Do Your Homework: Learn About Uranium Mining

In 2008, EPA updated and re-released a two-volume technical report on uranium mining TENORM wastes, Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials from Uranium Mining, Volumes 1 and 2:

Volume 1; Mining and Reclamation Background provides background information on the occurrence,

mining, and reclamation of uranium mines – http://www.epa.gov/rpdweb00/tenorm/pubs.html#402-r-08-005

Volume 2: Investigation of Potential Health, Geographic, and Environmental Issues of Abandoned Uranium Mines provides a general scoping evaluation of potential radiogenic cancer and environmental risks posed by abandoned uranium mines – http://www.epa.gov/rpdweb00/tenorm/pubs.html#402-r-08-005ii

VI. Uranium and Radium Human Health Fact Sheets – 2 pages

http://www.ead.anl.gov/pub/doc/Uranium.pdf and

http://www.ead.anl.gov/pub/doc/Radium.pdf

Uranium Human Health Fact Sheet? Radium Human Health Fact Sheet – Argonne National Laboratories

Contents

– What is it?

– Where does it come from?

– How is it used?

– What’s in the Environment?

– What Happens to It in the Body?

– What Are the Primary Health Effects?

– What Is the Risk?

VII. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATDR) – as 2 page fact sheets as well as detailed Public Health Statement and voluminous Toxicological Profile for a wide range of metals and radionulides.

Two page ToxFAQs fact sheets related to potential hazards at uranium mines and mills include:

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts145.html – http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts145.pdf – Radon

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts150.html – http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts150.pdf – Uranium

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts144.html – http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts144.pdf – Radium

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts5.html – http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts5.pdf – Cadmium

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts13.html – http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts13.pdf – Lead

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts2.html – http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts2.pdf – Arsenic

TOXFAQs all use a similar outline, such as:

– What is radon?

– What happens to radon when it enters the environment?

– How might I be exposed to radon?

– How can radon affect my health?

– How likely is radon to cause cancer?

– Is there a medical test to show whether I’ve been exposed to radon?

– Has the federal government made recommendations to protect human health?

– Glossary, References, and Contact Information

ATSDR Public Health Statements and toxicological profiles for Radon are at:

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp145.html#bookmark05 – ATSDR Full Toxicological Profile on Radon

VIII. Selected Uranium Related-materials on the Southwest Research and Information Center Web Site: Additional materials available related to renewable energy, nuclear safety, mining and waste management and community development.

http://www.sric.org

Uranium Overview:

http://www.sric.org/uranium/upresentation/4-1.html –

Uranium Health and Environmental Research in Diné Communities

– Brief History of Uranium Development in Diné communities

– Basics of Radiation Health Issues

– Sources

– Pathways of Exposure

– Review of Uranium Health Studies
– workers, general population, livestock, environment

– Case Study — Outdoor Radon in Church Rock

– Implications for Navajo Communities

– Educational Programs

– Resources for Information

http://www.sric.org/uranium/1979-SRIC-URANIUM%20MINING%20AND%20MILLING%20PRIMER.pdf

Southwest Research and Information Center – Uranium Mining and Milling: A Primer

Uranium developments in Southwest US – AZ and NM; Mt. Taylor Traditional Cultural Property Petition, Uranium and the 1872 Mining Law

http://www.sric.org/1872/index.html

Navajo Nation Legislation

http://www.sric.org/uranium/DNRPA.pdf

Dine Natural Resources Protection Act of 2005

From the SRIC Newsletter Voices From The Earth:

http://www.sric.org/voices/2006/v7n4/index.html

CONTINUING TARGETS: New Mexico and Navajo & Hopi lands

http://www.sric.org/voices/2006/v7n3/index.html

New Uranium Boom Threatens Communities

http://www.sric.org/voices/2006/v7n3/NewUBoom.html

The New U Boom: Speculation or Serious Development?

