II. Public Health Impacts of Uranium Mining (Nov. 17, 2011) 3 IV. Land disturbance by modern surface mining activities would be expected to increase the concentrations and loads of many dissolved and suspended non-radioactive substances in surface water, including some that are particularly important for water quality and aquatic biota: sediment, phosphorus, nitrate, metals, metalloids, and strong acidity. These three tribes and its community have been directly impacted by energy development. It is necessary to point out that this report is prospective in nature. Appropriate mitigation measures to minimize the impacts of such an event include administrative and engineering controls (e.g., access control, lock-out/tag-out procedures, secondary containment) and treatment, testing, and recycling of mill effluents prior to release to the environment. Nevertheless, pending detailed site-specific characterization and engineering studies at potential uranium processing facility sites, the use of partially abovegrade tailings facilities cannot be discounted. (2011) reported that following decommissioning, average concentrations of manganese, fluoride, uranium, zinc, and sulfate at several monitoring stations exceeded surface water quality standards. Finally, a program of measurement of radiation in biota is needed to determine whether the bioaccumulation of radionuclides is occurring within the food chain (NCRP, 2011). Uranium mining, milling, enrichment and fuel manufacture all contribute to GHG emissions and need to be taken into account when weighing up the potential for nuclear power in climate change mitigation strategies. The exposure pathways are the same for people and for ecological resources, but different pathways are dominant. 0000000016 00000 n
Extreme natural events (e.g., hurricanes, earthquakes, intense rainfall events, drought) have the potential to lead to the release of contaminants if facilities are not designed and constructed to withstand such events, or fail to perform as designed. On the basis of an examination of published studies, the committee concludes that best practices, if properly implemented in association with rigorous monitoring, should address or allow the site operator to take action to mitigate the majority of short-term environmental effects from routine uranium-specific mining and processing activities. Island Lake, however, was adversely affected because of its location immediately downstream of the mill effluent treatment systems. Full belowgrade disposal of mill tailings (Figure 6.2) is an option that has been developed specifically to eliminate concerns over the release of tailings due to catastrophic failure of a constructed retaining berm or tailings dam (see Box 6.2). Other chemicals. The environmental impacts of uranium mining include the traditional impacts associated with gold or copper mining, as well as additional radiological impacts. Health Perspect. SCOPING COMMENTS 2.1. Register for a free account to start saving and receiving special member only perks. The EIS review process serves to inform the public about a proposed project as well as provide regulatory agencies with assurance that ISL technology will comply with environmental standards, and that project sites can be rehabilitated to ... Therefore, this section begins with an overview of uranium-mining-specific effects, followed by a discussion of general mining effects. The topics covered are: impact on groundwater from radionuclide emission, analytical specification techniques, chemical toxicity, radioisotope plant uptake, microbiology, geochemical and reactive transport, case studies on active and ... These impacts per unit area disturbed would be comparable to those observed for other types of mining in Virginia, although the surface water quantity effects from tailings management could be greater. another potential source of radon and airborne particulate radionuclides. However, during active mine operations, there could be significant effects on groundwater quantity. Threats to groundwater quality related to modern tailings management originate from two sources: (1) failure of the structures designed to limit the movement of contaminants from the tailings into surrounding groundwater (e.g., tailings retaining structures, failure of the liners(s) and leak collection systems), and (2) inadequate hydraulic isolation in belowgrade disposal facilities (e.g., pump failure in active isolation, inadequate understanding of site hydrogeology, inadequate compaction of tailings in passive hydraulic isolation). Mitigation of surface water quality effects from another early uranium mining operation that was active during the same period (1955-1996), at Elliot Lake in Ontario, Canada, had somewhat greater success while providing some important lessons for future uranium mining operations. The relatively poor water quality of the Claude pit necessitated pumping water from the pit to maintain a water level below that of the adjacent lake to prevent transport of contaminants off-site. Energy Information Administration,
Hence, information currently available suggests that no radionuclide other than uranium is of environmental concern due to chemical toxicity. gases like radon than open-pit mines but produces less
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Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name. The final report, released in February 2011, summarized the results of nearly 200 model simulations. Other tested
and the safe disposal of its waste. x�b```a``������(� A comprehensive summary of the study is beyond the scope of this report but the key findings include: • A tailings dam failure could significantly increase the radioactivity in the river-reservoir system for extended periods of time. Schramm compares the environmental impacts of uranium mining in East and West Germany. The method of tailings disposal will also influence the potential impacts of uranium mining and processing. Institutional perspective and regulatory body: The GEP proposed the establishment of an organization that is dedicated specifically to the affairs of former uranium mining sites. A model (or models) developed for a uranium mining/processing project should include all significant environmental pathways linking potential sources of radionuclides and nonradiological contaminants to human and nonhuman receptors. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces its decision to continue management of the Uranium Leasing Program (ULP) for 31 lease tracts for the next 10 years, consistent with DOE's preferred alternative identified in the Final Uranium Leasing Program Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Final ULP PEIS) (DOE/EIS-0472). The disposal of waste rock is an issue in mining in general, because the volume of the mine voids cannot contain the entire volume of material removed during a mining operation; waste rock is typically stored in aboveground piles near a mine to minimize handling and disposal costs. The environmental impacts of uranium mining and milling activities are severe. The expansion of roads and rail-ways driven in part by extractive industries remains one of the biggest threats to natural habitats and wildlife pop- [7] "Decommissioning of U.S. No fish kills were observed. Surface mining, on the other hand, would be expected to produce significant increases in surface runoff (especially stormflow) on-site relative to the unmined condition. The recommendations are divided into six major areas: 1. to the committee in late June 2011. This dewatering effect is greatest near the mine (or the dewatering wells) and diminishes with increasing distance. • Tailings disposal sites represent significant potential sources of contamination for thousands of years, and the long-term risks remain poorly defined. Vanadium bioaccumulation has resulted in pervasive elevated concentrations in a variety of plant and animal species. Additionally, periodic inspection of the cap and repairs, as necessary, are essential to ensure that burrowing animals, erosion, or other weathering effects do not decrease the effectiveness of the cap in minimizing air pollution impacts. Toxicity of nonradiological chemicals. • Fostering transparency. Lake Gaston is fed from the Kerr Reservoir which, in turn, is fed by the Dan, Bannister, and Roanoke Rivers in the Roanoke River Basin. "Nuclear Fuel's Dirty Beginnings,"
[2] Because of this history, it is important
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Major mining operations could require increased transportation infrastructure in Virginia, meaning more roads or improved roadways. Average groundwater and mining solution quality at Honeymoon: Upper, Middle and Basal sands, mining solutions and liquid wastes (adapted from Mudd 2001a) pH TDS SO4 Cl … The models are radionuclide-specific, and include models for 238U and daughter products, including all of the decay chains discussed in Chapter 5 (see Figure 5-1). Although these exposure pathways are complex, radiation biologists have developed models to quantify them. Environmental impacts of different uranium mining processes Item Preview remove-circle Share or Embed This Item. Currently most
Ongoing water and air quality monitoring are necessary to confirm model predictions and provide the basis for updating and revising these models as additional site-specific data become available. The authors concluded that inorganic selenium was being adsorbed by phytoplankton in Fox Lake, settling to the bottom sediments, being converted to organic forms by microorganisms present in the sediment, and being transferred to benthic invertebrates that feed on organic detritus present in the sediment. Decanol. include new materials like room temperature ceramics for the
The lessees will prepare exploration and mining plans and site-specific environmental impact evaluations that DOE must approve before any mining can be initiated. Additionally, decommissioning of the Quirke mine at Elliot Lake in the 1990s employed a large-scale water cover (minimum depth of 0.6 m) over the waste management area to control the rate of sulfide oxidation and AMD formation, and site discharge was subsequently able to meet both Canadian and Ontario mine effluent guidelines. Tailings disposal cells may be constructed specifically for that purpose or may be located in previously mined-out areas. It is responsible for the environmental restoration of areas that have been degraded by mining in the country. Treated effluent from operating Canadian uranium mills is below the screening objective of 100 µg/L uranium, with most below 10 µg/L (CNSC, 2010). The impacts of these activities in Virginia would depend on site-specific conditions, the rigor of the monitoring program established to provide early warning of contaminant migration, and the efforts to mitigate and control potential impacts. Fabricated tells the story of 3D printers, humble manufacturing machines that are bursting out of the factory and into schools, kitchens, hospitals, even onto the fashion catwalk. The effects of radiological exposure are related to the total amount of energy deposited, expressed in units termed Gray (Gy) per unit time (the radiological dose rate). 2) A review of the existing federal and state law in place to regulate uranium exploration, mining and milling. trailer
For example, arsenic and selenium have been found associated with uranium at ore deposits in Canada, but they are not present in significant concentrations in the Coles Hill, Virginia, deposit. If surface or underground uranium mining were conducted in Virginia, the extent of surface water contamination, including releases of both radionuclides and toxic metals, would depend on the mineral composition of the ore, the miti-gative steps taken to minimize impacts to downstream receiving waters, and the long-term performance of those mitigative strategies under a variety of climatic conditions. Ferric hydroxide and iron-organic matter precipitates in surface waters disturb the metabolism and osmoregulation of organisms. 0000000966 00000 n
USGS releases report on uranium deposits and environmental impacts of former uranium mining near the Grand Canyon New research shows areas formerly mined for uranium near the Grand Canyon have slightly elevated levels of uranium in the water, but that the majority of wells, springs and streams would be fit to drink under EPA standards. Modern tailings management sites are designed to remain segregated from the hydrological cycle for “1,000 years to the extent reasonably achievable and in any case for at least 200 years” to control mobility of metals and radioactive contaminants (10 CFR Part 40, Appendix A, Criterion 6(1)). Based on factors such as these, the Elliot Lake Environmental Assessment Panel concluded: “No containment system can totally preclude some release of contaminants” although the panel asserted that the Elliot Lake mitigative strategies “can hold the rate of release within acceptable limits” (CEAA, 1996). 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