was once used for the construction of homes, buildings and roads.
Now, more than three decades later, the state of Colorado's health department says these hot spots that slipped through the cracks need to be cleaned up.
This time around, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is trying to spread the word that uranium mill tailings contamination potentially still exists on about 115 properties in and around Durango, but at this point, it's still a bit of a guessing game.
But ultimately, state health officials can't say for sure whether there's a contamination problem until crews can conduct gamma radiation surveys. And in yet another wrinkle, that cannot happen until a disposal site is secured to take the waste - and there's no telling when that will happen.
The plan, health officials say, is to notify property owners on the list once a local site is identified to serve as a temporary repository, which will have a container on-site where residents can dump the tailings. Once full, it will be hauled to a permanent dump site near Grand Junction.
The state's health department in recent weeks has been working with leaders at the city of Durango and La Plata County to find the most suitable location, and a preferred option has already emerged: the disposal site on the west end of Bodo Canyon where the massive tailings pile was relocated in the 1980s.
But Jalena Dayvault, the DOE's site manager for the Durango disposal site, said the site isn't set up for that kind of activity. The disposal cell, which contains about 2.5 million cubic yards of contaminated material, was capped and closed in 1996 and sees little use other than regular monitoring.
And so, it appears it might take an act of Congress to gain access to the site.
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and U.S. House Rep. Scott Tipton, at the request of local stakeholders, have drafted federal legislation that would require the DOE to give land to the state health department for use as a storage site for the tailings.
(Durango Herald July 31, 2019)
City plans to open homeless camp on former Durango uranium mill site, though radioactive materials left on site might present hazard
A planned homeless camp expected to open near the Durango Dog Park may pose health risks to residents, but the city does not plan to assess potential hazards before allowing people to sleep on the former uranium mill site.
The state health department recently sent a letter to the city to recommend officials complete a health-risk assessment because radioactive materials were left on the site and the risk to those staying overnight on the land is unknown.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment restricts the use of the property through an environmental covenant because hazardous materials remain on the site.
City officials do not believe setting up the camp violates the covenant, and the city is not seeking approval from the state to set up the camp, the letter states.
(Durango Herald June 5, 2018)
Management plan requires re-burying under the roadway of any uranium mill tailings found in ongoing road construction in Durango
Road crews completing the new intersection at Camino del Rio and U.S. Highway 160 are taking special precaution to keep an eye out for uranium tailings left over from a mill that closed in 1963.
Though tailings have not been encountered during the continuous-flow intersection project, which is estimated to be finished in mid-August, workers did find uranium tailings in some of the sidewalks while completing another project in 2011 in the same area, said Nancy Shanks, spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Transportation.
Because of earlier findings near the construction zone, CDOT project specifications required a Materials Management Plan and Health and Safety Plan to address uranium tailings, should they be encountered within the project area, she said.
The plans followed the guidelines of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's uranium mill tailings management plan, Shanks said.
In compliance with the health department's management plan, any tailings encountered should be re-buried under the roadway, Shanks said.
(Durango Herald July 3, 2014)
DOE still hopeful that natural flushing will prove to be a valid compliance strategy for groundwater contaminants at former Durango uranium processing site
"As of June 2012, the observed rate of contaminant flushing is generally consistent with groundwater model predictions, given that the validation period to date (June 2002 to June 2012) is short compared to predicted flushing periods (60 to 100 years) for the various contaminants.
Only cadmium was identified in the modeling as potentially unlikely to flush to acceptable levels within 100 years. However, at the single location (well 0612) where cadmium is present above the compliance goal of 0.01 mg/L, concentrations have decreased more rapidly than predicted by the model. The linear trend suggests the compliance goal for cadmium will be reached by about 2078.
With the possible exception of sulfate and selenium, modeling predictions and concentration trends imply that the compliance goals for remaining constituents will likely be attained within 100 years, suggesting that natural flushing remains a valid compliance strategy for these constituents as well. The impact on surface water quality from site-related contamination remains negligible."
> Download: Verification Monitoring Report for the Durango, Colorado, Processing Site , LMS/DUP/S09347, U.S. Department of Energy - Legacy Management, December 2012 (7.8MB PDF)
> View DOE NEPA Environmental Assessment: Durango, Colorado, Disposal Site (U.S. DOE Legacy Management)
DOE releases Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact on the Photovoltaic Solar Project at Durango uranium mill tailings disposal site:
> Download DOE Notice June 24, 2011 (PDF)
> Download Environmental Assessment Photovoltaic Solar Project at the Durango, Colorado, Disposal Site, Final, June 2011, LMS/DUD/S06350, DOE/EA-1770 (1.7M PDF)
DOE releases Draft Environmental Assessment on the Photovoltaic Solar Project at Durango uranium mill tailings site:
Under Alternative 1, a PV system would be placed on top of the vegetated surface of the disposal cell. DOE's conceptual configuration of PV panels on top of the disposal cell could generate 4.0 megawatts (MW).
Under Alternative 2, solar arrays would be placed on previously disturbed areas adjacent to the disposal cell in addition to the disposal cell surface. It is expected that a 4.5 MW-capacity system could be installed in these combined areas.
> Download Draft Environmental Assessment: Photovoltaic Solar Project at the Durango, Colorado, Site, DOE/EA 1770, August 2010 (8.3M PDF) · alternate source (16.5M PDF image scan, ADAMS Acc. No. ML102310238)
The Department of Energy [...] recently released more distressing news in its annual report on the Bodo disposal cell. Groundwater is regularly monitored to determine cell integrity and to check for leakage of wastes from the cell. While the cell appears to be functioning properly, groundwater tests in one of seven monitoring wells indicated rising levels of uranium contamination. Testing in 2009 approached 0.077 milligrams of uranium per liter, the "site-specific standard" for the Bodo Cell.
"For some reason we are seeing an increase in uranium at that test site," said Joe Desormeaux, health and safety manager with the DOE Office of Legacy Management. "However, this is not a point-of-compliance well, and as far as protection of public health goes, we see no danger."
There are several possible culprits for the elevated numbers, according to Desormeaux. The locale's naturally occurring uranium could be leaching into the test well; the well could have crossed a coal seam, which may have spiked the numbers; or the Bodo Canyon Cell could be leaking uranium mill tailings. For Travis Stills, of the Energy Mineral Law Center, the cause of the elevated numbers is beyond doubt.
"Those numbers should be at zero," he said. "The fact that there's any reading indicates that the cells are leaking. And the fact that there's been a rising trend in uranium concentrations is frightening."
(The Durango Telegraph Feb. 25, 2010)
> Download 2009 Annual Site Inspection and Monitoring Report for Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title I Disposal Sites - Durango, Colorado, Disposal Site. LMS/S05884. January 2010 (448k PDF)
Although the uranium concentration in the monitoring well showed consecutive increases for several years, the 2009 value miraculously no longer exceeds the site's standard:
- Until 2008, DOE listed EPA's Maximum Concentration Limit (MCL) of 0.044 mg/L as groundwater standard for uranium at the Durango disposal site (according to 40 CFR 192 Table 1, Subpart A).
- In 2009, however, after the monitoring value had further increased to 0.065 mg/L and exceeded the EPA's MCL for the third consecutive year, DOE rather used a site-specific groundwater standard of 0.077 mg/L for uranium, explaining that "Site-specific groundwater standards represent the maximum observed background concentrations reported in samples collected from wells completed in the bedrock aquifer (LTSP, Table 5–4)".
"The uranium levels have decreased back below the standard in 2010."
(2010 Annual Site Inspection and Monitoring Report for Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title I Disposal Sites, January 2011)
Uranium concentration in groundwater monitoring well at Durango uranium mill tailings disposal site exceeds standard up to three-fold:
"Uranium concentrations were below the standard until an increase observed during the June 2011 sampling event. Concentrations continued to increase, and the September 2012 results of 0.227 milligram per liter (mg/L) are the highest observed in well 0618. The results for October and November 2012 have decreased, but still remain over the [0.077 mg/L] standard. The potential cause of this increase is being investigated; however, because well 0618 is not a point-of-compliance well, site levels remain in compliance with the LTSP."
(2012 Annual Site Inspection and Monitoring Report for Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title I Disposal Sites, February 2013)
Uranium concentration in groundwater monitoring well at Durango uranium mill tailings disposal site still exceeds standard twice:
"Uranium concentrations in well 0618 have decreased since September 2012, but still have an increasing trend overall."
(2013 Annual Site Inspection and Monitoring Report for Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title I Disposal Sites, March 2014)
Uranium concentration in groundwater monitoring well at Durango uranium mill tailings disposal site meets new site-specific standard for the first time in five years:
At the June 2, 2015, sampling event, the uranium concentration in well 0618 decreased to 0.064 mg/L, which is below the 0.077 mg/L site-specific standard, but still above EPA's Maximum Concentration Limit of 0.044 mg/L.
(Data Validation Report, June 2015 Groundwater and Surface Water Sampling at the Durango, Colorado, Disposal and Processing Sites, October 2015)
Please note: the time-concentration graphs in this report (and the previous editions back to 2010) show erratic data points for all years back to 2009.
NRC approves natural flushing as groundwater compliance strategy for Durango uranium mill tailings site
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) submitted a final Site Observational Work Plan (SOWP) for the referenced site to the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on January 24, 2002. The DOE submitted a Preliminary Final Ground Water Compliance Action Plan (PFGCAP) to the NRC on August 28, 2003, for the site. It also submitted four Durango Site Verification Monitoring reports, and a Data Validation Package to the NRC.
Based on a review of the reports submitted, the NRC staff concurs with the SOWP and the PFGCAP with conditions.
The proposed ground water and surface water compliance strategy for the mill tailings area is natural flushing with an alternate concentration limit (ACL) for selenium in conjunction with institutional controls and continued monitoring of ground water and surface water.
The proposed ground water and surface water compliance strategy for the raffinate ponds area is no remediation with the application of supplemental standards based on the criterion of limited-use ground water due to widespread selenium contamination, use of institutional controls, and continued monitoring of ground water and surface water as a best management practice.
> Download Technical Evaluation Report Dec. 22, 2008 (ADAMS ML080430466)
Former Durango uranium mill site becomes dog park
In mid-December 2003, 5 acres [2 ha] of grassy field at the former Durango uranium mill site have been dedicated an off-leash dog park. The site is located on the Animas River at the town's southwestern edge. Tests were performed to ensure that any dogs digging their new surroundings wouldn't uncover its past.
The tests show it is safe, at least to a depth of a few feet.
(Denver Post Dec. 25, 2003)
Final Environmental Assessment Document and FONSI released for Durango, Colorado, UMTRA Ground Water Project Site
The compliance strategy for the mill tailings area is to allow natural flushing of the aquifer to decrease contaminant concentrations.
The compliance strategy for the raffinate ponds area is no further remediation in conjunction with the application of supplemental standards for the ground-water constituents.
> Download DOE GJO release Nov. 14, 2002 (160k PDF)
> Download Environmental Assessment of Ground Water Compliance (1.2M PDF)
> Download Finding of No Significant Impact Statement (0.57M PDF)
Draft Environmental Assessment Document for Durango, Colorado, UMTRA Ground
Water Project Site Available for Public Comment
The U.S. Department of Energy Grand Junction Office (DOE–GJO) announces the availability of the draft Environmental Assessment of Ground Water Compliance at the Durango, Colorado, UMTRA Project Site. The targeted compliance strategy for the mill tailings area is to allow natural flushing of the aquifer to decrease contaminant concentrations. In conjunction with this strategy, DOE would ensure that in-place institutional controls are maintained and would continue ground water and surface water monitoring.
Any public comments on the draft Environmental Assessment should be made no later than October 16, 2002.
> Download DOE release Sep. 12, 2002 (PDF)
> Download Environmental Assessment of Ground Water Compliance at the Durango, Colorado, UMTRA Project Site, Draft, September 2002 (1.3M PDF)
> View Durango general site info · DOE-GJO groundwater info
NRC Docket No.
> U.S. DOE Office of Legacy Management: Grand Junction sites
Aerial view (processing site): Google Maps · MSRMaps
Aerial view (disposal site - Cheney disposal cell): Google Maps · MSRMaps
"Conditional closure" recommended for Grand Junction site, as natural flushing strategy leads to uranium concentrations in groundwater declining slower than expected
Although natural flushing is generally progressing at the Grand Junction site, obtaining compliance with the uranium groundwater standard within 50-80 years predicted by groundwater modeling is unlikely based on experience at other LM sites. [...]
Although natural flushing of the alluvial aquifer is progressing, complete restoration of the aquifer is unlikely as outlined in the previous section. Therefore, a new compliance strategy to conditionally close the site is proposed based on CDPHE [Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment] policy. CDPHE's Policy for Conditional Closure for Low-Threat Sites with Residual Ground Water Contamination provides a path to conditional closure along with conditions that must be met for a conditional closure decision.
> Download: 2021 Evaluation of the Groundwater Monitoring Program at the Grand Junction, Colorado, Site , U.S. DOE Legacy Management, December 2021 (9.2MB PDF)
DOE issues Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Plan for the Grand Junction, Colorado, Site
> Download: Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Plan for the Grand Junction, Colorado, Site , April 2022 (8.8MB PDF)
Congress extends deadline for closure of Grand Junction tailings disposal site to 2031
In the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, signed into law by President Donald Trump on December 27, 2020, Congress extended the deadline for accepting tailings material from vicinity properties at the Grand Junction disposal site from Sep. 30, 2023, to Sep. 30, 2031.
> Download: Text of Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 p.1252, Dec. 21, 2020 (8.6MB PDF)
DOE prepares for closure of Grand Junction tailings disposal site, while dispersed tailings material continues to be discovered at vicinity properties
Due to expiring authorization, the [Grand Junction Disposal Site] must be permanently shut down no later than 2023 but will need to cease receiving material in Sept. 30, 2021, to prepare for permanent closure. The facility has sufficient capacity to stay in operation until 2048 based on annual averages. If additional service life is authorized, the facility could continue to provide a permanent resting place for any contamination yet to be discovered in Grand Junction or surrounding areas on the Colorado Plateau. After the facility is permanently closed, disposal of future material must be transported to a licensed, privately run commercial disposal facility more than 400 miles away, where disposal would come with a fee.
"There is still residual radioactive material in the Grand Valley community that is part of the nation's nuclear legacy, but how much is left, we don't really know," said Bill Frazier, site manager of the Grand Junction disposal site.
Overall, in past years approximately 1,000 cubic yards of low-level radioactive material are identified and collected across Grand Junction each year. The material was temporarily stored with the Grand Junction Utility Department until the local government transports it to the Grand Junction disposal site for permanent storage.
LM [DOE Office of Legacy Management] has already begun preparations for the site's potential closure, notifying local stakeholders of the upcoming developments. A change in law would be required to prevent closure, and there is currently a bill in the U.S. Senate (S. Rept. 116-98 ) that would keep the site open until 2031.
(DOE LM Dec. 14, 2020)
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM) is in the preliminary stages of a pilot study on the feasibility of converting select disposal cell covers from rock riprap to an alternative type of cover referred to as an evapotranspiration cover.