http://www.sric.org/voices/2006/v7n3/Need_Greed.html

Need or Greed? Uranium Prices and Demand

http://www.sric.org/voices/2004/v5n4/uspotprice.html

Uranium Price Rise…Still No Need for New Mines

http://www.sric.org/voices/2004/v5n3/index.html

Uranium…the problems continue

http://www.sric.org/voices/2004/v5n3/UMTRCA.html

Reclaiming the Land: History of Uranium Mill Tailings Clean-up – full report listed below

Environmental Justice Principles

http://www.sric.org/voices/2003/v4n1/principles.html

http://www.sric.org/U_Mill_Tailing_Remediation_05182004.pdf

Uranium Mill Tailings Remediation Performed by the US DOE: An Overview

Table of Contents – brief introductory “fact sheet-like” sections in bold italics

– Acknowledgements

– Summary

– Introduction

– UMTRAP and Uranium Mill Tailings Information Sources on the Internet

– Characteristics of Uranium Mill Tailings and the Hazardous Materials They Contain

– UMTRAP Uranium Mill Tailings Sites Before and After Remediation

– DOE’s UMTRAP Project is a Unique and Significant Example of a Complete Radioactive Waste Management Program

– Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) and Associated Implementing Regulations

– Summary of UMTRAP Performance After 25 Years of Effort

– Ground Water Remediation and UMTRAP

– Cost of UMTRAP Uranium Mill Tailings Remediation

– Projected Cost of Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance at UMTRAP Sites

– DOE Policy Developments Related to Uranium Mill Tailings Since 2000

– Reference

– Appendix A – Tables and Figures

– Appendix B – Photographs of UMTRAP Sites

– Appendix C – Summary of NRC Criteria Adopted to Implement the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act

IX. Radiation Exposure Compensation Act/Uranium Worker Compensation Program

http://www.bu.edu/formerworker/RECP_Factsheet.pdf

Radiation Exposure Compensation Program

http://www.recalaw.com/index.htm

In 1990, the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) was signed into law by President George Bush. The law established one time payments of $100,000.00 to uranium miners who suffered a compensable disease. On July 10, 2000, President Clinton signed the RECAA amendments that expanded the program to include uranium millers and ore transporters. Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) of 2000 also included an additional $50,000.00 and medical benefits for uranium workers approved under RECA.

If you or a deceased relative of yours worked in the uranium industry between 1942 and 1971, you may be eligible for benefits under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.

http://www.recalaw.com/faq.htm

Radiation Exposure Compensation Act: Frequently Asked Questions

X. Uranium Market

http://www.infomine.com/commodities/uranium.asp

Uranium Market Home page – INFOMINE

http://www.goldletterint.com/egr/egr_uranium.pdf

Uraniumletter International – “Uranium Price Remains on the Move,” July, 2006 – 20 pp.

XI.News Reports

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-navajo-series,0,4515615.special

“Blighted Homeland” – Four-part series on uranium problems in Navajo Country

Southwest Research and Information Center News Links Focussed on Uranium

http://www.sric.org/news/index.html

See Community-Oriented Uranium Information Sites

XII. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) – Uranium Licensing Overviews

http://adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/idmws/ViewDocByAccession.asp?AccessionNumber=ML070460009

Includes:

– 02/08/07 NRC Licensing Process Presentation by Stephen Cohen.

– 2/08/07 NEPA Process Presentation by J. Park.

– 02/08/07 Underground Injection Control Program Presentation by M. Ginsberg, EPA.

Materials from NRC-National Mining Association April- May 2008 meeting

http://www.uraniumwatch.org/nrc_nma_workshop.2008.htm

Updates and NRC posting anticipated by June 1, 2008

XIII. Community-Oriented Uranium Information Sites

WISE Uranium Project

www.wise-uranium.org

Uraniumwatch

www.uraniumwatch.org

Miningwatch Canada

www.miningwatch.ca

Western Mining Action Network

www.wman-info.org

Indigenous Environmental Network

www.ienearth.org

XIV. Uranium Policy Statements and Resolutions

All Indian Pueblo Council and Navajo Nation Resolutions

http://www.uraniumwatch.org/envjustice.htm

XV. Atomic Posters

http://www.orau.org/ptp/collection/Atomicposters/atomicmovieposters.htm

Movie Posters

http://www.printsandprintmaking.gov.au/Catalogues/Works/tabid/57/frmView/Record/itemID/56672/Default.aspx

Anti-Uranium Poster, 1978 (Spanish)

Iron River Mine Forum

Posted on January 21, 2009 by Save the Wild UP

IRON RIVER – Representatives from local environmentalist groups and the mining industry addressed a packed room at the West Iron District Library on Saturday during a public forum entitled “Mining Heritage: Past, Present, and Future.”

