Site observational work plan for the UMTRA Project site at Tuba City, Arizona

Technical Report · Thu Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1994

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/10188547· OSTI ID:10188547

The requirements for ground water compliance for Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project sites, including the Tuba City, Arizona, site, are found in the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act; Subparts B and C of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency`s Health and Environmental Protection Standards for Uranium and Thorium Mill Tailings (40 CFR 192 (1994)), and the associated proposed 1987 standards (52 FR 36000). During the surface remedial action, an estimated 1,400,000 cubic yards (yd{sup 3}) (1,100,000 cubic meters [m{sup 3}]) of uranium mill tailings and other contaminated materials were consolidated and stabilized in place in an unlined disposal cell covering 50 acres (20 hectares). The surface remedial action was completed in April 1990. Ground water beneath the Tuba City site was contaminated by subsurface migration of water from uranium ore processing activities. The main source of contaminants was water from the tailings piles that began in 1956 when the mill opened and ended in 1966 when the mill closed. 800,000 tons (725,000 tonnes) of uranium ore were processed onsite over a 10-year period. The wet tailings remaining after processing were placed as a slurry in three piles at the site. Water from these tailings then seeped into the ground and migrated downward to the ground water. The Tuba City site is currently in a post-stabilization, prelicensing status. The site is expected to remain in this status until licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for long-term surveillance and maintenance. The preliminary ground water compliance strategy at the Tuba City site is active remediation-specific technology to be evaluated is in situ bioremediation. This selection was made because of the potential ability of bioremediation to reduce concentrations to lower levels than a conventional extraction system and to minimize disturbance of the water resource.

• Research Organization: Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-91AL62350
• OSTI ID: 10188547
• Report Number(s): DOE/AL/62350--160; ON: DE95001280
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052002
054000
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
CONTAMINATION
FEED MATERIALS PLANTS
GROUND WATER
HEALTH AND SAFETY
MILL TAILINGS
RADIATION MONITORING
RADIOACTIVE WASTE STORAGE
REMEDIAL ACTION
SITE CHARACTERIZATION
WASTE DISPOSAL AND STORAGE