Unlike the rock covers, evapotranspiration covers feature vegetation. Because plants remove water from the soil, allowing vegetation to grow on a cell cover could potentially limit precipitation from leaking into the cell below, where contaminated materials are stored. This could, in turn, help prevent groundwater contamination.
At LM's Grand Junction, Colorado, Disposal Site, Frazier and colleagues from LM's Applied Studies and Technology group are testing the concept in a series of test plots.
(DOE LM Dec. 3, 2020)
> See also: Evapotranspiration cover to replace rock armor cover of several uranium mill tailings deposits
Uranium concentrations in groundwater at Grand Junction tailings disposal site show increasing trend over seven years, now exceeding maximum concentration limit
Uranium concentrations in groundwater continued to be below the MCL of 0.044 mg/L in
paleochannel monitoring well 0732 in 2017, but they exceeded the MCL in paleochannel
monitoring well 0731 for the first time since 2003. Paleochannel monitoring wells 0731 and 0732 have shown an increasing trend since 2011.
(2017 Annual Site Inspection and Monitoring Report for Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title I Disposal Sites, March 2018)
Legislation introduced in U.S. Congress to extend authorization for disposal of radioactive waste at Grand Junction tailings disposal site by 25 years
> H.R.5950 - To extend the authorization of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 relating to the disposal site in Mesa County, Colorado (Introduced in House Sep 7, 2016)
> S.3312 - A bill to extend the authorization of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 relating to the disposal site in Mesa County, Colorado (Introduced in Senate Sep 12, 2016)
Uranium concentration in groundwater at former Grand Junction uranium mill site exceeds historic maximum
Groundwater sampling performed at the former Grand Junction processing site in December 2015 showed that the uranium concentration in well 8-4S reached 0.73 mg/L, exceeding the historic maximum of 0.67 mg/L, as measured in 2001. The applicable Maximum Concentration Limit (MCL) is 0.044 mg/L.
(Data Validation Package, December 2015 Groundwater and Surface Water Sampling at the Grand Junction, Colorado, Site, U.S. DOE Legacy Management, LMS/GJO/S01215, March 2016)
State continues to clean up uranium mill tailings at vicinity properties in Grand Junction area
Contamination from radioactive mill tailings in the Grand Junction area remain, long after federal funding for clean-up efforts dried up. According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), mill tailings from more than 160 properties were never removed due to owner refusal to participate in the remediation programs which began in the 1970s.
Additionally, another 1,500 properties were excluded for various reasons from past clean-up programs.
People new to the community are often unaware of Grand Junction's uranium legacy. Oftentimes, landowners first learn of contamination when they seek a building permit, and a subsequent survey finds mill tailings on the property.
There's still help for those who want to remove tailings from their property, however.
Owners are responsible for hauling the mill tailings to the City's locked temporary disposal site on River Road. Later the CDPHE transports the mill tailings to the permanent Department of Energy Grand Junction disposal site near Whitewater.
"We're constantly cleaning up properties," Mike Cosby, Uranium Mill Tailings Remediation Action manager for the Department of Public Health and Environment said. "During heavy construction times we (typically) find two new contaminated properties a week - and that doesn't count the ones we know are contaminated."
Both the CDPHE and the Colorado Real Estate Commission have determined that the presence of mill tailings on a property is a material defect and therefore, must be revealed to potential homebuyers.
Many Realtors, however, neglect to do so, Cosby said.
(Grand Junction Free Press Aug. 23, 2012)
Exceeding the uranium groundwater standard at disposal site of Grand Junction uranium mill tailings does not alarm DOE
In 2009, the uranium concentration in monitoring well MW-0733 (0.076 mg/L) at the disposal site of the Grand Junction uranium mill tailings showed a marked upward trend for the sixth year in a row, exceeding the applicable Maximum Concentration Limit (MCL) of 0.044 mg/L for the third consecutive year.
DOE, however, maintains:
"The elevated uranium in well MW-0733 poses no risk to human health or the environment because the disposal cell is situated on a thick aquiclude overlying "limited use" groundwater that is not for any purpose."
> Download 2009 Annual Site Inspection and Monitoring Report for Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title I Disposal Sites - Grand Junction, Colorado, Disposal Site. LMS/S05884. January 2010 (432k PDF)
In 2010, uranium concentrations in groundwater in well MW-0733 increased further to 0.11 mg/L and were above the MCL of 0.044 mg/L for the fourth consecutive year, but DOE maintains that the elevated uranium poses "no risk".
(2010 Annual Site Inspection and Monitoring Report for Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title I Disposal Sites, January 2011)
In 2012, uranium concentrations in groundwater were above the MCL (of 0.044 mg/L) in well 0733.
Concentrations in well 0733 remained relatively consistent through 2003, at which time an upward trend began, which leveled off at 0.11 mg/L for the 2010 and 2011 sampling events and increased slightly to 0.13 mg/L in 2012.
(2012 Annual Site Inspection and Monitoring Report for Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title I Disposal Sites, February 2013)
In 2013, uranium concentrations in groundwater were above the MCL (of 0.044 mg/L) in well 0733.
Concentrations in well 0733 increased slightly to 0.14 mg/L in 2013.
(2013 Annual Site Inspection and Monitoring Report for Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title I Disposal Sites, March 2014)
The uranium concentration in well 0733 continued to be above the MCL and continued an upward trend; the 2014 concentration was 0.17 mg/L. There is no apparent correlation of uranium concentrations between the paleochannel wells and the disposal cell well.
(2014 Annual Site Inspection and Monitoring Report for Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title I Disposal Sites, March 2015)
The uranium concentration in well 0733 continued to be above the MCL and continued an upward trend; the 2015 concentration was 0.18 mg/L. There is no apparent correlation of uranium concentrations between the paleochannel wells and the disposal cell well.
(2015 Annual Site Inspection and Monitoring Report for Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title I Disposal Sites, March 2016)
The uranium concentration in well 0733 continued to be above the MCL and continued an upward trend; the 2016 concentration was 0.19 mg/L.
(2016 Annual Site Inspection and Monitoring Report for Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title I Disposal Sites, March 2017)
The uranium concentration in disposal cell monitoring well 0733, screened in the tailings but hydraulically isolated from the surrounding unconsolidated soil by an inward hydraulic gradient, continues to increase with a 2017 concentration of 0.20 mg/L.
(2017 Annual Site Inspection and Monitoring Report for Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title I Disposal Sites, March 2018)
Uranium mill tailings underneath roadways still pose problem in Grand Junction
FCI Constructors Inc. is dealing with radioactive waste as they dig up Main Street for the Downtown Uplift restoration project.
The sand-like mill tailings were widely used in the Grand Valley during the 1950s and 1960s as fill dirt until federal officials halted the practice, citing health risks from exposure to gamma radiation and radon gas.
FCI employees have hauled nearly 500 cubic yards of tailings to the temporary storage facility at the city yard along West Avenue, where the material awaits permanent disposal at the Cheney disposal cell, south of Grand Junction.
"There are other tailings that are just as high or higher (in gamma radiation readings)," that are being left in place, said Mike Cosby, Uranium Mill Tailings Remediation Manager for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Construction workers are finding tailings as high as 500 microrems [5 micro-Sievert] per hour, Cosby said.
Natural background radiation is as high as 18 microrems [0.18 micro-Sievert] per hour.
State and federal clean-up programs that lasted more than 25 years removed tailings from underneath thousands of homes and in yards across the valley. Tailings underneath roadways however, were typically left in place.
Despite state and federal clean-up efforts in western Colorado an estimated one million cubic yards [0.76 million cubic metres] of tailings remain outside of the controlled disposal cells, according to the state health department Web site. The bulk of those tailings are located in the Grand Valley, Cosby said.
"The state (health department) would prefer to pull all (the tailings) out right now, but that's not our call," Cosby said. "The city's paying for it."
(Grand Junction Free Press Feb. 1, 2010)
Uranium mill tailings at vicinity properties still an issue at Grand Junction
Grand Junction once had the dubious distinction of being known as the "most radioactive town in America." During the 1950s and 1960s, local contractors and homeowners would load trucks of the sandy-like tailings left over from the former Climax uranium mill site near the Colorado River and use it for back fill and for mixing cement. At the time it wasn't widely known, locally anyway, that the waste product was highly radioactive.
The tailings were used in foundations of homes, sidewalks, patios, streets, schools and commercial buildings.
State and federal remediation programs removed or mitigated many of the radioactive tailings from 1972 to 1998. It was a voluntary program and some owners refused to allow the government to clean up their property. Out of 8,000 known tailings properties in Mesa County approximately 5,000 were cleaned up, said Paul Oliver last year before he retired from the state health department.
Homes that were cleaned up under the first program, the Grand Junction Remediation Action Program, were not remediated to the same standards of the clean-up that came later, the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Program.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is trying to educate real estate agents and the general public about the issue to reduce the number of people who are surprised to learn after an acquisition, that there are mill tailings on their properties.
(Grand Junction Free Press Dec. 4, 2009)
Uranium mill tailings materials removed during road construction in Grand Junction
The city has hauled 1,200 to 1,300 cubic yards of radioactive mill tailings out of Colorado Avenue since March 26, 2008. And there's more to go.
Old mill tailings are being dug up as the city installs a new storm drainage system and constructs a new road and sidewalks on Colorado Avenue.
From 1951 to 1966, individuals and contractors hauled uranium mill tailings away from Grand Junction's Climax uranium mill to use as backfill in various construction projects.
The city had a policy to bed new utility lines with mill tailings, said Paul Oliver, environmental protection specialist at the state health department.
"Mill tailings are very fine grain, there are no sharp edges and it was free," Oliver said. "People didn’t know back then the dangers of radon."
(Grand Junction Free Press May 14, 2008)
Critique of Institutional Controls for Cleanup of Vicinity Properties
The Environmental Law Institute has issued a research report on the effectiveness of institutional controls as a means to control hazards from contamination of vicinity properties with uranium mill tailings.
Excerpt from executive summary:
"The voluntary nature of the UMTRA program has resulted in anomalous gaps in the protection against future risks provided by institutional controls. The database of vicinity properties prepared by DOE contains substantial information about any tailings left in place at sites cleaned up under the program. It contains no information, however, about tailings at properties whose owners refused to be evaluated or cleaned up under the program. This means that there will be no records to show where the potentially highest risks are located, while properties where no risk remains, because all tailings were removed, will be extensively documented."
Institutional Controls Case Study: Grand Junction , Environmental Law Institute, Washington, DC, 1999 37 p.
No groundwater cleanup for Climax Uranium Millsite
"The U.S.Department of Energy (DOE) Grand Junction Office (GJO) announces the availability of the Environmental Assessment of the Ground Water Compliance Activities at the Grand Junction UMTRA Project Site (Climax Uranium Millsite).
This Environmental Assessment analyzes the potential environmental impacts for the proposed action of no remediation and application of supplemental standards. DOE determined this compliance strategy as appropriate for the residual contamination that exists in the groundwater as a result of the milling operations at the former Climax Uranium Millsite in Grand Junction, Colorado. This determination is based on site and regional conditions revealing that shallow groundwater is naturally poor quality and not fit for potable use. The DOE Finding of No Significant Impact documents that no significant environmental impacts will occur from the chosen groundwater cleanup strategy and that there will be no need for an Environmental Impact Statement." (emphasis added)
> View DOE GJO release (Oct 25, 1999)
> Download Environmental Assessment of Ground Water Compliance at the Grand Junction UMTRA Project Site (Climax Uranium Millsite), Sept. 1999 (PDF)
> Download Finding of No Significant Impact - Ground Water Compliance at the Grand Junction UMTRA Project Site (Climax Uranium Millsite), Sept. 1999 (PDF)
> View Grand Junction general site info · DOE GJO groundwater site info
NRC Docket No.
> U.S. DOE Office of Legacy Management: Gunnison sites
Aerial view (processing site): Google Maps · MSRMaps
Aerial view (disposal site): Google Maps · MSRMaps
Monitoring report confirms failure of natural flushing strategy for groundwater restoration at Gunnison uranium mill tailings site
"Uranium and manganese plumes extending from the former mill site to the gravel-pit ponds confirm continuing migration of contamination from the site to the gravel pits. For both COPCs [constituents of potential concern], the temporally consistent plume geometries and concentrations in the vicinity of the site and gravel pits suggest active former mill site uranium and manganese sources. Two onsite and four downgradient vicinity monitoring wells show increasing uranium concentrations. Average uranium plume concentrations also increased between 2010 and 2022. If these trends continue, the uranium MCL [maximum concentration limit] will not be achieved within the 100-year performance period." [...]
"The uranium temporal plume mass being relatively stable from 2010 to 2022 suggests that attainment of the 0.044 mg/L MCL within the 100-year performance period is not likely."
> Download: 2022 Verification Monitoring Report for the Gunnison, Colorado, Processing Site , U.S. DOE Legacy Management, Feb.2023
> See also: 2023 Verification Monitoring Report for the Gunnison, Colorado, Processing Site , U.S. DOE Legacy Management, June 2024
After failure of natural flushing strategy DOE now considers "no remediation" strategy for groundwater restoration at Gunnison uranium mill tailings site
"Groundwater modeling predicted that natural flushing of the alluvial aquifer beneath and downgradient of the site would be completed within the 100-year time frame specified in Subpart B of 40 CFR 192. Although there is evidence of natural flushing processes occurring in the alluvial aquifer, natural flushing of the alluvial aquifer is not likely to be completed within 100 years based on the more recent monitoring data. Accordingly, DOE is currently updating the GCAP [Groundwater Compliance Action Plan] to propose a new compliance strategy for the Gunnison site that involves no remediation and application of alternate concentration limits (ACLs)."
(2016 Verification Monitoring Report for the Gunnison, Colorado, Processing Site, LMS/GUP/S14690, U.S. DOE Legacy Management, June 2017)
After failure of natural flushing strategy DOE now evaluates other options for groundwater restoration at Gunnison uranium mill tailings site
"Based on a current examination of the water-quality data and the groundwater model, it is apparent water quality at the site is not improving at the rate predicted by the groundwater model. Therefore, it is unlikely that the natural flushing strategy is working as we predicted. As a result, we are currently evaluating other options in accordance with the final programmatic environment impact statement for the uranium mill tailings remedial action ground water project."
(DOE letter to NRC dated Feb. 4, 2015)
Uranium in groundwater of former Gunnison mill site continues to exceed standard more than tenfold; compliance strategy by natural flushing "may need to be revised"
"Concentrations of uranium in the alluvial groundwater beneath the former mill site are above the MCL. The uranium concentration in monitoring well 0006, which completed in the shallow zone, remains high but has a downward trend. Highly variable uranium concentrations in this well indicate that residual soil contamination has a localized effect. Construction activities on the former mill site may be mobilizing uranium in soils and contributing to elevated concentrations in groundwater. If concentrations continue to remain high, the 99 year natural flushing time predicted by groundwater modeling and compliance with the 100 year regulatory time-frame for natural flushing at monitoring well 0006 may be unlikely. Accordingly, the compliance strategy for this site may need to be revised."
