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Lengthy and costly cleanup of uranium contaminated site

Largest abandoned uranium mine cleanup on Navajo Nation announced An important milestone in the effort to clean up of Navajo trust lands contaminated by historic uranium mining will be achieved in the cleanup of the Northeast Church Rock Mine in New Mexico., Mineweb, Dorothy Kosich, 30 Sep 2011 RENO, NV –   The U.S. EPA announced Thursday it has approved a plan to clean up 1.4 million tons of radium and uranium contaminated soil at the Northeast Church Rock Mine, the largest and highest priority uranium mine on the Navajo Nation.

Northeast Church Rock mine operated as a uranium ore mine from 1967 to 1992.

Under EPA oversight and in conjunction with the Navajo Nation EPS, General Electric conducted two prior cleanups at the site to deal with residual contamination, including the remove and reconstruction of one building in 2007 and removal of 40,000 tons of contaminated soil in 2010.

The new approved plan is based on six years of work and more than 10 public meetings with the local community, the Navajo Nation and others. During the public meetings, residents expressed concern that the disposal of mine waste with nearby United Nuclear Corporation Mill site tailings could cause groundwater contamination, uneven settling of the tailings, or other problems with the current impoundment.

The multiyear cleanup will be conducted in several phases. Design of the disposal facility will take place over a three-year period. Construction of final mine sign cleanup will be completed by 2018. The cleanup will place the contaminated soil in a lined, capped facility……

October 3, 2011 - Posted by | indigenous issues, Uranium, USA

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