Click here to read more

“Mining Madness, Water Wars” Documentary Showing January 22

Posted on January 14, 2009 by Save the Wild UP

Save the Wild UP will host a showing of the compelling documentary, “Mining Madness, Water Wars: The Great Lakes in the Balance” on Thursday evening, January 22 at Peter White Public Library.

Produced by the National Wildlife Federation, this 33 minute production lays bare the controversial proposal to blast a mine beneath a blue ribbon trout stream in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

A social gathering with refreshments will begin at 6:00 pm in the Community Room followed by a brief update on the sulfide mining issue at 6:30. The documentary showing will begin at 7:00. A question and answer session will follow. For more information, call Save the Wild UP at 228-4444

Watershed Wildlife Workshop

Posted on January 13, 2009 by Save the Wild UP

January 19, 2009 at 6pm: The Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve will be hosting a Watershed Wildlife Workshop at the Peter White Public Library in the Community Room. A wildlife biologist will present information on species of concern in the Yellow Dog River and surrounding watersheds, such as moose, wolf, and cougar. This event is free but donations are accepted at the door. For more information, call 906-345-9223.

Nuclear Plants in the Great Lakes Basin

Posted on January 13, 2009 by Save the Wild UP

It does not take an accident…nuclear plant releases to air, water and soil. Please click on the link to read about nuclear plants in the Great Lakes.

greatlakespamp

Event: Mining Heritage: Past, Present and Future

Posted on January 5, 2009 by Save the Wild UP

When: Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009, 10:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m Central Time, 11:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Where: Patrick J. White Conference Room, West Iron District Library; 116 West Genessee; Iron River, MI 49915 (One block South of U.S.2, midtown); (906)265-2831
Contact person: Robert Rivera (906)265-3176

Concerned citizens of Iron County, with assistance from the Northwood Alliance, will hold a public forum, “Mining Heritage: Past, Present and Future”, on January 17, from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the West Iron District Library in Iron River, MI. A morning session, beginning at 10:30 and ending at noon, will examine the history of mining in Iron County. Two afternoon sessions, beginning at 1:00, will examine remediation efforts at the Dober and Buck mine sites on the Iron River and the prospects of new mining development and its future effects. The sessions will feature a short film by the National Wildlife Federation about the Eagle Rock project on the Yellow Dog Plains near Marquette, and local experts and citizens will report on various aspects of mining. Numerous governmental and corporate spokespersons have been invited to participate, as have representatives of regional groups opposed to new mining development. There will be musical interludes in late morning and mid-afternoon, as well as question-and-answer sessions following the afternoon presentations.

Iron County, Michigan, is part of a mining district extending across the Upper Peninsula, Northern Wisconsin and Northern Minnesota. Both the Iron and Mesaba Ranges have experienced intensive mining, deeply imprinting local culture and significantly affecting the environment. Most mining activity ceased forty or more years ago, but the heritage persists. Now, new mining exploration and development, including uranium exploration, are arising throughout the region. This movement, and techniques such as sulfide extraction, may bring to the area threats historically unseen with traditional methods of copper and iron ore mining. The allure of economic development has been confronted by those concerned with potential environmental damage and future economic costs from short-term gains.

For more information on this event, contact Robert Rivera at (906) 265-3176.

Great Lakes Town Hall

Posted on January 5, 2009 by Save the Wild UP

Save the Wild UP is a guest writer on the Great Lakes Town Hall this week. Visit daily to read our posts. Today’s post is entitled “Industrializing the Night Sky: Does Metallic Sulfide Mining Mean the End of Twilight on The Yellow Dog Plains”

About the Great Lakes Town Hall

Residents of the Great Lakes are divided by great physical and political distances. Stretching from the remote Northwoods of Minnesota and Western Ontario through the heavily industrialized and arrigated lands of the eastern Midwest, and on to the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, the Great Lakes drainage basin spans two countries, two provinces and eight states. These distances make it difficult for the basin’s 37 million residents to recognize and act on their shared concern for the Lakes.