> Download 2011 Verification Monitoring Report for the Gunnison, Colorado, Processing Site , LMS/GUP/S08005, U.S. Department of Energy Legacy Management, December 2011 (1.6MB PDF)
Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact Documents
Available for UMTRA Ground Water Project Site at Gunnison, Colorado
The Environmental Assessment states that DOE plans a passive ground-water remediation strategy through natural flushing coupled with institutional controls and continued monitoring to meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ground-water standards.
> Download DOE release Aug. 21, 2002 (PDF)
> Download Environmental Assessment (1.2M PDF) · FONSI (240k PDF)
> View Gunnison general site info · DOE–GJO groundwater info .
NRC Docket No.
> For the Maybell West Title II uranium mill tailings site, see here
> U.S. DOE Office of Legacy Management: Maybell site
Aerial View: Google Maps · MSRMaps
BLM issues Public Land Order for Maybell tailings disposal site (where claim stakes were found...)
On March 27, 2008, the Bureau of Land Management issued an order permanently transfering 160 acres of public land to the Department of Energy for its Maybell West Uranium Repository, in accordance with the terms of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 (Public Law 95-604), as amended. However: "The Secretary of the Interior shall retain the authority to
administer any existing claims, rights, and interests in this land that
were established before the effective date of the transfer."
Federal Register: April 18, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 76) p. 21152
(download full text )
Claim stakes found on Maybell tailings disposal site
"Three claim stakes were found inside the perimeter fence several hundred feet west and southwest of the disposal cell. BLM confirmed that they are uranium exploration claims staked by Western Fuels Incorporated (PL-4). BLM also confirmed that all BLM property withdrawn and transferred to DOE for the disposal site includes subsurface rights. Two private parcels of land purchased in fee simple by the State of Colorado and acquired by DOE for the site are currently being researched to determine if subsurface rights were included with the transfer."
(2006 Annual Site Inspection and Monitoring Report for Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title I Disposal Sites, December 2006, U.S. DOE, Office of Legacy Management)
"In 2008, an additional claim stake was found at the base of the northeast corner of the disposal cell."
(2008 Annual Site Inspection and Monitoring Report for Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title I Disposal Sites, January 2009, U.S. DOE, Office of Legacy Management)
In 2009, "Another mining claim stake was found on site, on top of the disposal cell. This claim, like the ones discovered previously, is considered a "nuisance claim" since protection of the disposal cell is provided through the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) general license."
(2009 Annual Site Inspection and Monitoring Report for Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title I Disposal Sites, U.S. DOE, Office of Legacy Management, 2010 - emphasis added)
Now, that a claim stake was found on top of the disposal cell, one might wonder whether DOE is correct in assuming that Western Fuels intends to mine the ground underneath the pile: possibly, they rather plan to reprocess the tailings pile itself for residual uranium? Given the amount of 1.76 million short tons of ore processed, the ore grade of 0.13% U3O8, and the recovery rate of 88%, the tailings still contain 0.0156% U3O8 (0.0132% U) - corresponding to grades of low grade ores as now being proposed for mining in Namibia, for example; the total uranium contents of the tailings pile amounts to just 211 t U, however...
Legitimacy still unclear of claim stakes found on Maybell uranium mill tailings site
"No new mineral claim stakes were found on site in 2010, and DOE has not been contacted in regard to the previous uranium exploration claims found on site in 2006, 2008, and 2009 (that were staked by Western Fuels Incorporated). These claims are considered ''nuisance Claims,'' as protections provided under the NRC general license preclude any mining activity that would jeopardize the integrity of the disposal cell. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has indicated that all federal land withdrawn by DOE for the disposal site included the subsurface mineral rights. However, it is unknown whether senior rights existed on the federal lands withdrawn or if the two private parcels of land purchased in fee simple by the State of Colorado and transferred to DOE as part of the site included the subsurface mineral rights."
(2010 Annual Site Inspection and Monitoring Report for Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title I Disposal Sites, U.S. DOE, Office of Legacy Management, January 2011 - emphasis added)
And again: claim stakes found on Maybell tailings disposal site in 2011
"New lode mining claim locator stakes were found on site, including on the disposal cell. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) notified the claimant that those stakes located on the withdrawn portion of the site were placed in error. Title information indicates that the complete mineral estates were not acquired for the two private parcels that make up the balance of the site. However, protection of the disposal system from third-party surface and subsurface activities is provided under the general license."
(2011 Annual Inspection and Monitoring Report for Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title I Disposal Sites, U.S. DOE, Office of Legacy Management, January 2012)
And again: lode mining claim locator stakes found on Maybell tailings disposal site in 2012
"In 2006, lode mining claim locator stakes were first discovered onsite inside the perimeter fence. Additional locator stakes were found onsite in the years following, including several on top of the disposal cell in 2011. Two more were found onsite in 2012. Upon contact, BLM confirmed these to be locator stakes and not actual claim stakes, and indicated they were a precursor to a possible claim being filed and that increased uranium exploration is occurring in the area. The ''Notice of Location'' form on one of the stakes indicated Oregon Energy LLC as the locator. BLM said Western Fuels Incorporated had also placed some of the stakes. If claims were to be filed, they would be considered nuisance claims, as protections pursuant to the NRC general license for the disposal site appear to preclude any surface or subsurface activity that would jeopardize the disposal cell and its associated drainage control structures. Research would be needed to determine if valid subsurface mineral rights that predate BLM's site withdrawal exist. Additional research would be needed to determine whether the subsurface mineral rights were included with the two private parcels of land on the west and south sides of the site that were purchased in fee simple by the State of Colorado and transferred to DOE. The status of subsurface mineral ownership and confirmation of the apparent regulatory protections has not been obtained."
(2012 UMTRCA Title I Annual Report, U.S. Department of Energy, February 2013)
No new claim stakes found on Maybell tailings disposal site in 2013 - an indication that prospectors have lost hope that the uranium price will ever recover?
"No additional stakes were found in 2013."
(2013 UMTRCA Title I Annual Report, U.S. Department of Energy, March 2014)
NRC Docket No.
> U.S. DOE Office of Legacy Management: Naturita sites
Aerial View (processing site): Google Maps · MSRMaps
Aerial View (Upper Burbank disposal site): Google Maps · MSRMaps
Man-made earthquakes occurred close to Naturita and Slick Rock uranium mill tailings disposal sites
"Several earthquakes occurred close to the Naturita and Slick Rock sites, but the earthquake magnitudes were below all reporting levels defined in the respective LTSPs [Long-Term Surveillance Plans]. Program engineers performed peak ground acceleration calculations, but the results did not require any further action. The cause of the frequent earthquakes has been identified as a Colorado River desalination project using injection wells in and around the Paradox Valley area. The project is under review by the appropriate agency and may be discontinued."
> Download: 2020 Annual Site Inspection and Monitoring Report for Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title I Disposal Sites , U.S. DOE Legacy Management, March 2021 (31.8MB PDF)
The largest earthquake induced by the injection wells to date was a 4.5 magnitude quake on March 4, 2019.
> View: Paradox Valley Unit (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation)
> See also: Paradox Valley Unit at Wikipedia
Paradox Valley is the site of the unrelated Piñon Ridge uranium mill project.
Groundwater monitoring to be terminated at Naturita tailings disposal site
On Oct. 31, 2013, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) requested the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's concurrence on DOE's decision to terminate ground water monitoring at the Naturita Colorado Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) disposal site.
By letter dated Apr. 15, 2014, NRC staff did not object to DOE's proposal, but cautioned that the Commission might still require some form of groundwater monitoring. (ADAMS Acc. No. ML13333A806)
Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact Documents Available for UMTRA Ground Water Project Site at Naturita, Colorado
> Download GJO release Apr. 23, 2003 (PDF)
> Download: Final EA (1.2M PDF) · FONSI (PDF)
Draft Environmental Assessment Document for Naturita, Colorado, UMTRA Ground Water Project Site Available for Public Comment
A compliance strategy is being proposed of no further remedial action of the ground water with the application of alternate concentration limits for uranium and vanadium.
Public comments on the draft Environmental Assessment should be made no later than March 24, 2003.
> DOE GJO release Feb. 20, 2003 (PDF)
> View Naturita general site info · DOE GJO groundwater info
NRC Docket No.
> U.S. DOE Office of Legacy Management: Rifle sites
Aerial view (Old Rifle processing site): Google Maps · MSRMaps
Aerial view (New Rifle processing site): Google Maps · MSRMaps
Aerial view (Estes Gulch disposal site): Google Maps · MSRMaps
Contaminant concentrations continue to exceed standards in groundwater at Rifle uranium mill and tailings sites
Uranium is the most prevalent milling-related contaminant occurring in alluvial aquifer groundwater at the Old Rifle site. Concentrations continue to exceed the UMTRCA standard of 0.044 mg/L in five of the six onsite monitoring wells. Two of these wells show no attenuation (no statistically significant trend) and in one well (0305), uranium concentrations are significantly increasing. [...]
At the New Rifle site, uranium, molybdenum, and vanadium receive the most focus because of their magnitude and spatial extent. Although concentrations of these three constituents have generally decreased across the monitoring network (at times significantly), they are still elevated relative to corresponding compliance goals in most onsite and adjacent downgradient wells. Exceptions are onsite wells 0215 and 0216, where mixing with river water occurs. In November 2023, uranium concentrations exceeded the 0.044 mg/L UMTRCA MCL in 10 of 16 monitoring wells (excluding background) as far downgradient as well 0620. [...]
> Download: 2022 and 2023 Verification Monitoring Report for the Old and New Rifle, Colorado, Processing Sites , U.S. DOE, June 2024
Water levels in Rifle uranium mill tailings disposal cell increasing despite active pumping
The Rifle, Colorado, Disposal/Processing Site continues to accumulate pore water, and water levels in the disposal cell are increasing despite active pumping of pore water from the disposal cell into an evaporation pond. Three unplanned system shutdowns occurred since the 2022 annual site inspection that caused the elevation of the pore water within the disposal cell to rise above the elevation of the top of the disposal cell liner for short durations. To address these issues, DOE has initiated accelerated planning and associated actions to increase the extraction and management of pore water building up within the disposal cell. This will include optimization of the existing pumping infrastructure and installation of additional extraction wells, power, and evaporation capacity.
(2023 Annual Site Inspection and Monitoring Report for Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title I Disposal Sites, U.S. DOE Legacy Management, March 2024)
Manufacturing facility for modular homes proposed on former New Rifle uranium mill site
Local Habitat [for Humanity] President Gail Schwartz proposed to Rifle City Council last week an effort to build a facility for manufacturing modular homes.
The only little snag is, the proposed site itself was formerly used to produce uranium and vanadium concentrates. At what was called the New Rifle Mill, Union Carbide Corporation produced 400 tons of uranium ore per day from 1958-1970, with further uranium development between 1971-1972. It also produced the vanadium concentrate until 1984, city documents state.
The mill was eventually contaminated by radioactive tailings while the groundwater, now being treated by the Department of Energy through natural flushing, had traces of arsenic, molybdenum, nitrate, selenium, uranium and vanadium.
Rifle cannot legally sell the property. It can, however, lease the property to Habitat for $1 per year. The DOE has also prohibited digging more than three feet in the area unless a special permit is obtained, city documents state.
(Post Independent Jan. 25, 2023)
Contaminant concentrations continue to exceed standards in groundwater at Rifle uranium mill and tailings sites
Verification monitoring in 2021 at the Old and New Rifle sites entailed routine semiannual sampling of groundwater and surface water and monitoring of ICs [Institutional Controls]. Monitoring results continue to indicate that milling-related contamination persists at the sites.
Uranium is the most prevalent milling-related contaminant occurring in alluvial aquifer groundwater at the Old Rifle site. Concentrations continue to exceed the UMTRCA standard of 0.044 mg/L in five of the six onsite monitoring wells. Selenium and vanadium concentrations exceed relevant benchmarks in two wells (0305 and 0655) coinciding with the former tailings area.
At the New Rifle site, uranium, molybdenum, and vanadium receive the most focus because of their magnitude and spatial extent. Although levels of these three constituents have generally decreased across the monitoring network (at times significantly), they are still elevated relative to corresponding benchmarks in most onsite and adjacent downgradient wells. Exceptions are onsite wells 0215 and 0216, where mixing with river water occurs. In November 2021, uranium concentrations exceeded the 0.044 mg/L UMTRCA standard in 12 of 16 monitoring wells (excluding background) as far downgradient as well 0620. [...]
At both the Old and New Rifle sites, multiple ICs are in place to prevent domestic use of groundwater and to ensure protection of human health and the environment. [...]
> Download: 2021 Verification Monitoring Report for the Old and New Rifle, Colorado, Processing Sites , U.S. DOE, July 2022
A team of researchers from Sandia, Lawrence Berkeley and Pacific Northwest national laboratories tested a "sponge-like" mineral that can "soak up" uranium at a former uranium mill near Rifle, Colorado.
The researchers found that the mineral, calcium apatite, soaks up and binds uranium from the groundwater, reducing it by more than ten-thousandfold.
"The apatite technology has successfully reduced the concentration of uranium, vanadium and molybdenum in the groundwater at the Rifle site," said Mark Rigali, the Sandia geochemist leading the project. "Moreover, the levels of uranium have remained below the Department of Energy's target concentration for more than three years."
> View: Using a mineral 'sponge' to catch uranium -- Remediation technology reduces uranium levels ten-thousandfold at legacy site in Colorado , Sandia Labs News Releases, June 9, 2021
> See also: In Situ Hydroxyapatite Permeable Reactive Barrier Performance at the Old Rifle, CO Uranium Processing Mill Site , by Williams, K. H., Dong, W. and Rigali, M., Geological Society of America, GSA 2020 Connects Online, Paper No. 148-9, Oct. 28, 2020
> See also: An 'apatite' for radionuclides , Sandia Labs News Releases, October 20, 2015
Photovoltaic solar project on site of former Rifle uranium mill
Construction will begin in June 2021 on a new 2 MW solar array on a former uranium processing site. The new array will join two existing arrays (totaling 3.7 MW), which were constructed at the site between 2008 and 2010 to power the city's wastewater treatment plant and other municipal facilities, while also providing energy to residential subscribers.
City officials expect construction on the new solar array will wrap up by September 2021.
(DOE LM May 11, 2021)
DOE changes reasoning for proposal to abandon groundwater cleanup at former Old Rifle uranium mill site from "technical impracticability" to "acceptable human health and environmental risks"
On Sep. 21, 2017, U.S. DOE transmitted to NRC a revised Draft Groundwater Compliance Action Plan for the Old Rifle, Colorado, Processing Site. Other than in the first draft of March 2012 (see below), DOE no longer bases its proposal to abandon groundwater cleanup at the site on "technical impracticability", although "the flow and transport processes in the alluvial aquifer suggest that neither natural attenuation nor active remediation will reduce uranium concentrations in groundwater to background levels or
the uranium MCL within the 100-year timeframe prescribed in UMTRCA regulations".
DOE now rather claims that no remediation is required, as institutional controls prevent the use of any contaminated groundwater, leading to "acceptable human health and environmental risks".
