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Regulators propose letting an idle uranium mill in southern Utah keep its state license. But the Division of Radiation Control (DRC) also has asked the Shootaring Canyon mill's owner to sketch out plans to shutter the plant for good.
The division announced last week it is seeking public comment on the two-year license extension for the mill, which is located near the town of Ticaboo and owned by Canada-based Uranium One Americas Inc. Ordinarily, radioactive materials licensees are required to perform an in-depth review as part of a license renewal every five years.
But the company, which is considering selling the uranium-processing plant, asked the state instead to have its license extended for five years. Regulators rejected that idea and opted instead for a two-year extension that would allow the plant to continue in its stand-by status.
The plant only processed uranium during the first four months of the 29 years since it was built. A brief effort to bring the plant online a few years ago faltered when the uranium market took a dip.
Regulators have added a condition in the current license review that would require Uranium One to analyze the itemized cost of decommissioning the mill. Decommissioning would involve removing all the contaminated material from the site, either for disposal at the EnergySolutions radioactive waste disposal site in Tooele County or processing at the White Mesa uranium mill in Blanding.
Last year Uranium One sold controlling interest in its uranium operations to the Russian company, Atomredmetzoloto (ARMZ), a subsidiary of Rosatom, the Russian nuclear agency that has supplied highly radioactive reactor fuel to Iran. A group of U.S. House members tried unsuccessfully to block the deal.
Uranium One said its new structure would not affect its U.S. assets including the town of Ticaboo near Lake Powell, the uranium mill a few miles north of the town, more than 10,000 acres of uranium claims in Utah and additional holdings in South Dakota, Wyoming and Texas.
Sarah Fields of Moab-based Uranium Watch said instead of extending the license, state regulators should order the plant to be decommissioned now. There are no mines in the vicinity to supply the mill, and the tailings and radioactive material on site has the potential to contaminate the water, including Lake Powell.
She concluded: "It should have been decommissioned years ago."
Utah is home to another uranium mill, the White Mesa mill near Blanding, and that facility is also undergoing a license review by the Division of Radiation Control. The 30-day comment period began on Oct. 14, and public hearings are planned Nov. 7 at DEQ headquarters in Salt Lake City and on Nov. 14 in Blanding at the Arts and Events Center. Details are available at http://www.radiationcontrol.utah.gov/.
Weigh in on uranium mill license
More information about the proposal can be found on the Utah Radiation Control Division web page: http://www.radiationcontrol.utah.gov/. A 30-day public comment period ends at 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 25. Comments should be submitted to the Division of Radiation Control, 195 N. 1950 West, Salt Lake City, UT, 84116, or by email to rlundberg@utah.gov on or before Nov. 25.