Download Engineering Assessment of Inactive Uranium Mill Tailings, Gunnison Site, Gunnison, Colorado. Phase II Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle
Ford, Bacon and Davis Utah Inc. has performed an engineering assessment of the problems resulting from the existence of radioactive uranium mill tailings at Gunnison, Colorado. The Phase II - Title I services include the preparation of topographic 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 0.5 million tons of tailings at the Gunnison site constitutes the most significant environmental impact, although windblown tailings and external gamma radiation are also factors. The nine alternative actions presented range from millsite decontamination (Option I), to adding various depths of stabilization cover material (Options II and III), to removal of the tailings to long-term storage sites and decontamination of the present site (Options IV through IX). Cost estimates for the nine options range from $480,000 to $5,890,000. Reprocessing the tailings for uranium does not appear to be economically attractive at present.