> Download: Draft Groundwater Compliance Action Plan for the Old Rifle, Colorado, Processing Site , LMS/RFO/S07857, July 2017, U.S. Department of Energy, Legacy Management (ADAMS Acc. No. ML17268A155)
NRC releases DOE's draft plan to abandon groundwater cleanup at former New Rifle uranium mill site
"This revision supports the change in compliance strategy from natural flushing to no remediation with application of alternative concentration limits (ACLs)." [emphasis added]
> Download: draft Groundwater Compliance Action Plan for the New Rifle, Colorado, Processing Site , LMS/RFN/S01920, U.S. Department of Energy, Legacy Management, December 2016 (42MB PDF)
[the draft plan is not available at DOE's Legacy Management website (yet?)]
DOE proposes to abandon groundwater cleanup at former Old Rifle uranium mill site for "technical impracticability"
On May 1, 2012, U.S. DOE transmitted to NRC a Draft Groundwater Compliance Action Plan for the Old Rifle, Colorado, UMTRCA Title I Processing Site:
"This draft Groundwater Compliance Action Plan presents the most recent characterization information and a new compliance strategy for groundwater cleanup at the Old Rifle, Colorado, former uranium-ore processing site.
The proposed groundwater compliance strategy will continue to be protective of human health and the environment. A recommendation of -- no remediation with the application of supplemental standards based on technical impracticability -- is provided."
> Download: Draft Groundwater Compliance Action Plan for the Old Rifle, Colorado, UMTRCA Title I Processing Site , LMS/RFO/S07857, March 2012, U.S. Department of Energy, Legacy Management (ADAMS Acc. No. ML12123A719)
DOE proposes relaxed groundwater standards for former New Rifle uranium mill site
On April 30, 2012, U.S. DOE transmitted to NRC a proposal for relaxed groundwater standards at the former New Rifle processing site:
"The U. S. Department of Energy, Office of Legacy Management (DOE-LM) is currently planning to update the New Rifle Groundwater Compliance Action Plan (GCAP) in 2013. One potential compliance strategy is no remediation with the application of alternate concentration limits (ACLs)."
> Download: Development of Risk-Based Alternate Concentration Limits for the New Rifle, Colorado, Processing Site (Draft) , LMS/RFN/S08753, March 2012, U.S. Department of Energy Legacy Management (ADAMS Acc. No. ML121220331)
Natural flushing at Old Rifle processing site not functioning as predicted
Concentrations of selenium and vanadium at the Old Rifle site continue to decrease. Uranium concentrations do not display any consistent trends and have not declined as the modeling results in the Site Observational Work Plan (SOWP) predicted. The modeling results indicated that uranium would meet its groundwater standard sitewide within 30 years.
> Download 2010 Verification Monitoring Report for the Old and New Rifle, Colorado, Processing Sites, September 2010 (1.9M PDF - DOE LM)
> Download Old Rifle Title I Processing Site, Rifle, Colorado - What Are They Doing on My Site? presentation by Richard Bush, Rifle Site Manager, November 16, 2010 (3.5M PowerPoint - DOE LM)
Last of historic uranium mill tailings properties in Colorado transferred
On July 1, 2004, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment announced that the last uranium mill tailings reclamation site in Colorado has been cleaned up and the property transferred to the City of Rifle.
The department's Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division has managed the cleanup of the Rifle West (New) Mill Site under the provisions of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) program. The act gave Colorado authorization to clean up these sites in 1978. Authorization for surface soils cleanup ended in 1998, while ground and surface water authorization continues indefinitely.
> View CDPHE release July 1, 2004
Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Siginificant Impact documents available for New Rifle, Colorado, UMTRA Ground Water Project Site
> Download GJO release July 29, 2003 (PDF)
> Download Environmental Assessment (3.1MB PDF) · FONSI (160k PDF)
Draft Environmental Assessment Document for New Rifle, Colorado, UMTRA Ground Water Project Site Available for Public Comment
The targeted compliance strategy for the New Rifle site is natural flushing in conjunction with institutional controls and monitoring.
> Download GJO release June 2, 2003 (PDF)
New Groundwater Compliance Strategy Proposed for Vanadium at New Rifle, Colorado, UMTRA Site Based on Pilot Study Results
DOE is proposing a compliance strategy of no remediation for vanadium in the alluvial aquifer, in conjunction with application of an alternate concentration limit for vanadium and establishment of
institutional controls for the site.
> Download Grand Junction Office Perspective, July 2002 (PDF) , p. 6-7
Draft Environmental Assessment of Ground Water Compliance at the New Rifle, Colorado, UMTRA Site Available
The draft Environmental Assessment analyzes the potential environmental impacts associated with the proposed compliance strategy of natural flushing with institutional controls to meet the ground water cleanup standards to mitigate human health risks for all contaminants except vanadium.
> View GJO release Nov. 28, 2001
> View Rifle general site info · GJO groundwater info
NRC Docket No.
> U.S. DOE Office of Legacy Management: Slick Rock sites
Aerial View (West and East processing sites): Google Maps · MSRMaps
Aerial View (disposal site): Google Maps · MSRMaps
DOE releases Long-Term Surveillance Plan for the Slick Rock, Colorado, Disposal Site
> Download: Long-Term Surveillance Plan for the Slick Rock, Colorado, Disposal Site, Version 1.0 , U.S. DOE Legacy Management, July 2024 (9.5MB PDF)
Natural flushing strategy ineffective in reducing major contaminant concentrations in groundwater at former Slick Rock uranium mill sites
Concentrations in SRE [Slick Rock East] site wells indicate natural flushing is effectively reducing selenium to below the UMTRCA MCL [maximum concentration limit]; however, uranium concentration trends in SRE site wells indicate natural flushing has not been an effective attenuation mechanism for uranium for the past 20 years. Increases in uranium concentration in offsite wells from the former tailings area at the SRE site are reported to be caused by the transport of milling-related uranium to these locations across the river.
Selenium and molybdenum concentrations within the alluvial aquifer at the SRW [Slick Rock West] site indicate natural flushing has not been an effective attenuation mechanism for either COPC, which is consistent with conclusions drawn in the last several VMRs [Verification Monitoring Reports]. Selenium concentrations in five SRW wells range from 1.2 to 2.8 mg/L in 2020. Well 0340 also had an increasing molybdenum concentration trend and had the highest concentration at the SRW site of 1.9 mg/L in 2020. Molybdenum was also the only COPC [constituent of potential concern] concentration above the benchmark level in SRW Entrada Sandstone well 0317 during the 2020 sampling; however, Mann-Kendall trend analysis indicated molybdenum had a decreasing trend in this well.
Overall decreasing concentration trends in uranium, manganese, and nitrate in SRW site wells indicate that uranium, manganese and nitrate are flushing out of the alluvial aquifer at the SRW site. [Emphasis added]
> Download: 2020 Verification Monitoring Report for the Slick Rock, Colorado, Processing Sites , U.S. DOE Legacy Management, Nov. 2021 (15.9MB PDF)
Man-made earthquakes occurred close to Naturita and Slick Rock uranium mill tailings disposal sites
> View here
Groundwater restoration by natural flushing at former Slick Rock uranium mill sites not functioning as predicted
"Evaluation of trends documented in Section 5.0 suggest that certain constituents might not attenuate as initially predicted based on groundwater modeling conducted for the SOWP [Site Observational Work Plan] (DOE 2002b). Although it is still early in the 100-year time frame established in 40 CFR 192, time trend analysis for many constituents and wells indicate a stable (flat) or, in some cases, an increasing trend."
> Download Verification Monitoring Report for the Slick Rock, Colorado, Processing Sites, LMS/SRE-SRW/S07699, June 2011, U.S. Department of Energy Legacy Management: DOE LM (3MB PDF) · NRC ADAMS (30MB image scan PDF)
> Download Verification Monitoring Report for the Slick Rock, Colorado,
Processing Sites, LMS/SRE-SRW/S08837, May 2012, U.S. Department of Energy Legacy Management: DOE LM (4.5MB PDF) · NRC ADAMS (23.8MB image scan PDF)
DOE releases Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact Documents for Slick Rock, Colorado, UMTRA Ground Water Project
"The Environmental Assessment states that DOE's compliance strategy for both sites is to allow natural flushing to reduce the levels of contaminant concentrations in the ground water to acceptable levels within the 100-year time frame allowed by law. In conjunction with the compliance strategy, DOE will ensure that institutional controls are maintained to prevent future use of the ground water. Institutional controls protect public health and the environment by limiting access to a contaminated medium. DOE will also continue monitoring ground water and surface water at the Slick Rock sites."
> Download DOE GJO release March 13, 2003 (PDF)
> Download Final EA (4.5MB PDF) and FONSI (250k PDF)
DOE releases Draft Environmental Assessment Document for Slick Rock, Colorado, UMTRA Ground Water Project
The targeted ground water compliance strategy is natural flushing.
Any public comments on the draft Environmental Assessment should be made no later than January 21, 2003.
> GJO news release Dec. 19, 2002 (PDF)
License for Long-Term Custody
"On August 31, 1998, the Division of Waste Management placed the Slick Rock, Colorado, uranium mill tailings disposal site, located at Burro Canyon,
Colorado, under general license, consistent with the provisions of
10 CFR 40.27. The Slick Rock disposal site was reclaimed by the Department
of Energy (DOE) under Title I of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation
Control Act of 1978 (UMTRCA). The Slick Rock site will be the fifteenth of
nineteen disposal sites scheduled to be completed by DOE and licensed by
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) under UMTRCA. At this Time, three
disposal sites, Ambrosia Lake, New Mexico, and Naturita and Maybell,
Colorado, remain to be licensed by NRC following completion and submittal
by DOE of the appropriate documentation. When these three sites are
licensed by NRC, DOE will have completed the surface cleanup and
reclamation phase of the uranium mill tailings remedial action project. The
nineteenth site, at Grand Junction, Colorado, is not scheduled for
completion until 2023, since it will remain open to accept additional
contaminated materials found at vicinity properties."
[NRC Weekly Information Report For the Week Ending September 4, 1998]
> View Slick Rock general site info · DOE GJO groundwater site info
Lowman
NRC Docket No.
> U.S. DOE Office of Legacy Management: Lowman site
Aerial view: Google Maps
Ambrosia Lake · Shiprock
NRC Docket No.
> U.S. DOE Office of Legacy Management: Ambrosia Lake site
Aerial view: Google Maps · MSRMaps
> For the Quivira Mining Ambrosia Lake uranium mill site, look here
Sharp increase of groundwater contaminants in monitoring well at Ambrosia Lake Title I uranium mill tailings site
At the annual groundwater sampling event on Nov. 20, 2014, one of two monitoring wells sampled showed unprecedented sharp increases in concentrations of molybdenum and uranium.
> Download: Data Validation Package, November 2014 Water Sampling at the Ambrosia Lake, New Mexico, Disposal Site , LMS/AMB/S01114, U.S. DOE Legacy Management, February 2015 (3.7 MB PDF)
However, at the Dec. 3, 2015, sampling event, the concentrations returned to previous levels.
> Download: Data Validation Package, December 2015 Water Sampling at the Ambrosia Lake, New Mexico, Disposal Site , LMS/AMB/S01215, U.S. DOE Legacy Management, March 2016 (3.4 MB PDF)
License for Long-Term Custody
"On September 25, 1998, staff from the Division of Waste Management (DWM) licensed the Department of Energy (DOE) as the long-term custodian for the
Ambrosia Lake, New Mexico, mill. With the licensing of this site, DWM has
completed all its obligations for Fiscal Year 1998 as required by Title I
of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act. Two DOE sites remain to
be licensed. DOE anticipates having these sites ready for licensing in the
first quarter of Calendar Year 1999. When the two remaining sites are
licensed, the DOE Title I program for reclaiming abandoned uranium mills
will be complete. DOE will continue its program to restore and monitor
contaminated groundwater at the sites over the next couple of decades."
[NRC Weekly Information Report For the Week Ending October 2, 1998]
> View Ambrosia Lake general site info · DOE GJO groundwater site info
NRC Docket No.
> U.S. DOE Office of Legacy Management: Shiprock site
Aerial view: Google Maps · MSRMaps
DOE plans improved groundwater remediation system at Shiprock uranium mill tailings site
This Interim Treatment Plan outlines the proposed transition between treating extracted
groundwater in the existing evaporation pond and treating water with a new water treatment unit [...].
The current groundwater treatment at the Shiprock site involves extracting groundwater from
15 extraction locations and treating the water, via evaporation, in the existing evaporation pond.
The new water treatment unit will utilize the existing extraction network and there will be no
changes to the current Groundwater Compliance Action Plan. [...]
The new water treatment unit features electrocoagulation to remove suspended solids and
closed-circuit reverse osmosis to remove dissolved solids. The unit can treat extracted
groundwater volumes and will generate at least 80% of the influent water as treated effluent that
is suitable for surface discharge. The remaining brine will be diverted into new segmented
modular evaporation ponds.
> Download: DRAFT Interim Treatment Plan for the Shiprock, New Mexico, Disposal Site , LMS/SHP/44869, July 2024
> Download: FINAL Interim Treatment Plan for the Shiprock, New Mexico, Disposal Site , LMS/SHP/44869, Aug. 2024
Groundwater at Shiprock uranium mill tailings site will be contaminated in the long term, report concludes
"A conclusion of this report is that any groundwater flowing into the area of the terrace containing mill-derived solid-phase uranium and sulfate (mill-affected, Figure 4) will become contaminated regardless of origin. Dissolution of mill-derived solid-phase uranium and sulfate will continue for an unknown, extended period until the solid phase is exhausted."
> Download: Investigation of Non-Mill-Related Water Inputs to the Terrace Alluvium at the Shiprock, New Mexico, Disposal Site , LMS/SHP/S14504, U.S. DOE Legacy Management, December 2022 (5.2 MB PDF)
DOE to remove ineffective groundwater remediation system at Shiprock uranium mill tailings site
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM) is planning
to remove equipment and infrastructure material no longer needed at the Shiprock, New Mexico, Disposal Site, October through December.
The groundwater remediation system in Many Devils Wash (MDW) was installed in 2002 as a part of the groundwater compliance strategy outlined in the Final Ground Water Compliance Action Plan for Remediation at the Shiprock, New Mexico, UMTRA Site. Subsequent site investigation demonstrated that the contamination found in MDW groundwater is not mill-related, and therefore the groundwater remediation system components that are associated with that area are no longer needed. Groundwater remediation efforts continue in areas where there is mill-related contamination.
(U.S. DOE Legacy Management, Sep. 16 / Oct. 3, 2022 )
Contaminant concentrations in groundwater at Shiprock uranium mill tailings site mostly unchanged after partial suspension of active pumping
Because of the deteriorating evaporation pond liner, LM suspended pumping at all Shiprock site treatment system locations except Bob Lee Wash on April 21, 2017. The (now 3-year) suspension continued into this reporting period for all treatment system locations except Bob Lee Wash and the floodplain trenches. [...]
In general, uranium, sulfate, and nitrate concentrations measured this reporting period were similar to previous (pre-pumping-suspension) results in the majority of floodplain wells. Relative to baseline conditions, significant reductions in all contaminant concentrations are still apparent despite the reduced pumping volumes in the last 3 years. [...]
[However, despite these reductions, uranium concentrations in most floodplain wells still exceed the 0.044 mg/L MCL (maximum concentration limit).]