The Great Lakes Town Hall is designed to bridge those distances. Like the town meetings on which it is modeled, the Great Lakes Town Hall provides a “space” where residents from all across the Great Lakes basin – and all walks of life within the basin – can come together to identify common concerns, set the political agenda, share and develop collective solutions, and demand – as a public – that the Lakes are clean, abundant, and natural for generations to come.

The Latest Issue of The Splash Now Available Online

Posted on December 30, 2008 by Save the Wild UP

“The Splash,” is now available. Check inside the Marquette Monthly during the month of January or click here to view the online version.

Public Film Series in Marquette

Posted on December 18, 2008 by Save the Wild UP

Preparing Marquette for a Future Without Oil

As world oil supplies fall, every aspect of life in our community will change. Learn why, and discover what you can do to prepare for it.

Where: Peter White Public Library Community Room
When: 7:00pm on the following Wednesdays

January 28 – Crude Awakening
February 25 – Crude Impact
March 25 – End of Suburbia
April 29 – Money As Debt
May 27 – The Power of Community
June 10 – What a Way to Go

This series has been organized to promote a “Transition Town” initiative in Marquette, and has recieved financial support from the Department of Geography, Northern Michigan University.

Aquila Representative Faces Criticism at Public Meeting

Posted on December 17, 2008 by Save the Wild UP

by Gabriel Caplett

December 15, 2008

Menominee, Michigan – Canadian junior mining exploration company, Aquila Resources, hosted a public information meeting at the VFW Hall, Monday, to present its opinion on a controversial topic: acid rock drainage. The company has been exploring its Back Forty Project under intense opposition from local residents and elected officials. The company recently sold its Humboldt Mill facility to Kennecott-Rio Tinto. The company also supplied Kennecott with state mineral leases for its proposed Eagle Project mine over a decade ago.

Aquila hosted “guest speaker” Al Trippel, an environmental consultant with Environmental Resources Management (ERM), based out of London, England. Trippel acted as the mining company’s representative throughout Michigan’s “Part 632” statute and rules process that crafted legislation regulating the metallic sulfide mining industry. Trippel is currently on Aquila’s payroll, conducting baseline environmental studies necessary prior to submitting a mine application.

Aquila’s advertisement for the presentation, in the Menominee County Journal, noted that the meeting was being held “in response to public requests for unbiased, educational, fact-driven information from an expert.”

Teresa Bertossi, Marquette County resident and part-time employee at Save the Wild UP, claimed that publicity surrounding the event showed a lack of “integrity” at Aquila. According to Bertossi, the advertisement did not disclose that Trippel works for the mining company and, in order to be truly unbiased, the company should “have brought in a university professor or a scientist that does not work for Aquila” to present information.

“I think all of us are biased”, responded Trippel. “I think all of us have a perspective and bias that may have to do with…who we work for.” Trippel insisted, “The work that I do is unbiased.”

According to Trippel, the presentation was intended to introduce local residents to the basics of acid rock drainage and how it can be prevented from occurring in a mining operation. Trippel listed both mining projects that have generated significant acid runoff as well as mines that he considers to have operated without significant acid drainage problems. “Mining’s legacy is both good and bad,” said Trippel. “There’s very definitely bad mining legacy from historic mining operations and, in some cases, from current ones.”

Trippel explained that acid drainage only occurs when three substances come into contact: sulfides, water and air. Removing one or more of these ingredients precludes the possibility for acid generation. According to Trippel, a mining operation can avoid acid mine drainage problems by preventing sulfide ore from contacting groundwater and surface water through the use of liner systems and water treatment facilities. If the problem cannot be contained, a company can “minimize the amount of acid rock drainage that would be created,” “minimize its potential to seep into the ground” or clean up the mess “if the designs intended to avoid and minimize the impact weren’t good.”

