Uranium Resources and Environmental Investigations

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USGS Scientist Elected First U.S. Chair of International Uranium Group in Thirty Years

	USGS Scientist Susan Hall was elected chair of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development – Nuclear Energy Agency/International Atomic Energy Agency’s Uranium Group during their 48th meeting in Kirovograd, Ukraine, which was held August 21-24, 2012.
Friday, September 28, 2012 Type: Press Release

234U/238U isotope data from groundwater and solid-phase leachate samples near Tuba City Open Dump, Tuba City, Arizona

	Groundwater concentration data and solid-phase leachate data were collected for samples taken in and around Tuba City Open Dump, Tuba City, Arizona, in 2008. Sample locations, sample collection and analytical methods, and previous geochemical results are provided in Johnson and others (2008)...
Monday, June 25, 2012 Type: Publication

Bibliography of Environmentally Relevant Investigations of Uranium Mining and Milling in the Grants Mineral Belt, New Mexico

	Studies of the natural environment in the Grants Mineral Belt in northwestern New Mexico have been conducted since the 1930s; however, few such investigations predate uranium mining and milling operations, which began in the early 1950s. This report provides an annotated bibliography of reports that...
Monday, June 27, 2011 Type: Publication

Geology, Geochemistry, and Geophysics of the Fry Canyon Uranium/Copper Project Site, Southeastern Utah—Indications of Contaminant Migration

	The Fry Canyon uranium/copper project site in San Juan County, southeastern Utah, was affected by the historical (1957–68) processing of uranium and copper-uranium ores. Relict uranium tailings and related ponds, and a large copper heap-leach pile at the site represent point sources of uranium...
Wednesday, September 01, 2010 Type: Publication

Hydrological, Geological, and Biological Site Characterization of Breccia Pipe Uranium Deposits in Northern Arizona

	As part of the Department of the Interior’s evaluation of whether to segregate nearly 1 million acres of federal lands near the Grand Canyon from new uranium claims, the United States Geological Survey today released a report on uranium resources and uranium mining impacts in the area.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010 Type: Publication

Volcanogenic Uranium Deposits: Geology, Geochemical Processes, and Criteria for Resource Assessment

	Felsic volcanic rocks have long been considered a primary source of uranium for many kinds of uranium deposits, but volcanogenic uranium deposits themselves have generally not been important resources...
Friday, January 22, 2010 Type: Publication

Overview

Kanab North breccia-pipe U mine,
northwestern Arizona, August, 2009.
Photo courtesy of Don Bills, USGS.

From 1946 to 1995 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) was involved in understanding uranium geology, geochemistry, and resources. Much of that work was done on behalf of the Atomic Energy Commission, the Energy Research and Development Administration, and the Department of Energy. With the resurgence of uranium exploration and mining activities in the United States over the past few years, a substantial need for ready access to existing data in the files of the USGS' Energy Program has increased. The following are highlights of this Uranium website:

USGS Uranium Publications from 1952 to 2010 are available, as well as an extended Uranium Research Bibliography.
The Uranium group also has a large on-site Uranium Library, whose contents are available to the publc on an as-request basis.
An overview poster of Uranium-environmental impact issues is available here, prepared by Tanya Gallegos (1.8MB Adobe Acrobat PDF).
An overview poster of Uranium Resource Assessment is available, prepared by Susan Hall (1.7MB Adobe Acrobat PDF)
An overview poster of Uranium in Surface Waters and Sediments Affected by Historical Mining in the Denver West (2 MB Adobe Acrobat PDF), prepared by Robert Zielinski. This poster is derived from USGS SIR 2007-5246

In addition to publications and databases, the USGS conducts uranium environmental studies and serves as a valuable platform for outreach including ask a scientist about uranium service.

