Remediation of Abandoned Mine Lands

Thursday, October 2, 2008 : 11:40 a.m.

Assessment of Potential Uranium Emissions from a Uranium Mill on Ground-Water, Surface-Water, and Air Quality of the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation, Southeastern Utah, 2007 - 2009

Anthony Ranalli1, David Naftz1, Sam Vance2 and Robert Duraski2, (1)USGS, (2)U.S. EPA Region 8

A uranium mill, located on the White Mesa in San Juan County, Utah, began operating in 1980 to extract yellowcake (U3O8) and vanadium from uranium ores.  Potential air and ground-water exposure pathways of uranium and other metals to tribal members include (1) airborne dust from ore storage pads, from trucks delivering ore to the mill, and from the mill’s drying ovens, (2) dissolution of airborne dust deposited on the soil, and (3) leakage from the tailings ponds to the groundwater aquifer, which flows from the mill toward the reservation.An evaluation of the concentration of major ions and metals in the groundwater up- and down-gradient of the mill reveals complex spatial variations in (1) the concentration of uranium and other metals in bedrock, soils, and groundwater, (2) the geochemical conditions favorable for either uranium solubility or precipitation in ground water, and (3) geologic conditions that can influence groundwater residence times in White Mesa.  This spatial variability makes it extremely difficult to assess the environmental impact of the mill by using concentration data alone.  In this study we supplement the ground-water concentration data by (1) age dating groundwater to determine the time required for groundwater to flow from the mill to the reservation, (2) analyzing ground-water samples for uranium, oxygen, and sulfur (S and O in sulfate) isotopes to determine if the source of uranium in groundwater is natural or is a result of extraction processes, (3) using geochemical modeling to determine the mobility of uranium and other metals in the groundwater in White Mesa, and (4) trace-element analysis of <-200 mesh stream sediments from ephemeral drainages surrounding the mill.  This talk will focus primarily on how the results from this supplemental monitoring are helping to determine the effects of the mill on ground-water and surface-water chemistry in White Mesa.

Anthony Ranalli, USGS Tony has 23 years of experience as a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and a PhD in Geochemistry from the Colorado School of Mines. He is currently on a temporary assignment to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 8 Office in Denver, CO providing technical assistance to tribes funded under sections 106 and 319 of the Clean Water Act.

David Naftz, USGS Dave has a B.S. degree in geology from the University of Southern Colorado and a M.S. and Ph.D. in geochemistry from the Colorado School of Mines [DEGREES]. He has worked for the USGS for 24 years on various applied research projects in the Western United States including selenium and uranium contamination, paleoenvironmental reconstruction using ice and lake cores, biogeochemistry of saline lakes, and the application of passive technologies for ground-water and wetland remediation [WORK EXPERIENCE].


Remediation of Abandoned Mine Lands