> Download: Annual Performance Report, April 2019 Through March 2020 for the Shiprock, New Mexico, Disposal Site , U.S. DOE Legacy Management, August 2021 (42.3MB PDF)
Monitoring of uranium mill tailings sites on Navajo land suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic
> See here
Draft Revised Groundwater Compliance Action Plan Work Plan released for the Shiprock Disposal Site, adressing failure of active pumping strategy
On March 17, 2020, DOE submitted the Draft Revised Groundwater Compliance Action Plan (GCAP) Work Plan for the Shiprock Disposal Site for NRC review.
The Shiprock site has a GCAP that was approved by NRC in 2003; the site conceptual model that the groundwater compliance approach was based on requires significant updates for information gathered since 2003, including an indication that the approach is not expected to achieve the regulatory compliance goals set by the GCAP. Additionally, the evaporation pond that is part of the current groundwater compliance strategy is aging and the liner is in need of replacement or removal, and a decision to remove the pond would require a viable alternate strategy. The revised GCAP will evaluate whether an alternate strategy would address the site conditions more efficiently than the current system and what controls are needed in the future to ensure the protection of human health and the environment.
This work plan presents DQOs [data quality objectives] that will be used to support the development of a revised GCAP. Several activities will be conducted to address the DQOs; these activities incorporate task-based data collection, which is primarily rooted in hydrogeologic and geochemical field work, as well as ongoing data collection that involves collaboration with external entities and some potentially longer-duration investigation efforts.
> Download: DRAFT Revised Groundwater Compliance Action Plan (GCAP) Work Plan Shiprock, New Mexico, Disposal Site , U.S. DOE Legacy Management, March 2020 (28.8MB PDF)
DOE wants to end groundwater remediation by active pumping at Shiprock uranium mill tailings site although remediation goals not met
Due to deterioration issues with the polypropylene liner of the evaporation pond, DOE proposes to suspend active groundwater pumping at the Shiprock site, which has been going on since 2003.
> Download: DOE position paper Dec. 27, 2018 (5.8MB PDF)
After 15 years of pumping, uranium concentration in groundwater at Shiprock uranium mill tailings site in spite of decrease still above standard
"As observed for sulfate, reductions in uranium concentrations in some portions of the floodplain are evident in a comparison of the baseline to current plume maps (Figure 8) and the time-concentration plots in Appendix A. These declines are also evident in Figure 10, which shows that uranium levels have decreased by 1 order of magnitude or more in some wells. Despite these reductions, uranium concentrations in most floodplain wells still exceed the 0.044 mg/L MCL [maximum concentration limit] (Figure 8b). However, uranium levels have also recently exceeded this benchmark in background well 0850 (Appendix A, Figure A-9). [...]
Slightly over 149 million gallons [564,000 m3] have been extracted from the floodplain since DOE began active remediation in March 2003."
> Download: Annual Performance Report April 2016 Through March 2017 for the Shiprock, New Mexico, Disposal Site , U.S. DOE Legacy Management, December 2018 (24.5MB PDF)
Study of complex groundwater flow processes shows ways to improve groundwater cleanup at Shiprock uranium mill tailings site
> Download: Flow Processes in the Floodplain Alluvial Aquifer at the Shiprock, New Mexico, Disposal Site , LMS/SHP/S07318, U.S. Department of Energy, Legacy Management, November 2016 (48.6MB PDF)
Groundwater contamination at Shiprock uranium mill tailings site likely caused from natural sources, USGS report
Based on groundwater elevations and tritium concentrations measured in wells located between the disposal cell and Many Devils Wash, Mill water is not likely to reach Many Devils Wash. The tritium concentrations also indicate that groundwater from the Mill has not substantially affected Many Devils Wash in the past.
On the basis of the widespread presence of uranium in the Mancos Shale and the distribution of aqueous uranium in the analog sites and other sites in the region, it appears likely that uranium in the groundwater of Many Devils Wash is naturally sourced from the Mancos Shale.
> Download: The source of groundwater and solutes to Many Devils Wash at a former uranium mill site in Shiprock, New Mexico , by Robertson, A.J., Ranalli, A.J., Austin, S.A., and Lawlis, B.R., U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5031, 2016
Midterm review reports slow progress of groundwater cleanup at Shiprock uranium mill tailings site
In March 2003, DOE began active remediation of groundwater using extraction wells and
interceptor drains.
The Shiprock site is divided physiographically and hydrologically into two regions, terrace and floodplain, that are separated by an escarpment.
- The primary criterion used for the near-term terrace evaluation was to meet a groundwater extraction rate of 8 gpm or greater from pumping wells or a combination of pumping wells and phytoremediation. This has not been achieved, which [...] would imply it may be appropriate to reconsider the compliance strategy for the terrace.
The water levels in the terrace have decreased approximately 50 percent since pumping began. The reduction in terrace water levels has reduced the number of seeps and the flow rate from the active seeps in the escarpment. Contaminated surface water is present in Many Devils Wash, although additional water is being collected after the diversion structure was installed in the wash. DOE's highest priority is to continue to reduce the potential for exposure to contaminants at the site.
- The goals for the floodplain in the near-term were to meet a groundwater extraction rate of 20 gpm and to control contamination for four key constituents (nitrate, selenium, sulfate, and uranium) to the extent necessary for natural flushing to proceed as predicted by the model. The 20 gpm extraction rate has been achieved, and concentrations of the three key constituents have decreased in some wells.
> Download: 2010 Review and Evaluation of the Shiprock Remediation Strategy , U.S. Department of Energy, Legacy Management, January 2011 (9.3MB PDF)
Navajo EPA raises concerns on migrating groundwater contaminant plume at Shiprock UMTRA site
By letter dated Jan. 16, 2004, the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency raises serious concerns on the groundwater contaminant plume migrating from the Shiprock uranium mill tailings site to the northwest:
"The past six years of data indicate that the terrace plume is migrating to the northwest along the
area between Shiprock High and 2nd Wash. [...] This area has seen concentrations of nitrate, selenium, sulfate, and
uranium steadily increase since 1998. The concentrations for each of these parameters now exceed the MCLs, benchmarks, and cleanup goals. [...]"
UMTRA Ground Water Shiprock, New Mexico, Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact Available
> View DOE GJO News Release Oct. 31, 2001
> Download Environmental Assessment (4.1M PDF) · FONSI (100k PDF)
UMTRA Ground Water Shiprock, New Mexico, Draft Environmental Assessment Available for Review April 25, 2001
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Grand Junction Office (GJO) and Navajo UMTRA
Program announce the availability of the Draft Environmental Assessment of Ground Water Compliance at the Shiprock, New Mexico, Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project Site.
> View DOE GJO News Release April 18, 2001
Notice of Floodplain/Wetlands Involvement for Ground Water Remediation Activities at Shiprock, New Mexico, Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Site
Excerpt from Notice in Federal Register Vol.66, No.58, p.16451 (March 26, 2001)
(download full
notice ):
"SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) hereby provides notice as
required by 10 CFR part 1022, to conduct ground water remediation
activities within the 100-year floodplain of the San Juan River at the
Shiprock New Mexico Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Site,
with possible impacts to wetlands. The site is located within the
boundaries of the Navajo Indian Reservation. Activities are scheduled
to commence in 2002, and consist of installation of extraction wells
and pipeline to pump contaminated ground water from the alluvial
aquifer to an evaporation pond on the terrace, in accordance with 40
CFR part 192, ''Health and Environmental Protection Standards for
Uranium and Thorium Mill Tailings''. A floodplain/wetlands assessment
has been prepared as an appendix to the environmental assessment (EA)
that analyzes the potential environmental effects of this action.
DATES: Written comments are due to the address below no later than
April 25, 2001."
> View Shiprock general site info · DOE-GJO groundwater info
Belfield and Bowman
NRC Docket Nos. ,
No cleanup for Belfield and Bowman tailings sites
Excerpt from Notice in Federal Register Vol.63, No.51, p.13039-
13040 (Mar 17, 1998)
(download full
notice ):
"SUMMARY: In 1979, the Secretary of Energy designated
inactive uranium milling sites, including two sites at Belfield
and Bowman, North Dakota, for cleanup under the Uranium Mill
Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978. In 1995, the State of
North Dakota requested that the designations of the Belfield and
Bowman sites be revoked citing its belief that there will be
minimal risk to the public and the environment if the sites are
not cleaned up and the State's inability to pay its 10 percent
share of the cleanup costs required by UMTRCA.
The Department of Energy is proposing to revoke the designations
of these sites because of the low risks to the public and the
environment at the sites, DOE's lack of authority to clean up
the two sites without costsharing by the State, and the
existence of alternative authority to regulate the sites
following revocation of the designations. Following revocation,
these two sites will no longer be eligible for cleanup under the
provisions of UMTRCA.
DATES: Public comments will be accepted on this proposed action.
Comments should be submitted by April 16, 1998.
If the Department does not receive any comments on this proposed
action that would cause it to reconsider its proposal, the
revocations shall be effective on May 18, 1998; and the Belfield
and Bowman, North Dakota, processing sites and associated
vicinity properties will no longer be eligible for remedial
action by the Department of Energy under the provisions of
UMTRCA."
> View Environmental Assessment of No Remedial Action at the Inactive Uraniferous Lignite Ashing Sites at Belfield and Bowman, North Dakota , EA-1206
> View Belfield and Bowman site info
Lakeview
NRC Docket No.
> U.S. DOE Office of Legacy Management: Lakeview site
Aerial view (processing site): Google Maps · MSRMaps
Aerial view (disposal site): Google Maps · MSRMaps
NRC approves discontinuation of rock degradation monitoring at cover of Lakeview uranium mill tailings deposit
> Download: NRC letter to DOE , Oct. 11, 2019 (PDF)
NRC approves "no remediation" groundwater compliance strategy for Lakeview processing site
The Lakeview, Oregon, Processing Site's groundwater compliance action plan (GCAP) received U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) concurrence last month. This makes Lakeview the first Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) of 1978, as amended, Title I site where a finalized GCAP has selected a "no remediation" compliance strategy because concentration limits for regulated constituents have been met.
> View DOE Legacy Management release July 12, 2013
> Download Groundwater Compliance Action Plan for the Lakeview, Oregon, Processing Site , June 2010 (7.8MB PDF)
DOE proposes "no further action" for groundwater cleanup at Lakeview
DOE's proposed compliance strategy for addressing the contamination in the groundwater associated with past milling activities at the Lakeview Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) site is "no further action". This proposal is based on the widespread, naturally occurring arsenic content in the water. According to DOE, this contamination was not a result of the milling activities that took place at the Lakeview former processing site.
A public meeting to discuss the proposed compliance strategy will be held on July 21, 1999.
(DOE GJO news release July 8, 1999 )
Riprap rock cover on reclaimed uranium mill tailings deposit does not meet longterm durability requirement
A riprap layer is often placed atop reclaimed mine tailings
repositories to provide long-term erosion protection. Rock
quality tests performed on samples taken from the cover of the
reclaimed UMTRA uranium mill tailings impoundment near Lakeview,
Oregon, indicated that the rock was suitable for erosion
protection; the durability evaluation, however, suggested that
the rock may disintegrate in 130 to 272 years. This is less than
the applicable 200 - 1000 year longterm criteria.
Source:
Riprap rock durability versus rock quality: A case study;
by C.I. Thornton, S.R. Abt, T.L. Johnson. In: Tailings and Mine
Waste '97, Rotterdam/Brookfield 1997, ISBN 90 5410 857 6, p.
283-289
> View Lakeview general site info · DOE GJO groundwater site info
Canonsburg ·
Burrell (PA)
NRC Docket No.
> U.S. DOE Office of Legacy Management: Canonsburg site
Aerial view: Google Maps · MSRMaps
U.S. DOE to repair stream bank near Canonsburg uranium mill tailings disposal cell
The Department of Energy's Office of Legacy Management has scheduled repairs to the embankment of Chartiers Creek, near the disposal site in Canonsburg that processed uranium and other ores between 1911 and 1957.
Recent high flows in Chartiers Creek have caused a portion of the creek embankment to erode. About 1,200 lineal feet of the embankment needs repaired to prevent erosion from continuing and destabilizing the embankment.
The disposal cell, which cost approximately $48 million, is designed to last between 200 and 1,000 years.
(Observer-Reporter May 22, 2019)
Uranium concentrations in groundwater at Canonsburg uranium mill tailings site don't decrease as expected
"For the Canonsburg site, the groundwater sampling indicates that the uranium
concentrations in wells 412 and 413 are below the Alternate Concentration Limit, but above the
Maximum Concentration Limit. It appears that the uranium concentration in these wells has
remained relatively constant or has increased from 1996 to the present. However, the 2000
Groundwater Compliance Action Plan states that the natural groundwater movement and
geochemical attenuation processes will reduce uranium concentrations in groundwater to less
that the MCL or background within 30 years. As this reduction does not appear to be occurring
in these wells, is DOE considering revising the GCAP for the site."
(NRC letter to DOE, May 9, 2019 , referring to: 2018 Annual Site Inspection and Monitoring Report for Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title I Disposal Sites, Part 1 , DOE Legacy Management, March 2019)
No cancer cluster around former Canonsburg radium and uranium plant, study finds
The Pennsylvania department of health has determined that there is no cancer cluster in a Washington County school district. The agency conducted the study after several cases of Ewing sarcoma, a rare bone cancer, were reported there.
The department looked at statistics from the Pennsylvania Cancer Registry dating to 1985. In addition to Ewing sarcoma, the agency looked at other types of cancer rates: liver, brain, bone, lung, and breast cancers. It compared cancer rates in Washington County and Canon-McMillan School District against statewide rates.
In a report released Tuesday (Apr. 23), the state concluded that rates of Ewing sarcoma weren't "consistently or statistically significantly higher than expected" in either Washington County or the school district.
The study did find that between 2005 and 2017, rates of Ewing sarcoma were three times higher than expected in the school district. The rare tumor mainly affects young people and can be fatal.
The authors said the number of cases was so small - just three instances of Ewing sarcoma in the district over those years - that the higher-than-expected rates weren't "statistically significant."
The district includes a former radium and uranium plant in Canonsburg. It's also in one of the busiest natural gas areas in the state, near more than a thousand shale gas wells and several compressor stations and other natural gas processing facilities.
(StateImpact Pennsylvania Apr. 24, 2019)
> Access: Ewing's Family of Tumors, Childhood Cancer, and Radiation-Related Cancer Incidence Review for Washington County and Canon-McMillan School District in Pennsylvania
Bureau of Epidemiology , Division of Community Epidemiology, April 22, 2019
U.S. DOE to repair stream bank near Canonsburg uranium mill tailings disposal cell
The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management (DOE-LM) will repair sections of the stream bank of Chartiers Creek near Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, damaged by floodwaters from Hurricanes Frances and Ivan. Restoration is scheduled to begin the first week of March 2005. Two areas along the Chartiers Creek stream bank at the Canonsburg Disposal Site were damaged during the floods. One area is in the northern portion of the site adjacent to the disposal cell. The disposal cell and drainage structures at the site were not damaged by the floods.
