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National Information |
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Superfund Program
Uravan Uranium Project
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Site Type: Active NPL City: Uravan County: Montrose Street Address: 37 miles south of Gateway on Hwy 141 Zip Code: 81436 EPA ID#: COD007063274 Site ID#: 0800076 Site Aliases: Union Carbide, UMETCO Congressional District(s): 03 |
NEW: On September 29, 2008, EPA announced the completion of the efforts to restore the site. View the Final Closeout Report below. The cleanup of the 680-acre site took place from 1987 to 2007 at a cost of over $120 million. Also see the before and after pictures of the site in the Site Photos section of this page.
Site Description
The 680-acre Uravan Uranium site began as a radium-recovery plant in 1912. Its owners converted it for vanadium extraction. From the 1940s to 1984, the plant operated as a uranium and vanadium processing facility.
Operations at the 680-acre site left a large volume of wastes, contaminating air, soil and groundwater near the plant and the San Miguel River.
Contaminants included radioactive products such as raffinates, raffinate crystals and mill tailings containing uranium and radium. Other chemicals in the tailings and ground water were heavy metals, such as lead, arsenic, cadmium and vanadium.
EPA added the site to its National Priorities List in 1986. The State of Colorado is the lead agency for the cleanup.
Cleanup for much of the site is complete, with final construction completion expected in the late fall of 2007. Following cleanup completion, the site will be deleted from the National Priorities List (NL) and transferred to the Depatment of Energy for long-term management. Two historic structures -- a recreation hall and boarding house -- were deleted from the NPL and them demolished in 2007. Demolition debris from the two structures and underlying contaminated soils will be consolidated in an on-site repository by October 2007.
Since waste is left in place, five-year reviews will be required to ensure that the remedy remains protective of human health and the environment. The most recent review was completed in September, 2005. The next review will be conducted by 2010.
Site Risk
Wastes are being contained on the site; pollution of the San Miguel River is under control; and there is no longer any residential exposure to radiation.
| Media Affected | Contaminants | Source of Contamination |
| Air, ground water, surface water, soil, sediment, solid waste, debris | Raffinates, raffinate crystals, lead, arsenic, cadmium, vanadium | Radium recovery plant, uranium and vanadium processing |
Cleanup Progress
Cleanup remedies include:
- Capping and revegetating nearly ten million cubic yards of radioactive tailings;
- Disposing of 530,000 cubic yards of radioactive raffinate crystals;
- Eliminating process ponds;
- Pumping and treating contaminated groundwater;
- Securing 12 million yards of tailings waste along the San Miguel River;
- Dismantling the 2 mills and placing all old building-demolition materials in a secure area;
- Excavating and disposing of contaminated soil in a secure area, replanting these areas; and
- Dismantling and cleaning up the town of Uravan.
Wastes are being contained on the site; pollution of the San Miguel River is under control; and there is no longer any residential exposure to radiation.
In 2006, in a coordinated effort between the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment and Umetco, a significant source of contamination was removed from beneath Highway 141. Simulataneously, CDOT reconfigured the road to improve safety. In addition, a series of process ponds adjacent to Highway 141 were remediated. The Highway 141 portion of the Superfund site is being deleted from the NPL in the spring of 2007.
Community Involvement
As part of the 2005 five-year review, EPA interviewed four Uravan area stakeholders. Notice of the availability of the five-year review was published on July 7m 2005, in the San Miquel Basin Forum newspaper. EPA produces an annual update (see link below) to the five-year review, which presents the current status of the cleanup.Site Documents
Note: the following documents are Adobe Acrobat PDF files
About PDF files
Final Closeout Report: September 29, 2008 (PDF, 8 pp, 256K)
Five-Year Review, September 2005 (PDF, 62 pages, 2 MB)
Five-Year Review Annual Update, December 2007 (PDF, 37K, 4 pages)
Federal Register Direct Final Notice of Partial Deletion, Dec. 20, 2004 (PDF, 4 pages, 90K)
Groundwater Data Tables:
Appendix 3, Acrobat Format (26K PDF)
Appendix 4, Acrobat Format (100K
PDF)
Appendix 5, Acrobat Format (12K PDF)
Site Photos
Uravan site before cleanup:
Uravan site after cleanup:
Club Mesa, Acrobat Format (900K PDF)
Hillside Collection Systems,
Acrobat Format (1000K PDF)
Panorama Plate, Acrobat Format (1000K
PDF)
Contacts
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EPA Rebecca Thomas Rob Henneke |
Colorado Phil Stoffey |
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View Documents at: EPA Superfund Records Center CDPHE |
