Engineering assessment of inactive uranium mill tailings: Falls City site, Falls City, Texas
Ford, Bacon and Davis Utah Inc. has reevaluated the Falls City site in order to update the December 1977 engineering assessment of the problems resulting from the existence of radioactive uranium mill tailings at Falls City, Texas. This engineering assessment has included the preparation of topographic maps, the performance of core drillings and radiometric measurements sufficient to determine areas and volumes of tailings and radiation exposures of individuals and nearby populations, the investigations of site hydrology and meteorology, and the evaluation and costing of alternative corrective actions. Radon gas released from the 2.5 million tons of tailings at the Falls City site constitutes the most significant environmental impact, although windblown tailings and external gamma radiation also are factors. The four alternative actions presented in this engineering assessment range from millsite decontamination with the addition of 3 m of stabilization cover material, to removal of the tailings to remote disposal sites and decontamination of the tailings site. Cost estimates for the four options range from about $21,700,000 for stabilization in place, to about $35,100,000 for disposal at a distance of about 15 mi. Three principal alternatives for the reprocessing of the Falls City tailings were examined: heap leaching; treatment at an existing mill; and reprocessing at a new conventional mill constructed for tailings reprocessing. The tailings piles are presently being rewashed for uranium recovery by Solution Engineering, Inc. The cost for further reprocessing would be about $250/lb of U/sub 3/O/sub 8/. The spot market price for uranium was $25/lb early in 1981. Therefore, reprocessing the tailings for uranium recovery does not appear to be economically attractive for the foreseeable future.
- Research Organization:
- Ford, Bacon and Davis Utah, Inc., Salt Lake City (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-76GJ01658
- OSTI ID:
- 6084726
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/UMT-0111; FBDU-360-16; ON: DE82003321; TRN: 82-000177
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
FEED MATERIALS PLANTS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
MILL TAILINGS
LAND RECLAMATION
COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS
STABILIZATION
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADON
RADIATION MONITORING
DECONTAMINATION
HEALTH HAZARDS
HUMAN POPULATIONS
RADIATION HAZARDS
RECOVERY
TEXAS
URANIUM ORES
URANIUM OXIDES
ACTINIDE COMPOUNDS
CHALCOGENIDES
CLEANING
ELEMENTS
FLUIDS
GASES
HAZARDS
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
MANAGEMENT
MONITORING
NONMETALS
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
ORES
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POPULATIONS
RARE GASES
SOLID WASTES
SOUTHWEST REGION
TAILINGS
URANIUM COMPOUNDS
USA
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
052001* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Processing
052002 - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Disposal & Storage
510500 - Environment
Terrestrial- Site Resource & Use Studies- (-1989)
510300 - Environment
Terrestrial- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)
510200 - Environment
Terrestrial- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)