In response, one local resident commented that Trippel brought up “some pretty big ‘ifs’.”

Acid rock drainage commonly occurs at mining operations that encounter certain sulfide deposits, primarily those containing iron pyrite which, when it contacts air and water, forms sulfate. Recently, the government of Norway, one of mining giant Rio Tinto’s largest shareholders, divested its $890 million stake in the company, citing major concerns regarding extensive acid mine drainage at the company’s Grasberg Mine, in West Papua. In explaining its controversial move, Norway’s Council on Ethic’s referred to acid mine drainage as “one of the most serious mining-related environmental problems across the world.”

Trippel introduced Kennecott-Rio Tinto’s Flambeau Mine, in Rusk County Wisconsin, as an example of a successful metallic sulfide mine that has not created acid drainage. According to company documents, elevated levels of iron, manganese and copper in groundwater flowing into the Flambeau River are expected to occur, above baseline levels, for at least another 4,000 years. Levels of sulfates are expected to continue for over 3,000 years.

Bertossi took issue with hailing Flambeau as a successful operation. Kennecott-Rio Tinto and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources data “show that there is acid rock drainage as well as high copper levels and high manganese levels,” said Bertossi. “But it’s under the mine site and, based on the statute in Wisconsin, they can pollute groundwater beneath the mine to any limit.”

Lake Township supervisor, Bob Desjarlais, commented that the majority of Trippel’s list of “good” mines began operations in the 1800s when there was very little enforcement of mining operations. “These mines must have been rather low in sulfides that if you consider them to be fairly good mines that they could be open in the 1880s and 1927, I mean long before EPA regulations came out on acid rock drainage,” said Desjarlais. “So, how can we say these are significant mines without significant acid rock drainage when they probably didn’t have any to begin with.”

Trippel maintained that the intent of his presentation was not to compare his listed mines that he considered successful with either the Kennecott-Rio Tinto’s Eagle Project or the Back Forty project.

Trippel also introduced the White Pine Mine as an example of a deposit containing high sulfides that was mined without creating reported acid mine drainage. However, according to sources familiar with operations at White Pine, acid mine drainage was never expected to occur at the facility because the ore was located in a copper sulfide deposit and was surrounded by natural calcium-containing buffering agents. Orvana Minerals Vice President of Corporate Development, Bill Williams, recently told the Marquette Mining Journal that ore found within the White Pine deposit is classified, under Michigan law, as “nonreactive.” According to Williams, Orvana has found “no obvious indications” that the deposit contains iron pyrite, which could cause acid drainage.

Aquila’s Back Forty Project consists of a “massive sulfide” gold-zinc deposit near the Menominee River, outside of Stephenson, Michigan. The ore body extends under the river, which is shared with neighboring Wisconsin, possibly introducing purview under that state’s metallic mining requirements, which are more stringent than Michigan’s.

The company plans to use a cyanide leaching process to extract gold from the deposit.

Aquila’s stock is currently worth less than one US dime, per share [as of this writing], and the company is looking to form a joint-venture partnership with a larger mining firm in order to extract and process the ore. According to Aquila President, CEO and Director Tom Quigley, the company will be “looking at a variety of partnerships” if Aquila lacks access to sufficient capital. The company projects a total cost of between 120 and 140 million dollars needed to open the mine.

Quigley said that Aquila has solicited a resource assessment from Toronto-based SRK Consultants and will announce the results by early January. Aquila has been pursuing a preliminary economic assessment and expects Trippel’s baseline environmental studies to be finalized in time for the company to submit a mining application by late 2009. Aquila has also been relocating its drill cores from a field office, in Daggett, to a new building south of Carney.

According to Quigley, the economic downturn is “something that could potentially impact our progress and development” and Aquila may have to layoff staff and postpone some “development activities.” According to some local citizens, the company has already layed-off its lead geologist.

Mining Action Group

The Mining Action Group is a volunteer, grassroots effort to defend the clean water and wild places of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula from the dangers of sulfide mining – previously known as Save the Wild U.P.

Author Archives: Save the Wild UP