> Download DOE-LM release March 2, 2005 (PDF)
U.S. Department of Energy Stabilizing Southern Bank of Chartiers Creek
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Grand Junction Office (GJO) is stabilizing the southern bank of the Chartiers Creek stream bank between the Strabane Avenue bridge abutment and the Pittsburgh Industrial Railroad Bridge abutment near Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. This work is being performed under the DOE Long Term Surveillance and Maintenance Program, which is charged with providing for the long-term care and maintenance of former millsites and associated properties.
The purpose of this stabilization is to prevent further erosion and sloughing of the stream bank into Chartiers Creek. Several active monitor wells are located in the former millsite area and are an integral part of the on-going ground water compliance strategy for the site. The stabilization of the stream bank is part of the commitment made to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission when the site was licensed in 1996. The remedial action project at Canonsburg, in which uranium mill tailings and associated materials were removed and stabilized in an on-site engineered disposal cell, was completed in 1985.
> View DOE GJO release (Dec. 5, 2000)
> View Canonsburg general site info · DOE-GJO groundwater info
NRC Docket No.
> U.S. DOE Office of Legacy Management: Burrell site
Aerial View: Google Maps · MSRMaps
'Potentially significant' increase of contaminant concentrations observed in groundwater at Burrell uranium mill tailings disposal site
"2018 results indicate that concentrations of all four target analyte constituents in one or both of the downgradient monitoring wells (0423 and 0424) increased between 2013 and 2018 but remain below the MCL standards. The increases for three of the target analytes (i.e., lead, selenium, and uranium) in regards to their respective MCLs are considered insignificant. The molybdenum increase in monitoring well 0424, though, is judged to be potentially significant (Figure 2-4).
The concentration of molybdenum in well 0424 increased from 0.014 mg/L (2013) to 0.074 mg/L (2018). The MCL for molybdenum is 0.1 mg/L. Based on the increase reported for molybdenum between 2013 and 2018, the concentration could reach the MCL limit in 2 years. Therefore, consistent with the LTSP, LM intends to resample in 2 years rather than wait for the next regularly scheduled 5-year sampling event."
(2018 Annual Site Inspection and Monitoring Report for Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title I Disposal Sites, March 2019, U.S. DOE, Office of Legacy Management)
Beaver dam removed at Burrell tailings disposal site
"In 2005, inspectors found that the slough along the south side of the disposal cell, fed by ground water, had backed up as a result of a beaver dam on the slough west of the site boundary. The dam caused water to back up half way up the security fence. In November 2005, DOE coordinated with State wildlife officials to remove the beavers in accordance with State regulations, and then breached the dam. Water levels in the slough have returned to normal (PL–3). A smaller beaver dam remains that has caused some ponding of water, but is not currently considered problem enough to warrant removal; the water had not risen to the elevation of the contaminated materials within the cell."
(2006 Annual Site Inspection and Monitoring Report for Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title I Disposal Sites, December 2006, U.S. DOE, Office of Legacy Management)
Falls City
NRC Docket No.
> U.S. DOE Office of Legacy Management: Falls City site
Aerial view: Google Maps · MSRMaps
DOE proposes reduction of groundwater monitoring at Falls City uranium mill tailings site, in spite of uranium concentrations exceeding background values and livestock watering guidelines
"LM has developed a third groundwater monitoring assessment report (Third Groundwater
Monitoring Assessment, Falls City, Texas, Disposal Site).[...]
The following bullets provide a summary of the third monitoring assessment report:
- The disposal cell appears to be functioning as intended based on the disposal cell
performance monitoring well network.
- Background uranium concentrations in the uppermost aquifer are elevated enough to
make groundwater use unsuitable for human consumption.
- Historically, some portions of the uppermost aquifer have been usable for livestock
watering and irrigation.
- Tailings-derived water has impacted the uppermost aquifer in distinct plumes, with
uranium concentrations exceeding background values and livestock watering guidelines.
Since no remediation was required and supplemental standards were applied at the site, the
results discussed in bullet #4 are not considered to be out of compliance within the current
regulatory framework. However, livestock watering and irrigation using water from the
uppermost aquifer does occur regionally. Therefore, to reduce potential risks to human health
and the environment, LM will inform surrounding landowners that groundwater from the upper
aquifer should only be used for industrial purposes.
In addition, the third groundwater monitoring assessment report recommends a reduction in
groundwater monitoring from twelve wells to five wells, as the current well network includes
locations that are unnecessary to future site decision-making. LM also proposes to reduce the
frequency of monitoring from annually to every five years. [...]" [emphasis added]
> Download: Groundwater Monitoring Proposal - Falls City, Texas, Disposal Site , DOE Legacy Management, Sep. 9, 2024
> Download: Third Groundwater Monitoring Assessment, Falls City, Texas, Disposal Site, DOE Legacy Management, 2024 [not (yet) available]
Uranium concentrations in groundwater at Falls City uranium mill tailings deposit continue to increase; data validation report needs validation itself
Uranium concentrations in groundwater monitoring well 0891 at the Falls City disposal site continue to increase. While the concentrations remained below 0.5 mg/L between 1997 and 2008, they since increased considerably, reaching 3.6 mg/L in the 2016 sampling event.
Oddly enough, the time-concentration graph in the report (p.52) is inconsistent with the monitoring data. It appears that a (though imprecise) copy of the graph from the 2014 report (p.50) has been used with just the time scale shifted by two years.
Is this meant to be a new approach to cost savings in the area of environmental monitoring? No, DOE regrets the error and issued a corrected report:
> Download: Data Validation Package, April 2016 Groundwater Sampling at the Falls City, Texas, Disposal Site , Revision 1, September 2016 (5.4MB PDF - DOE LM)
> Download: Data Validation Package, February 2014 Groundwater Sampling at the Falls City, Texas, Disposal Site , April 2014 (16.1MB PDF - DOE LM)
Aggressive trees (!) and wild hogs (!!) attacking Falls City uranium mill tailings deposit integrity
The custodians of the tailings deposits in the U.S. are faced with attacks from no less than two new sides: while former aggressors included humans (either riddling warning signs with bullets, or planting claim stakes on top of the tailings), and animals (such as cattle, horses, and beavers), new hazards arise from aggressive Huisache trees and wild hogs (boars):
"A Huisache tree was growing along the fence line near perimeter sign P27 (PL-10). Huisache aggressively invade south Texas rangelands competing with other plants for water and nutrients. The tree was sprayed with herbicide in 2014 and will be removed.
Wild hogs burrow along the fence line in some areas. Their burrows are filled in by the maintenance contractor as they are located because they might compromise the integrity of the fence or create depressions that could result in damage to haying equipment. Several areas along the northwest fence line were disturbed by hogs, resulting in minor bare spots (PL-11)."
2015 Annual Site Inspection and Monitoring Report for Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title I Disposal Sites, by U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Legacy Management, LMS/S13386, March 2016
DOE recommends discontinuation of groundwater monitoring at Falls City uranium mill tailings site, in spite of sharp increase of uranium concentration in groundwater
"The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recommends that following the collection of samples in the spring of 2011 that groundwater monitoring activities at the Falls City site be discontinued." [...]
"Prior to 2006, the maximum uranium concentration reported for monitoring well MW-0891 was 0.358 mg/L. In 2010, the uranium concentration was 2.1 mg/L. It is unclear if the increase in uranium in the Dilworth aquifer at monitoring well MW-0891 is due to the redistribution of
natural uranium mineralization in the aquifer or due to legacy contamination from ore processing activities."
> Download: Groundwater Monitoring Assessment, Falls City, Texas, Disposal Site , December 2010, U.S. DOE Legacy Management (18.4MB PDF)
Relaxed Groundwater Standards
The Environmental Assessment of the Groundwater Compliance Activities at the Falls City, Texas, Uranium Mill Tailings Site, and the Finding of No Significant Impact are available to public. The Environmental Assessment for the Falls City site analyzed the potential environmental impacts of the proposed action for applying supplemental (=relaxed) standards, which is the compliance strategy determined appropriate for residual ground water contamination that exists in the shallow ground water as a result of the former milling operations. It was determined that the proposed action will not result in the need for an Environmental Impact Statement and it complies with the Environmental Protection Agency's Ground Water Regulations (40 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 192).
(see DOE GJO release Apr.15, 1998 )
> Download Environmental Assessment of Ground-Water Compliance at the Falls City, Texas, Uranium Mill Tailings Site , U.S. DOE, DOE/EA-1227, March 1998 (PDF)
> View Falls City general site info · DOE GJO groundwater site info
Green River ·
Mexican Hat ·
Monticello ·
Salt Lake City
NRC Docket No.
> U.S. DOE Office of Legacy Management: Green River site
Aerial view: Google Maps · MSRMaps
Uranium concentrations in groundwater exceed limit at Green River uranium mill tailings disposal site
While in recent years only one point-of-compliance (POC) monitoring well exceeded the maximum concentration limit (MCL) of 0.044 mg/L for uranium in groundwater at the Green River Title I uranium mill tailings disposal site, the 2020 inspection revealed that there are now three (of four) wells exceeding this MCL.
> Download: 2020 Annual Site Inspection and Monitoring Report for Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title I Disposal Sites , U.S. DOE Legacy Management, March 2021 (31.8MB PDF)
License for Long-Term Custody
"On August 20, 1998, the Division of Waste Management (DWM) placed the Green River, Utah, site under a general license consistent with the provisions of
10 CFR 40.27. The Green River disposal site was reclaimed by the Department
of Energy (DOE) under Title I of the Uranium Mill Tailings Act of 1978.
DOE is in the process of completing the Title I program. Four sites are left to
be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Work at two of these
sites is complete, and DWM is awaiting information from DOE to complete
licensing. DWM anticipates that the licensing of the Ambrosia Lake, New
Mexico, and Slick Rock, Colorado, sites should be complete in
September/October. The remaining two sites at Maybell and Naturita,
Colorado, will be licensed in early 1999 once DOE completes reclamation
work." (NRC Weekly Information Report For the Week Ending August 28, 1998)
> View Green River general site info · DOE GJO groundwater site info
NRC Docket No.
> U.S. DOE Office of Legacy Management: Mexican Hat site
Aerial view: Google Maps · MSRMaps
Depressions on cover of Mexican Hat uranium mill tailings disposal cell caused by inadequate radon barrier material, report finds
"Based on field observations and laboratory data, it was concluded that a combination of suffusion, dispersion, internal and backwards erosion contributed to the formation of erosional pipes in the radon barrier at the Mexican Hat disposal cell. [...]
Multiple lines of evidence are used to conclude that the primary contributors to erosional piping are the physical properties of the radon barrier, given texture dominated by low-cohesion sands, in addition to inferred variations in bulk density and hydraulic conductivity observed at depths shared by erosional pipes. [...]
The radon barrier is made of an engineered sand-bentonite mixture. These unnatural materials are prone to suffusion, preferentially under elevated hydraulic gradients (i.e., toe-slope positions). Based on review of archived documents, the laboratory characterization of radon barrier materials to confirm resistance to dispersion or erosion was either not performed or not reported, despite noted design assumptions of material suitability. Some of the challenges associated with subsurface erosion were not widely understood when the cell was built, [...].
It is likely that not all areas impacted by erosional piping at the Mexican Hat disposal cell have been identified. LM [Office of Legacy Management] will continue to monitor this phenomenon at the site." [emphasis added]
> Download: Erosional Piping Characterization and Data Report, Mexican Hat, Utah, Disposal Cell , U.S. Department of Energy, Feb. 26, 2021
Contaminated groundwater seeps present no hazard at Mexican Hat uranium mill tailings disposal cell, DOE report finds
"The seeps, both currently and historically (i.e., when they were flowing), do not provide sufficient volume to present a significant risk to human health and the environment."
> Download: Seep Monitoring Evaluation Report Mexican Hat, Utah, UMTRCA Title I Disposal Site , December 2019 (50.7MB PDF)
Depressions on cover of Mexican Hat uranium mill tailings disposal cell assumed to be result of precipitation-induced erosion
"Voids, piping, and incisements in the radon barrier have been observed near the toes of the northeast and north side slopes of the disposal cell. Based on the characteristics of the observed features, including their locations towards the lower portions of the north and northeast side slopes, and the lack of fines in the bedding/filter materials in these areas (which would allow for higher runoff velocities in the bedding/filter material), it can be reasonably assumed that these features are the result of precipitation-induced erosion."
> Download: Mexican Hat UMTRCA Disposal Cell Side Slope Cover Depressions Evaluation Report, Mexican Hat, Utah , LMS/HAT/S14765, U.S. Department of Energy, Legacy Management, January 2019 (70.5 MB PDF)
Void opens on cover of Mexican Hat uranium mill tailings disposal cell, causing 'Situation'
"A site visit was coordinated with representatives from the Navajo Nation Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action/Abandoned Mine Lands Department (NN UMTRA/AML) for December 14, 2017, to observe depression features that have been identified along the toe and lower portions of the northeast side slope of the Mexican Hat disposal cell. [...]
At one of the locations, a small void was observed at the apparent base of the bedding layer and upper portion of the radon barrier. The approximate dimensions of the void were 8 inches by 12 inches wide [20 cm x 30 cm]. The length of the void was unknown, but appeared to extend down slope along the interface of the bedding layer and radon barrier."
[DOE LM email to NRC, Jan. 8, 2018]
> Download: NRC - DOE email correspondence "Re: Situation that Occurred at Mexican Hat Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Site" , Jan. 22, 2018 / Jan. 8, 2018 (4.7MB PDF - including photographs of the void!)
[Other than one might presume, the 'Situation' did not refer to the occurence of the void as such, but rather to the fact that, "during the visit NN UMTRA/AML representatives arrived onsite prior to the arrival of representation from the Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management, and hand removed small portions of the riprap and bedding layer cover components at a few locations to facilitate inspection of linear depressions observed near the toe of the northeast side slope. This work was not planned nor authorized to take place. This incident has been reported and is being addressed."]
Depressions indicating internal erosion identified on cover of Mexican Hat uranium mill tailings disposal cell
"During DOE-LM's annual site inspection of the Mexican Hat disposal site, the DOE-LM site
manager and the Legacy Management Support (Contractor) site lead identified several slight
depressions on the northeast flank of the disposal cell near the toe of the cell, adjacent to the angular rock that constitutes the toe drain. [...] The depressions are assumed to be caused by minor erosion beneath the rock cover. No evidence pointing to previous construction tracks or driving on the area was noted.
The depressions are scattered within an area of approximately 100 feet by 100 feet and are
roughly 6 inches in depth below the top of the rock cell cover. The cell cover is composed of a 24-inch clay radon barrier, overlain by 6 inches of bedding gravel, and finished with 24 inches of rock cover. Pending further evaluation, it is postulated that bedding gravels may be eroding beneath the rock cover. Initial observations indicate that the 24-inch radon barrier has not been breached.
These depressions are an undesirable change in the cell cover integrity and will require further assessment, [...]."
(DOE letter to NRC, May 5, 2016)
> U.S. DOE Office of Legacy Management: Monticello site
Aerial view: Google Maps · MSRMaps
Groundwater restoration at Monticello uranium mill tailings site will take thousands of years, study shows
[...] The purpose of this study is to investigate the quantitative impact of residual vadose zone sources of uranium on groundwater remediation time frame. [...]
