Engineering assessment of inactive uranium mill tailings new and old Rifle site, Rifle, Colorado. Phase II, Title I
Ford, Bacon and Davis Utah Inc. has performed an engineering assessment of the problems resulting from the existence of radioactive uranium mill tailings at Rifle, Colorado. The Phase II--Title I services include the preparation of topographic maps, the performance of core drillings and radiometric measurements sufficient to determine areas and volumes of tailings and other radium-contaminated materials, the evaluation of resulting radiation exposures of individuals and nearby populations, the investigation of site hydrology and meteorology and the evaluation and costing of alternative corrective actions. Radon gas release from the 3.1 million tons of tailings at the two Rifle sites, constitutes the most significant environmental impact. Windblown tailings, external gamma radiation and localized contamination of surface waters are other environmental effects. The 15 alternative remedial action options presented range from millsite decontamination and off-site remedial action (Options I and IV), to adding various depths of stabilization cover material (Options II, V, VI and VII), to removal of the tailings to long-term storage sites and decontamination of the present sites (Options III and VIII through XV). Cost estimates for the first 14 options range from $224,000 to $20,300,000. Option XV, estimated at $32,200,000, includes the cost for moving both Rifle tailings piles and the Grand Junction tailings pile to DeBeque for long-term storage and site decontamination after removal of the piles. Reprocessing of the tailings for uranium appears to be economically attractive at present.
- Research Organization:
- Ford, Bacon and Davis Utah, Inc., Salt Lake City (USA)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- EY-76-C-13-1658
- OSTI ID:
- 5358972
- Report Number(s):
- GJT-10; TRN: 78-003295
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
COLORADO
FEED MATERIALS PLANTS
URANIUM MINES
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
COST
MILL TAILINGS
RADON
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
GAMMA RADIATION
HYDROLOGY
METEOROLOGY
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ELEMENTS
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
IONIZING RADIATIONS
MANAGEMENT
MINES
NONMETALS
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
RADIATIONS
RARE GASES
SOLID WASTES
USA
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
053000* - Nuclear Fuels- Environmental Aspects
530000 - Environmental-Social Aspects of Energy Technologies- (-1989)