Nuclear Development Environmental Remediation Of Uranium Production Facilities

Environmental remediation activities in uranium mines and mills have become increasingly important in the last few decades due to the large number of facilities which have been taken out of operation, the growing interest in remediating previously abandoned sites and the increasingly strict environmental regulations that are being put in place. Remediation programmes are being implemented to ensure the return of affected areas to previously existing environmental conditions or to a land use that will be sustainable in the long term and acceptable to all stakeholders. This report provides a summary of the most relevant issues and practices in remediation programmes of uranium production facilities and an overview of activities and plans in reporting countries. It covers the areas of site characterisation, dismantling and decommissioning, waste management facilities, water remediation, long-term stewardship and monitoring, policies and regulations, and costs. The country profiles of remediation activities and plans include information considered to be important by the country and are based on survey responses provided by 22 countries (12 OECD and 10 non-OECD countries).

This book provides an overview of environmental activities related to uranium production based on survey responses from 29 countries.

The legacies of past uranium mining and milling continue to be of concern and require assessment and remedial action. This problem has been recognized in many parts of the world over the past three decades, but has received increased attention since the end of the Cold War. Considerable effort and resources have been expended in dealing with this legacy. However, it has to be noted that the search for uranium has covered almost all countries on the globe. The result in some countries is a legacy of numerous small scale mines and mills. For economic and other reasons, including less stringent environmental standards and awareness at the time, these operations may not have been properly closed out and made safe. The remediation strategies and techniques developed by major problem holders, such as the USA or Germany, often would be out of scale for the problems in other countries. Therefore an international workshop was organized in Lisbon from 11 to 13 February 2004 as a forum for the exchange of views and experiences of countries with smaller scale uranium mining legacies.

From 1980 to 1993, the domestic production of uranium declined from almost 44 million pounds U3O8 to about 3 million pounds. This retrenchment of the U.S. uranium industry resulted in the permanent closing of many uranium-producing facilities. Current low uranium prices, excess world supply, and low expectations for future uranium demand indicate that it is unlikely existing plants will be reopened. Because of this situation, these facilities eventually will have to be decommissioned. The Uranium Mill Tailings and Radiation Control Act of 1978 (UMTRCA) vests the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with overall responsibility for establishing environmental standards for decommissioning of uranium production facilities. UMTRCA also gave the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) the responsibility for licensing and regulating uranium production and related activities, including decommissioning. Because there are many issues associated with decommissioning-environmental, political, and financial-this report will concentrate on the answers to three questions: (1) What is required? (2) How is the process implemented? (3) What are the costs? Regulatory control is exercised principally through the NRC licensing process. Before receiving a license to construct and operate an uranium producing facility, the applicant is required to present a decommissioning plan to the NRC. Once the plan is approved, the licensee must post a surety to guarantee that funds will be available to execute the plan and reclaim the site. This report by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) represents the most comprehensive study on this topic by analyzing data on 33 (out of 43) uranium production facilities located in Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Washington.

In recent years, radioactive contamination in the environment by uranium (U) and its daughters has caused increasing concerns globally. This book provides recent developments and comprehensive knowledge to the researchers and academicians who are working on uranium contaminated areas worldwide. This book covers topics ranging from the beginning of the nuclear age until today, including historical views and epidemiological studies. Modelling practices and evaluation of radiological and chemical impact of uranium on man and the environment are included. Also covered are analytical methods used for the determination of uranium in geo/bio environments. Some chapters explore factors which influence uranium speciation and in consequence plant uptake/translocation. Last but not least, several chapters provide approaches and practices for remediation of uranium contaminated areas.

This book presents the results from the Uranium Mining and Hydrogeology Congress held in September 2005, in Freiberg, Germany. It addresses scientists and engineers involved in the areas of uranium mining and milling sites, clean-up measures, emissions of nuclear power plants and radioactive waste disposal, as well as political decision-makers. The topics covered are: impact on groundwater from radionuclide emission, analytical specification techniques, chemical toxicity, radioisotope plant uptake, microbiology, geochemical and reactive transport, case studies on active and abandoned uranium mines and milling sites, long-term storage of radioactive waste, passive in situ treatment techniques and risk assessment studies. The accompanying CD-ROM includes all papers in colour.

This publication features papers presented at the Workshop on Cleaning Up Sites Contaminated with Radioactive Materials, held in Moscow in June 2007. This activity was organized by the National Academies in cooperation with the Russian Academy of Sciences and with funding provided by the Russell Family Foundation. The workshop was designed to promote exchanges of information on specific contaminated sites in Russia and elsewhere and to stimulate greater attention to the severity of the problems and the urgent need to clean up sites of concern to the local and international communities.