The forecasted time frame to achieve the groundwater remediation goal for uranium by monitored natural attenuation is on the order of thousands of years, and treatment of the dissolved plume does not reduce the projected time frame. The large proportion of residual uranium mass remaining in the vadose zone and the gradual leaching rate due to the site's semiarid climate create a long-lived source that can sustain a dissolved plume for thousands of years despite an estimated 99% mass removal achieved during mill tailings disposal. Residual uranium in vadose zone sediments beneath former tailings impoundments could present comparable uranium plume persistence and remediation challenges at other legacy uranium mill sites in semiarid climates. Other remaining uranium-impacted sites are similarly complex, and forecasted remedial time frames are needed to effectively achieve compliance, manage risk, assess the benefits of additional treatment, manage and project costs, and support beneficial site reuse. [emphasis added]
Modeling evaluation of the impact of residual source material on remedial time frame at a former uranium mill site, by Kent RD, Johnson RH, Laase AD, et al., in: Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 2024 Jan 12;261:104298
Current protectiveness of Monticello mill tailings site still unclear; long-term protectiveness also requires further action
The remedy at OU [operable unit] I [includes former mill site and disposal cell] and OU II [includes peripheral properties that were contaminated by mill tailings primarily dispersed by wind and surface water] "is currently protective of human health and the environment. [...] In order for the remedy to be protective in the long-term, the following actions need to be taken: (1) DOE confirms the FYR human health risk evaluation using the EPA preliminary remediation goal (PRG) calculator, (2) DOE sends an informational letter to current landowners regarding use restrictions applicable to their properties, and (3) DOE completes an MMTS climate resilience assessment and discusses the findings with EPA and UDEQ."
It "is not clear if the remedy at OU III [includes properties that contain contaminated surface water or overlie contaminated groundwater] is currently protective of human health and the environment".
(Sixth Five-Year Review for Monticello Mill Tailings Site, U.S. Department of Energy, July 2022 - emphasis added)
Further action required to achieve long-term protectiveness for all Monticello vicinity properties
Remediation of the MVP [Monticello Vicinity Properties] was initiated by DOE in 1984 and was completed in July 1999. Completion reports for each property document the specific actions taken at the property and certify compliant remediation. Properties were restored to their original condition to the extent possible. The MVP was deleted from the NPL [National Priorities List] in February 2000. Cleanup levels achieved for OU [operable unit] A through OU G, as promulgated in Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations Section 192.12(a) [40 CFR 192.12(a)] and 40 CFR 192.12(b) pursuant to the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978, allow UU/UE [unlimited use and unrestricted exposure]. This FYR [Five-Year Review] focuses on OU H, which contains residual contamination that does not allow for UU/UE. [...]
Because remediation of the OU H properties was based on supplemental standards that are not as protective as the 40 CFR 192 standards that were applied to the rest of the MVP properties (OU A through OU G), institutional controls (ICs) were established for all OU H properties. [...]
The remedy at OU H is protective of human health and the environment in the short term because contaminated soil was removed or contained, ICs are in place to prevent additional exposure where contaminated soils remain, management plans are in place to address remaining contamination that may become exposed, and routine surveillance and monitoring is conducted to ensure that the ICs remain effective. However, in order for the remedy to be protective in the long-term, the following actions need to be taken: (1) DOE confirms the FYR human health risk evaluation using the EPA preliminary remediation goal (PRG) calculator; (2) DOE sends an informational letter to current landowners that explains use restrictions on their properties; and (3) DOE completes an MVP climate change vulnerability and resilience assessment and discusses the findings with EPA and UDEQ.
(Sixth Five-Year Review Report for Monticello Radioactively Contaminated Properties Superfund Site, U.S. Department of Energy, June 2022 - emphasis added)
After failure of natural attenuation and of active remediation, DOE once again requests natural attenuation scheme for groundwater remediation at former Monticello uranium mill tailings site
On behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), this report evaluates and requests monitored
natural attenuation (MNA) with institutional controls (ICs) and contingencies as the final remedy
for Operable Unit (OU) III (contaminated surface water and groundwater) at the Monticello Mill
Tailings Site (MMTS).
(Monitored Natural Attenuation Demonstration Report, Operable Unit III, Monticello Mill Tailings Site, Monticello, Utah, U.S. DOE Legacy Management, December 2021)
Groundwater remediation to take thousands of years at former Monticello uranium mill tailings site, modeling reveals
- Evaluation of the remediation time frame for MNA [monitored natural attenuation]:
- The overall remediation time frame for MNA at the MMTS OU III [Monticello Mill Tailings Site Operable Unit III] is on the order of hundreds to thousands of years. [...]
- Ongoing uranium source loading, especially seasonal source loading emanating from the south mill site vadose zone, is the primary driver of the remediation time frame for MNA [...]
- Evaluation of the time frame for active remediation:
- Thirty additional years of GRO [Groundwater Remedy Optimization] system operation do not affect the remediation time frame [...]
- Estimation of uranium concentration rebound following shutdown of the GRO system:
- In predictive scenarios simulating immediate shutdown of the GRO system, the mean concentration predictions of the transport model ensemble indicate that uranium concentration rebound may be minimal after groundwater extraction ends; however, rebound up to several hundred µg/L was predicted by some realizations of the ensemble for these scenarios
- In the predictive scenario simulating thirty years of continued GRO system operation, groundwater extraction is predicted to achieve additional uranium reductions until concentrations begin to reach a plateau; however, significant uranium concentration rebound is predicted to occur in this scenario after pumping ends, with concentrations eventually reaching the same levels as the non-pumping scenarios
(Monticello Mill Tailings Site Operable Unit III Groundwater Flow and Contaminant Transport Model Report, U.S. DOE Legacy Management, June 2021)
Even improved groundwater remediation unlikely to meet remediation goal at former Monticello uranium mill tailings site
"AOA [area of attainment] uranium groundwater concentrations have been reduced from a maximum of 1400 micrograms per liter (µg/L) at GRO [groundwater remedy optimization] startup (January 2015) to a maximum of 773 µg/L in April 2018. However, the effectiveness of the GRO system is expected to decrease over time; in other words, uranium concentrations in the AOA will level off at concentrations exceeding the remediation goal. This effect was observed in site-specific column studies of aquifer groundwater and solids flushed with clean water and is due to uranium release from the solid matrix. These studies showed asymptotic concentration behavior at approximately 200 µg/L uranium following the passage of 5-7 pore volumes of uncontaminated water through the contaminated aquifer sediments. Extrapolation of these results to field conditions suggests that the GRO system will eventually become ineffective in reducing uranium concentrations, which will likely still exceed the water quality goal of 30 µg/L."
(Monticello Mill Tailings Site Operable Unit III, Annual Groundwater Report, May 2017 Through April 2018, U.S. Department of Energy, Legacy Management, October 2018)
Even improved active groundwater remediation shows little effect at former Monticello uranium mill tailings site
"The progress of the groundwater remedy optimization system will ultimately be measured by uranium concentration trending in the AOA [area of attainment] that project toward the remediation goal. Despite effective removal of contaminated groundwater volume (approximately 4 pore volumes within the AOA) and the mass of uranium removed to date (approximately 47 pounds), a corresponding downward trend in uranium concentration is not evident, and uranium concentrations remain greater than 30 times the remediation goal. The data indicate that a prolonged remediation period is possible even under the aggressive approach of pump-and-treat technology." [emphasis added]
(Monticello Mill Tailings Site Operable Unit III, Annual Groundwater Report, May 2015 Through April 2016, U.S. Department of Energy, Legacy Management, October 2016)
Improved active groundwater remediation replaced failed natural attenuation scheme at former Monticello uranium mill tailings site
"[...] The contingency remedy was then optimized in 2015 by implementing an expanded pump-and-treat remediation approach that is formally referred to as the OU III groundwater contingency remedy optimization system. [...] Under that plan, groundwater is extracted in a focused area of the aquifer (referred to as the area of attainment [AOA]) and piped to a control/transfer building from where the water is conveyed through a buried water pipeline approximately 1 mile to the solar evaporation pond (Pond 4) at the LM repository for evaporative treatment. [...] The system became fully operational in February 2015."
"The conceptual approach of focused remediation in the AOA is not to remediate the entire aquifer but to meet remediation goals in the most contaminated region of the aquifer. Uranium
concentrations throughout the AOA are about 1 mg/L."
"The groundwater contingency remedy optimization system captures significant contaminant mass (primarily uranium) from the area of attainment; however, because that system only became operational in 2015, a long-term forecast of restoration progress is premature."
(Monticello Mill Tailings Site Operable Unit III, Annual Groundwater Report, May 2014 Through April 2015, U.S. Department of Energy, Legacy Management, October 2015)
Natural attenuation scheme remains ineffective for groundwater remediation at former Monticello uranium mill tailings site
"Although some regions of the aquifer demonstrate decreasing concentration
trends, such trending is not evident for the bulk of the aquifer and a prolonged restoration period (>100 years) is indicated. For example, uranium concentrations in groundwater remain more than an order of magnitude above the restoration goal in 15 years after source removal."
(Monticello Mill Tailings Site Operable Unit III, Annual Groundwater Report, May 2013 Through April 2014, U.S. Department of Energy, Legacy Management, October 2014)
DOE presents plan for improved active groundwater remediation at former Monticello uranium mill tailings site, replacing failed natural attenuation scheme
In May 2014, DOE submitted a work plan for an improved active groundwater remediation at the former Monticello uranium mill tailings site, replacing the failed natural attenuation scheme. Contaminated groundwater will be pumped by eight vertical extraction wells and piped to existing evaporation ponds. DOE, however, recognizes that even with this "agressive approach" restoring the aquifer to current remediation goals may not be feasible in a reasonable time (within 50 years as defined in the OU III ROD for natural attenuation).
> Download: Final Groundwater Contingency Remedy Optimization Remedial Design/Remedial Action Work Plan for the Monticello Mill Tailings Site Operable Unit III, Monticello, Utah, LMS/MNT/S10629, May 2014 (6.1MB PDF)
EPA Region 8 approved the work plan on June 20, 2014.
Memorial for cancer victims dedicated at site of former Monticello uranium mill
In the southeastern Utah town of Monticello Friday evening (May 7), cancer survivors dedicated a memorial on the site of an old uranium mill.
The goal of the Victims of Mill Tailings Exposure (VMTE) committee is to somehow convince the government pick up not only the cancer screening cost, but the cancer treatment costs as well.
(ABC 4 News May 7, 2010)
Monticello Victims of Mill Tailings Exposure (VMTE) Committee receives additional funding for cancer screening
Local leaders of the Victims of Mill Tailings Exposure (VMTE) were elated last week to receive an additional $381,000 in federal funding. This money, along with funds already received, and an application for another grant next year, will go a long way toward the goal of screening everyone who has ever lived in Monticello and surrounding areas for cancer. Senators Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett were instrumental in obtaining this new funding.
What this funding means is that anyone who lived in the Monticello area between 1941 and 2000 can go to the State Health Deptartment Office in the San Juan County Courthouse in Monticello and, after proving residency during at least a few of those years, receive a voucher.
The voucher holder may then receive a complete screening at the San Juan Hospital. The screening will ascertain whether or not the voucher bearer has any symptoms of cancer through extensive blood work and other tests.
(San Juan Record March 25, 2009)
Study finds higher cancer risks for residents near former Monticello uranium mill
A new study, released by the state Department of Health and prepared by epidemiologist John Contreras, found an elevated risk of lung, bronchial and stomach cancers among Monticello residents during several five-year time periods from 1973 to 2004. Completed in December 2007, the study is one of several completed since 1997 by federal and state agencies in response to residents' fears. Contreras said on Feb. 29, 2008, that the cancers have been linked to exposure to toxins released during uranium and vanadium processing, but the 2007 study is unable to draw a direct link. "We can't definitively say ... that the significantly elevated incidence of cancer is associated with the mill," Contreras said. Still, the new findings are welcome news to Monticello residents, who have long claimed that the mill made people sick.
(Salt Lake Tribune Feb. 29, 2008)
> Download Cancer incidence study, a follow-up study of cancer incidence in Monticello City, Utah - 1973-2004, December 27, 2007 (1.7M PDF, Utah DOH)
> View related reports and links (Utah DOH)
Database to be extended for study on cancer incidence among residents at former Monticello uranium mill site
State health officials have launched a new phase of their health probe in Monticello, where residents suspect a government uranium mill is to blame for decades of cancer cases and deaths. "We hope that these next steps will bring us closer to understanding the cancer incidence in Monticello and any possible connection to the mill," said David N. Sundwall, state health executive director.
Sundwall's team promised in May 2006 to look for ways to fill in information gaps in the state's data about cancer in the area.
It turns out that standard health study practices excluded much information. They would not allow the Health Department to count the cancers of people who had moved out of the southeastern Utah community and people who had died before the cancer registry began.
The health department plans to complete its data-gathering by the year's end.
(The Salt Lake Tribune, Aug. 4, 2006)
Study finds no increased cancer incidence among residents at former Monticello uranium mill site
The Utah Department of Health (UDOH) report, compiled by its office of epidemiology, concluded that the incidence of cancers in zip code 84535 (Monticello and surroundings) is "not statistically significant." However, the report cautioned that the health department's study is just preliminary and did not include cancers diagnosed prior to 1973, the year the Utah Cancer Registry began, and that it also didn't include cases diagnosed outside Utah.
The mill operated on the south side of town from 1943 to the beginning of 1960, processing both vanadium and uranium.
The uranium ore, trucked in from hundreds of mines in the area, was pulverized into fine yellow dust that was blown by the prevailing winds across the town, and was tracked home by workers to unsuspecting family members. After shutdown of the mill, the tailings piles became a favorite playground for children, and provided "sand" for sandboxes, brick mortar and road base.
The town first noticed what might be cancer clusters in the 1960s when seven young people living within blocks of each other died of leukemia. Since then, there have been at least 18 other leukemia cases, according to a health survey prepared by grass-roots group Victims of Mill Tailings Exposure (VTME). VMTE's list includes more than 416 cancers; the UDOH's study included 141.
(Deseret News May 25, 2006)
> Download Health Consultation - An Investigation of Cancer Incidence in Monticello, Utah - Monticello, San Juan, Utah, May 17, 2006, Prepared by Utah Department of Health (1.4M PDF - Utah DOH)
> View related reports and links (Utah DOH)
DOE Inspector General criticizes DOE's oversight over reclamation of Monticello uranium mill tailings site (Utah)
"The Department entered into a cooperative agreement with the
City [of Monticello] in June 1999 that, among other things, required the restoration of the mill site and certain associated areas. [...]
Our audit disclosed that the Department did not effectively monitor
or control certain aspects of the restoration of the Monticello Mill
Site. The restoration of the site was completed as required;
however, the City did not adequately maintain the site, and it
suffered significant erosion. The Department took action to correct
erosion problems that were of immediate concern, but it did not
ensure that the City used funds provided under the agreement for
long-term maintenance of the mill site."
