Environmental assessment of remedial action at the Gunnison Uranium Mill Tailings Site, Gunnison, Colorado. [UMTRA Project]

Technical Report · Sat Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1984

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6196795· OSTI ID:6196795

Bachrach, A; Hoopes, J; Morycz, D ^[1]; Bone, M; Cox, S; Jones, D; Lechel, D; Meyer, C; Nelson, M; Peel, R; Portillo, R; Rogers, L; Taber, B; Zelle, P ^[2]; Rice, G ^[3]

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1. Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc., Pasadena, CA (USA)
2. Weston (Roy F.), Inc., Washington, DC (USA)
3. Sergent, Hauskins and Beckwith (USA)

This document assesses and compares the environmental impacts of various alternatives for remedial action at the Gunnison uranium of mill tailings site located 0.5 miles south of Gunnison, Colorado. The site covers 56 acres and contains 35 acres of tailings, 2 of the original mill buildings and a water tower. The Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control of Act of 1978 (UMTRCA), Public Law 95-604, authorizes the US Department of Energy to clean up the site to reduce the potential health impacts associated with the residual radioactive materials remaining at the site and at associated (vicinity) properties off the site. The US Environmental Protection Agency promulgated standards for the remedial actions (40 CFR 192). Remedial actions must be performed in accordance with these standards and with the occurrence of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Four alternatives have been addressed in this document. The first alternative is to consolidate the tailings and associated contaminated soils into a recontoured pile on the southern portion of the existing site. A radon barrier of silty clay would be constructed over the pile and various erosion control measures would be taken to assure the long-term integrity of the pile. Two other alternatives which involve moving the tailings to new locations are assessed in this document. These alternatives generally involve greater short-term impacts and are more costly but would result in the tailings being stabilized in a location farther from the city of Gunnison. The no action alternative is also assessed.

• Research Organization: Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc., Pasadena, CA (USA); Weston (Roy F.), Inc., Washington, DC (USA); Sergent, Hauskins and Beckwith (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/NE
• OSTI ID: 6196795
• Report Number(s): DOE/UMTRA-91005826; ON: DE91005826
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

053000 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Environmental Aspects
054000* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Health & Safety
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290300 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Environment
Health
& Safety
ABANDONED SITES
ACTINIDES
COLORADO
CONTAINMENT
CONTAMINATION
DAUGHTER PRODUCTS
ELEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
FEDERAL REGION VIII
FLUIDS
GASES
GROUND WATER
GUNNISON RIVER
HAZARDS
HEALTH HAZARDS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
ISOTOPES
LAWS
METALS
MILL TAILINGS
NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NONMETALS
NORTH AMERICA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
RADIATION HAZARDS
RADON
RARE GASES
REMEDIAL ACTION
RIVERS
SOILS
SOLID WASTES
STANDARDS
STREAMS
SURFACE WATERS
TAILINGS
URANIUM
US NRC
US ORGANIZATIONS
USA
WASTES
WATER