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http://www.wise-uranium.org/udmoa.html

Moab uranium tailings relocation reaches million-short ton milestone

The U.S. Energy Department said this week that more than 1 million (short) tons of uranium mill tailings have been moved from the banks of the Colorado River near Moab to a disposal cell 30 miles away at Crescent Junction, north of Interstate 70. Federal stimulus funds has helped pay for about half of the volume moved so far. (The Salt Lake Tribune Mar. 4, 2010)

Moab tailings relocation suspended after truck accident

A truck carrying uranium mill tailings from a Moab cleanup project headed by EnergySolutions tipped over and spilled some of the radioactive dirt last Wednesday (Oct. 14). The multimillion-dollar cleanup project was suspended until Tuesday (Oct. 20) for a safety evaluation, EnergySolutions spokesman Mark Walker said. EnergySolutions had been carting dirt up a haul road at the site Wednesday evening when the driver came too close to the shoulder and the truck tipped over, Walker said. The driver was fine but taken to the hospital for a precautionary evaluation, he said. (Deseret News Oct. 18, 2009)

DOE officials developing "aggressive solutions" for groundwater remediation at Atlas Moab uranium mill tailings site

The presence of ammonia in a "backwater" between the Atlas tailings pile and the Colorado River is complicating things slightly at the Moab Tailings Project site, according to Department of Energy Project Director Don Metzler. "Our goal is to get this down to 1 ppm," Metzler said.
"There is a likelihood we could get funded so that the project is done in 10 years," Metzler said, noting that the original planning for the tailings removal allowed for 20 years to get the job done. That means 10 years less time to work out groundwater issues, he said.
Now the project works out an aggressive solution, according to Metzler. One possibility under consideration is to increase the pH (reduce acidity) so that the ammonia will gasify into the air. Another possibility would be to treat the water to remove both ammonia and uranium from it. But that would be more expensive and would take resources away from moving the tailings faster, Metzler said. (Moab Times Oct. 1, 2009)

2019 deadline for completion of Moab uranium tailings relocation becoming realistic, if additonal funding is provided

Will relocation of the Atlas tailings pile be completed by 2019 as required by federal law? "The odds are getting better and better all the time," said Rep. Jim Matheson (D-Utah) during a recent tour of the Atlas site with Department of Energy and Grand County officials. Given a boost from federal economic stimulus funds, the project will begin shipping containers on two trains per day starting Aug. 17, DOE officials said. In November, those trains will increase from 22 cars each to 34 cars, according to DOE project director Don Metzler. With that expansion the 2019 deadline becomes realistic, provided that, once the stimulus funds are used up, extra money is appropriated by Congress or allocated to the Moab project away from other DOE projects, Metzler said. (Moab Times Aug. 13, 2009)

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