> Download Audit Report - Restoration of the Monticello Mill Site at Monticello, Utah, DOE/IG-0665, October 2004 (PDF)
DOE invites public comment on proposed cleanup approach by natural attenuation for Monticello OU III tailings site
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has developed a Proposed Plan that presents the preferred remedial alternative for Operable Unit III of the Monticello Mill Tailings Site near Monticello, Utah. Operable Unit III encompasses contaminated surface water and ground water at and hydraulically downgradient of the former Monticello millsite. DOE believes that monitored natural attenuation with institutional controls provides the best balance of tradeoffs among the cleanup alternatives being considered.
> Download DOE GJO release Nov. 24, 2003 (PDF)
Comments will be accepted through January 15, 2004.
> View DOE GJO Monticello projects
EPA deletes parts of Monticello Mill Tailings site from National Priorities (Superfund) List
Federal Register: August 13, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 156), p. 48314-48321
(download full text )
"... This partial
deletion pertains to a portion of the Site designated as the Operable
Unit (OU) II Non-Surface and Ground-Water Impacted Peripheral
Properties, which are located within OU II of the Site. The OU II Non-
Surface and Ground-Water Impacted Peripheral Properties are 22 of the
34 total properties that comprise OU II. These 22 properties were
selected for deletion from the NPL because the primary contaminants of
concern, radioactive materials in soils and sediment, have been removed
to levels protective of human health and the environment, and because
no radiological or nonradiological contamination is present in surface
water or ground water located on these properties. [...]
DATES: This direct final partial deletion will be effective October 14,
2003, unless EPA receives adverse comments by September 12, 2003. ..."
Cleanup of 424 Monticello Vicinity Properties completed
Excerpt from Notice in Federal Register Vol.64, No.250, p.73423-73427 (Dec. 30, 1999)
(download full
notice ):
"SUMMARY: The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
Region 8, announces the deletion of the Monticello Radioactive
Contaminated Properties Site (Site), located in Monticello, Utah, from
the National Priorities List (NPL). The NPL is the National Oil and
Hazardous Substances Pollution and Contingency Plan (NCP), which EPA
promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (CERCLA).
EPA, with the preliminary concurrence of the State of Utah Department
of Environmental Quality (UDEQ), has determined that responsible
parties have implemented all appropriate response actions required and
that no further response at the Site is appropriate.
DATES: This direct final rule will be effective February 28, 2000,
unless EPA receives significant adverse or critical comments by January
31, 2000."
Interim ROD for the Monticello Surface and Ground Water Remedial Action Project
"On September 29, 1998, an Interim Record of Decision (ROD) for the Monticello Mill Tailings Site Surface and Ground Water Operable Unit III (OU III) was signed by the Environmental Protection Agency, Utah Department of Environmental Quality, and the U. S. Department of Energy." [...]
> View DOE GJO release (Nov. 17, 1998)
> View Monticello site info
NRC Docket No.
> U.S. DOE Office of Legacy Management: Salt Lake City sites
Aerial view (processing site): Google Maps · MSRMaps
Aerial view (South Clive disposal site): Google Maps · MSRMaps (sourrounded by Energy Solutions' radwaste disposal site)
No groundwater cleanup at former Salt Lake City uranium mill site
"The compliance strategy to meet the EPA ground water protection standards is no remediation and application of supplemental standards based on limited use ground water
(40 CFR 192.21(g)) (DOE 2000). Ground water in the shallow unconfined aquifer is of limited
use because of the widespread occurrence of arsenic that is not related to former processing activities. Sources of arsenic in ground water include leaching from landfills, and from tailings and slag heaps associated with abandoned smelters in the valley that processed lead, copper, silver, and gold. Background arsenic concentrations in ground water range up to 0.173 mg/L (DOE 2000)."
> Download: Long-Term Management Plan for the Salt Lake City, Utah, (UMTRCA Title I) Processing Site , U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Legacy Management, September 2007 (3.5 MB PDF)
Riverton · Spook
NRC Docket No.
> U.S. DOE Office of Legacy Management: Riverton site
> Aerial view: Google Maps · MSRMaps
USGS report looks into impacts of groundwater contaminant plume at former Riverton uranium mill site:
> Download: Interaction of a Legacy Groundwater Contaminant Plume with the Little Wind River from 2015 Through 2017, Riverton Processing Site, Wyoming , Scientific Investigations Report 2022–5089, U.S. Geological Survey 2023
Current conditions at former Riverton uranium mill site "protective of human health and the environment", risk assessment concludes
For the human health assessment, plant concentrations from the three areas are protective of the uses identified for the 12 plants evaluated. Cultural uses involving inhalation, ingestion and dermal contact are all found to be less than an HQ [hazard quotient] of 1 and are thereby protective. The estimates for the consumption of meat from livestock (cows) that are assumed to graze on the plants sampled at the plume area and reference area A (within the IC [institutional control] boundary at the Riverton site) and at reference area B in Ethete are also safe as HQ estimates are less than 1. As to potential exposures to site surface water bodies, estimates for the ingestion of catch (fish) and the incidental ingestion of surface water from Oxbow Lake (location 0747) indicate HQs greater than 1 from the most recent (2018) uranium and manganese concentrations reported for this location. Currently, a warning sign is in place at Oxbow Lake that states that drinking, fishing, or swimming is not safe. Uranium and manganese concentrations reported for location 0879 could result in HQs greater than 1 depending on availability of fish or catch; this location is a small area that has been found to be dry most years and is not large enough to sustain fish nor swimming. The high COC [contaminant of concern] concentrations were reported in 2016 after flooding of the area. It should be noted that when HQs are estimated to be greater than 1, it is not an indication of the probability of harm occurring; instead, it provides an indication of how much the exposure concentration exceeds the RfDs [reference dose soil] or RfCs [reference concentration]. It should also be noted that although calculations were done for the surface water locations sampled routinely as part of the Riverton site monitoring, for the most part, these surface water locations may not sustain the fishing and swimming scenarios assumed for this update.
For the ecological risk assessment, plant concentrations exceeded the plant screening levels in most cases for both the plume area and reference area A. The receptor-specific screenings for avian and mammalian species were less than an HQ of 1 for all species. The comparison of site surface water data collected in 2018 indicated that some site concentrations of the COCs exceeded screening benchmarks from various agencies for aquatic species suggesting further evaluation may be warranted. However, there is no evidence that aquatic biota is being affected, only that screening values were exceeded. [...]
Based on the results of this update in combination with past completed remedial action and ongoing monitoring activities and IC implementation, it is concluded that the current conditions at the Riverton site are protective of human health and the environment given the continuous monitoring and oversight provided by DOE and the collaboration with NANRO [Northern Arapaho Natural Resources Office] and the Northern Arapaho community for the implementation of the ICs that are in place at the site.
(Riverton, Wyoming, Processing Site: An Environmental Risk Assessment Update, Final, September 2021 - emphasis added)
DOE seeking alternative to deficient natural flushing strategy for contaminated aquifer at former Riverton uranium mill site
Concentrations of uranium and molybdenum at the site continue to remain above the standards for groundwater in numerous surficial aquifer wells. Sampling results from semiconfined monitoring wells continue to indicate no impact from site-related contaminants. Sampling results from surface water indicate that groundwater discharge continues to affect the water quality in the oxbow lake, but there are no significant impacts to surface water in the Little Wind River and other ponds near the site.
Several types of information [...] indicate that natural flushing of the surficial aquifer is occurring at the Riverton site but not at a rate that will meet the 100-year regulatory time frame. Based on this information, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management is evaluating contaminant behavior characteristics, the site conceptual model, and assessing groundwater remedy alternatives to determine an appropriate alternate compliance strategy for the site.
(2020 Verification Monitoring Report, Riverton, Wyoming, Processing Site, U.S. DOE Legacy Management, March 2021)
Natural flushing of contaminated aquifer at former Riverton uranium mill site might not be accomplished in 100-year regulatory time frame
"Concentrations of uranium and molybdenum at the site continued to remain above the standards for groundwater in numerous surficial aquifer wells, and uranium and molybdenum
concentrations remained elevated (compared to 2015 pre-flood levels) in monitoring wells that
were impacted by flooding of the Little Wind River in February and June 2017. Sampling results
from semiconfined monitoring wells and domestic wells continued to indicate no impact from
site-related contaminants.
Several types of information [...] indicate natural flushing of the surficial aquifer is occurring at the Riverton site, but the rate at which it is occurring might not be sufficient to meet the 100-year regulatory time frame."
(2017 Verification Monitoring Report, Riverton, Wyoming, Processing Site, U.S. DOE Legacy Management, July 2018)
Ongoing study investigates possible link between uranium contamination at former Riverton uranium mill site and high cancer rates on Wind River Indian Reservation
On the Wind River Indian Reservation in central Wyoming, an ongoing community health study may finally link uranium contamination to residents' high rates of normally rare cancers.
The old Susquehanna-Western mill, located a few miles southwest of Riverton, the ninth-most-populated city in Wyoming, began processing uranium and vanadium ore in 1958, using sulfuric acid to extract the elements from rock. The mill closed in 1963, but its sulfuric acid plant is still in production. When the mill shut down, Susquehanna-Western left behind massive piles of contaminated materials, commonly known as tailings, for two decades. While finally removed in the late 1980s, contamination persists.
The reservation's water supply runs through the former Susquehanna-Western uranium mill site. Many of members of the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes who reside on the 2.2 million-acre reservation opt to use piped-in water supplies instead of their wells to avoid further exposure to the toxins.
Director of The Rocky Mountain Tribal Epidemiology Center (RMTEC) Folo Akintan says despite the history, "there has never been a community health impact assessment" on the reservation.
The data analysis is still in-progress.
RMTEC will take another six months to complete data collection and analysis.
(Indian Country Today Nov. 5, 2012)
Impacts of 2010 flooding on groundwater quality at former Riverton uranium mill site
Natural flushing of contaminated aquifer at Riverton site may not be accomplished in 100-year regulatory time frame:
"Although still above their respective MCLs (maximum concentration limits), molybdenum and uranium concentrations in the surficial aquifer groundwater have returned to their pre-flood levels after the increases that followed the 2010 flood of the Little Wind River. However, numerous lines of evidence, including updated groundwater modeling, indicate that the rate of natural flushing may not be rapid enough to meet the 100-year regulatory limit."
> Download: 2013 Verification Monitoring Report, Riverton, Wyoming, Processing Site , LMS/RVT/S11203, U.S. DOE, Legacy Management, April 2014 (38.1MB PDF)
Natural flushing of contaminated aquifer at Riverton site found to perform slower than anticipated:
The Department of Energy says it's unlikely that the high levels of uranium at a contaminated site on Wind River Reservation will flush out of the groundwater naturally in 100 years, like they previously thought.
DOE initiated additional data collection at the site after a flood in 2010 caused uranium levels to spike even higher. In a new report, the agency says it's not totally clear where the uranium that caused those spike came from.
> Download: 2012 Enhanced Characterization and Monitoring Report, Riverton, Wyoming, Processing Site , LMS/RVT/S09799, U.S. DOE, Legacy Management, June 2013 (5.4MB PDF)
DOE releases data summary report for groundwater and soil tests conducted at former Riverton uranium mill site after 2010 flooding:
On Feb. 19, 2013, the U.S. Department of Energy announced the availability of a Data Summary Report of enhanced characterization fieldwork conducted in August 2012 at the Riverton, Wyoming, Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) Site.
"The Department will use the data to assess why levels of groundwater contamination in monitoring wells increased after the 2010 historic flood event of the Little Wind River," said Bill Dam, DOE Riverton site manager. "The next step is to analyze and interpret the data."
> Download: Enhanced Characterization of the Surficial Aquifer Riverton, Wyoming, Processing Site, Data Summary Report, LMS/RVT/S09545 , U.S. Department of Energy, Legacy Management, January 2013 (19MB PDF)
Contaminant concentrations in surficial aquifer at former Riverton uranium mill site remain high after 2010 flooding:
"Concentrations of molybdenum and uranium in samples collected in 2011 from wells affected by the flood are less than 2010 levels but have not returned to pre-flood levels."
> Download: Verification Monitoring Report for the Riverton, Wyoming, Processing Site, Update for 2011 , April 2012, U.S. DOE Legacy Management, LMS/RVT/S08569 (4.7MB PDF)
Flooding causes dramatic increases in contaminant concentrations in surficial aquifer at former Riverton uranium mill site:
"Uranium and molybdenum are the indicator constituents for compliance monitoring at the Riverton site, and concentrations are still above their respective MCLs (maximum concentration limits). Flooding of the Little Wind River (in June 2010) caused dramatic increases in contaminant concentrations in surficial aquifer monitoring wells located in flooded areas. The flood resulted in wells on the western edge of the plume to have concentrations above the uranium MCL."
> Download: Verification Monitoring Report for the Riverton, Wyoming, Processing Site, Update for 2010 , February 2011, U.S. DOE Legacy Management, LMS/RVT/S07202 (4.4MB PDF)
Relaxed groundwater standards
The U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) Grand Junction Office (GJO) announces the availability of the final Environmental Assessment of Ground-Water Compliance at the Riverton, Wyoming, Uranium Mill Tailings Site document, and Finding of No Significant Impact.
The Environmental Assessment analyzed the potential environmental impacts of the proposed action for applying supplemental standards at the Riverton site; supplemental standards is the compliance strategy determined appropriate for residual ground-water contamination that exists in the shallow ground water as a result of the former milling operations.
> View DOE GJO release (Oct 14, 1998)
> View Riverton general site info · DOE GJO groundwater site info
NRC Docket No.
> U.S. DOE Office of Legacy Management: Spook site
> Aerial view: Google Maps
Adoption of "No action" approach leaves 3.8 million m3 of contaminated groundwater uncleaned
from: NRC Weekly Information Report for the Week Ending October
10, 1997:
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
"Completion of Groundwater Reclamation at Spook
Mill
On October 8, 1997, Division of Waste Management staff concurred
on the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Groundwater Compliance
Action Plan (GCAP) for the Spook Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial
Action Project site at Spook, Wyoming. The groundwater
restoration phase of the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action
(UMTRA) Project was initiated by DOE's final Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS). As set forth in the GCAP,
DOE's approach requires No remedial action to the groundwater at
the Spook site since there is No apparent risk to human health
or the environment because there is No known exposure pathway.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff determined that the
"No action" approach for this site satisfies the
requirements set forth in the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation
Control Act of 1978 (UMTRCA), and the standards in 40 CFR 192,
Subparts B and C for the cleanup of groundwater contamination
resulting from the processing of ores for the extraction of
uranium. NRC had previously concurred on the surface cleanup of
the Spook site and licensed it for long-term care. With the NRC
concurrence on the GCAP, remedial action for this site as
required under the UMTRCA is considered complete. Spook is the
first uranium mill tailings site where NRC has concurred on all
of the actions required of DOE for both surface and groundwater
remediation since the DOE PEIS was issued."
> View Environmental Assessment of Ground-Water Compliance Activities at the Uranium Mill Tailings Site, Spook, Wyoming , EA-1155
> View Spook general site info · DOE GJO groundwater site info
> View background information on Uranium Mill Tailings Management - USA