This webpage will be a portal to access the wealth of Uranium research from the USGS and is evolving. Future website components will include:

Extensive photo-library of mining sites, sample locations, field studies, etc.
Interactive Geospatial library of Uranium samples

Research

This map shows the equivalent uranium (eU) concentrations in surface soils and rocks across the U.S

Equivalent uranium (eU) concentrations in soils and rocks in the U.S. (USGS DDS-09)

Uranium Environmental Issues

Uranium and its decay products and associated trace elements create human health and environmental hazards wherever they occur in unusually elevated levels. Although uranium mill tailings have been the subject of extensive investigation and cleanup at mill sites across the U.S., uranium mine wastes remain at a number of sites throughout the western United States and constitute a significant hazard for casual visitors to the site from gamma exposure and inhalation of windblown dust. [+]

Visitors to underground uranium operations, which are common in many recreational areas of the west, have been exposed to extreme levels of radon. These hazards have been recognized by responsible Federal and State agencies and reclamation of many uranium mine sites in the west and closure of undergound mine openings has occurred. However, the extent and success of these programs has been controlled by the availability of funds under such programs as the Surface Mine Reclamation Act. The availability of these funds varies from State to State. Many areas of some western States continue to have exposed unreclaimed uranium mine wastes at former mining sites. The leaching of radionuclides and other elements by precipitation and the erosion of waste piles by wind and runoff are primary mechanisms by which adjacent soils, water, and ecosystems are impacted by uranium mine waste piles, yet very few studies of waste piles have occurred to document whether such processes create hazards beyond the immediate vicinity of the piles.

The USEPA released guidelines for uranium mine waste cleanup. In 2006 they published two volumes on the topic, a background volume and a risk assessment volume. These documents are based on the best available data but detailed studies that could further support the waste assessment and risk assessment are limited.
As recreational uses of older uranium mining areas increase and as residential areas expand into former uranium mine and prospect areas such as those in the Uravan Mineral belt and the Front Range of Colorado human exposures will increase. Evaluating uranium mine waste sites will assist Federal and State land management and environmental officials in assessing hazards and prioritizing needed cleanup.

Related to uranium mining environmental issues is the natural radiochemical and radiometric background for rocks, soils, and waters in the U.S. in general and uranium mining areas in particular. Cleanup standards for uranium mine sites should be based on the local background radiochemical and radiometric setting which is often poorly known. Moreover, environmental and health officials across the U.S. have been surprised when anomalously high levels of radon and uranium in domestic drinking water or indoor radon turn up in areas known by geologists to be uranium-enriched. Oftentimes nearby industrial activities are suspected as sources for contamination. Studies that assist local, state, and Federal health and environment officials in properly understanding these occurrences, assessing natural and anthropogenic sources, and then communicating the hazards associated with these occurrences are needed.

Some data are directly relevant to understanding the natural background for radionuclides in the U.S. Another effort of the National Uranium Resource Evaluation program of the Department of Energy was the national airborne radiometric and aeromagnetic reconnaissance survey which gathered gamma-ray data from almost all of the U.S. and Alaska. The USGS also became the archival agency for these data and much of the data has been published in the USGS Digital Data Series 9 (not available online, email here to request a copy).

Data

Uranium Geochemical Data

During the late 1970s and early 1980s the Department of Energy, with assistance from the national laboratories and the U.S. Geological Survey, conducted a uranium resource assessment of the U.S., including Alaska (the National Uranium Resource Evaluation or NURE program). As part of this assessment, a hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance (HSSR) survey was conducted of nearly the entire U.S. Although originally intended to assist uranium exploration and resource estimates, these data have had a wide variety of uses in exploring for other minerals and providing geochemical baseline information for environmental assessments. The U.S. Geological Survey became the archivist for this data under an agreement with the Department of Energy and has since placed a reformatted version of the entire dataset online. Information about this dataset and access to its components can be found at http://tin.er.usgs.gov/nure/sediment/ (compiled from USGS OFR 97-0492). A great deal of additional mineral resource, geological, geochemical, and geophysical data about the U.S. can be found at http://tin.er.usgs.gov/.

Uranium Information System

Information about uranium mines and prospects will be accessible in this webpage. Searching by mine name or district, deposit type and browsing via a map interface will be supported. Also, cross references to USGS publications will also be included