No! To Uranium Mills in Colorado

Cleanup of radioactive tailings waste produced by Union Carbide Corporation, near Maybell, Colorado. Total cost was $63.5 million.


Colorado is a state of scenic beauty because of its mountains, which gives it the highest mean elevation of any state in the nation. However, those beautiful mountains also harbor troves of uranium in the form of uranium oxide. If you live anywhere near the mountains, you have to make sure to air out your home regularly because of the accumulation of radon gas, which comes off as a natural decay product of uranium. Even if you don't live near the mountains specifically, you will have to deal with radon and one of the first things the new home owner has to do is have a radon inspection, to measure the concentrations of the gas.

Of course, these same properties have made Colorado 'ground zero' for the processing of uranium oxide into atomic weapons. Thousands of dedicated Colorado citizens in the years after WWII toiled to process the uranium to make the nuclear bombs that putatively would protect the country from an attack - since mutually assured destruction would surely follow.

Alas, thousands of those workers also went to their graves prematurely suffering from major health issues, including cancers, Leukemia etc. and with barely a dime from their government to reward them for their decades of "patriotic service". Today, the remaining workers still await help but it's clear the practicing policy is to just allow most to die out. Some thanks!

Now, in the wake of all this, would-be uranium mill enterprises want to return to the state to do more uranium milling, ostensibly for nuclear plants and to assist with the nation's energy problems. Spare me. This state is reeling from inadequate resources and funds and can barely afford to provide basic services (such as public transport, health inpections) or aid for its vulnerable citizens, so how can it expect to oversee and regulate an industry that doesn't give two craps about the state environment? (As evident from past messes that needed cleanup).

Let's consider some facts, statistics here right off the bat:

1) 1.2 million cubic yards of mill tailings and 20 acres of contaminated liquids were left behind around Durango, by U.S. Vanadium after processing ore from 1942-1963. Not only were vast tracts of radioactive waste left behind, but the ground water was contaminated by leaching. (Cost of cleanup: $67.6 million (Source: The Denver Post, 9/6/10, p. 21A)

2) The Gunnison Mining Co. left behind 39 acres of tailings after processing more than 540,000 tons of uranium for defense programs between 1958 and 1962. (Cost of cleanup: $58.9 million, ibid.)

3)2.2 million tons of radiocative tailings were left behind by the Climax Uranium Co. after processing 30,000 tons of uranium oxide for the War Dept. between 1943-1958. Cost of cleanup: $504 million.

4) Union Carbide Corp. (also famed for the Bhoupal disaster in India) left behind 2.6 million tons of radioactive tailings spread over 80 acres northeast of Maybell. (Cost of cleanup: $63.5 million, ibid.)

5) The Vanadium Corp. of America left behind 138 contaminated acres after its processing of 704,000 tons of ore near Naturita. (Cost of cleanup: $86.3 milllion)

None - not ONE - of these cleanups would be feasible for the state today given the condition of its finances! Hence, not one single new uranium mill should be remotely considered, never mind the promises over "regulation". Bare straight fact: the state can't afford the number of regulators it would need to keep things from getting messy!

For those who don't know, an enormous amount of radioactive detritus is left in the wake of uranium ore processing. The process itself, entailing crushing, leeching and drying of uranium ore (uranium oxide) into an enriched product known as "yellowcake" leaves as much as 99% residual ore behind from the milling process. These finely crushed "tailings", however, still contain 85% of the ore's radioactivity and heavy metals. Also mixed in with the brew (which can also intrude into ground water) are the chemicals used in the milling process, including ammonia and kerosene.

Despite that (and the past history of radioactive messes) , Energy Fuels Resources Corp. wants to build a new milliing site (The Pinon Ridge Mill) on 880 acres in the Paradox Valley. It claims the product would feed nuclear power plants, and medicinal and other technological needs - as well as provide vanadium for industrial uses. Quoted in The Denver Post, Frank Filas - environmental manager for Energy Fuels, said he thinks - in addition to the economic boost from a new mill, his company can prove "uranium milling can be done in a more environmentally sensitive manner."

As to particulars, this would mean triple liners for tailings, impoundments, leak detectors and a closed vacuum system for drying yellowcake. He also promises a $12 million bond and at least "1,000 years" to keep an eye on the place. Yeah, right!

Meanwhile, state legislators passed the 'Uranium Processing Accountability Act' last spring, designed to prevent radioactive messes to be around for decades. The law also requires cleaning up past contamination before beginning new jobs. Further, it provides the public with annual reviews of the amount of the financial bond that mill owners must post for potential cleanups. A state regulatory change also requires mills that have remained inactive for two years, to begin the cleanup process.

This all sounds terrific on paper, but as we know the laws governing the quality and safety of food, or the integrity and environmental safety of manufacturing processes, are only as good as the regulations that oversee them. In the end, any state hard pressed for cash to even maintain its basic services for citizens, is going to more often than not - look the other way - and allow these mills to police themselves. That won't work, and for that proof, just look at the recent egg-salmonella outbreak! (When regulators from the FDA finally did appear, they found roaches, mice and rats defecating all over the eggs, and piles so high in some corners, they had to be scooped out by numerous workers)

In the U.S. the problem, as always, has been "hollow laws", i.e. those which are written so loosely that any nincompoop can come up with ways to game the system. As one critic quoted in the Post observed:

"Regulatory oversight is a mess. The right hand doesn't know what the left is doing. So we shouldn't be rushing to do this when the regulatory oversight isn't there"

And certainly, when the money isn't there! For example given the typical cost of past cleanups (measured in dollars indexed for those years- most of which were worth from 4-8 times what the dollar is today)- a "$12 million bond" from Energy Fuels is a joke. I also believe $1 million for monitoring per year is a joke, as currently spent by the state's Radiation Program and the DOE's Office of Legacy Management.

Given the typical amount of past cleanups, and correcting for inflation to today's dollars- and assessing at least one tenth of that ought to be spent per year for monitoring - one arrives at a figure of ~ $9 million per site. This, of course, would also incorporate ground water assays and analysis.

Yes, Colorado desperately needs jobs and a boost to its economy. But not via uranium processing mills which exact more costs, to the enviroment and the population's health, than they deliver in benefits.