The Legacy of
Abandoned
Uranium Mines
in the Grants
Mineral Belt,
New Mexico

Region 6
Superfund Division
November 2011

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The Legacy of Uranium Mining

Uranium, Supply and Demand

The uranium market is subject to both supply-and-demand and
geopolitical factors. In the early 1980s, the price of uranium fell
due to a lack of new nuclear power plants in the U.S. and the
importing of uranium from other countries. As a result, U.S.
uranium mills shut down or scaled back operations. Uranium
prices reached an all-time low in 2001, costing $7 per pound.
The price of uranium gradually increased from $9.70 per pound
in January 2002 to $45.75 per pound in June 2006, followed by
a bubble culminating in mid-2007, that caused the price to
peak at around $137 per pound. This was the highest price
(adjusted for inflation) in 25 years. The high price during the
bubble spurred new prospecting and the reopening of old
mines. After mid-2007, prices began to fall and uranium traded
closer to $45 per pound in 2010.

Uranium demands have outstripped uranium production since
1990. As the uranium prices fell, producers began curtailing
operations or exiting the business entirely, leaving only a few
actively involved in uranium mining and causing uranium
inventories to shrink significantly.
(http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf22.htm!)

nuclear disaster, (http://www.seekingalpha.com, Article by
Simon Monger, Oct 31, 2011) In fact, some of the producers
are just now getting all of the state and federal permits they
need to begin production — permits which took several years
to work their way through the regulatory process. Others sites
are still early in the permitting process. Read more: http://
trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article 841c5978-85eb-5fad
-a050-ef3f05193292.html#ixzzlcUnANR3r

Jackpile Uranium Mine (historical) Aerial View

2010 World Uranium Extraction	Uranium Mining and Mill Tailings

When uranium prices increase, interest grows in developing
uranium mines. Historically, uranium mining in the U.S.
occurred through conventional open pit and underground
mining, in conventional mining, uranium ore is removed from
deep underground shafts or shallow open pits. The ore is
crushed and sent through the mill, where extraction processes
concentrate the uranium into uranium-oxygen compounds
called "yeilowcake." The mill tailings are the fine-grained,
sandy waste byproduct that remain after the milling process
extracts and concentrates the uranium from the ore.

Mill tailings, in slurry form during processing, are deposited
in a constructed impoundment or "mill tailings pile."

Today, uranium production primarily uses the in-situ leaching
process, where wells are drilled into rock formations
containing uranium ore. Water, injected down the wells
with oxygen and sodium bicarbonate, mobilizes the uranium in
the rock so that it dissolves in the groundwater. Pumped to the
surface, a processing plant separates the uranium from the
water. Waste from this process is disposed in a tailings pile at a
mill site. To read more, see website: http://www.nrc.gov/
waste/mill-tailings.html

Ten countries are responsible for 95% of the global uranium
extraction in 2010. (http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf23.html)

On March 11, 2011, an earthquake in Japan caused a tsunami
that swept ashore, cutting power needed to cool the nuclear
reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi facility. The Fukushima
nuclear accident not only slammed uranium prices, but it
re-energized anti-nuclear advocates. However, the long-term
demand for uranium remains largely constant, despite Japan's

China (est)

2%

Uzbekista

Ukraine
2%

All Others
4%

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Uranium and Public Health

Uranium, radium and radon are naturally occurring
radionuclides found in the environment. Uranium mill tailings
contain the radioactive element radium, which decays to
produce radon, a radioactive gas. The radium in these tailings
will not decay entirely for thousands of years. The mill tailings
pose a potential hazard to public health and safety. No
information is available on the acute (short-term) non-cancer
effects of the radionuclides in humans. Animal studies have
reported inflammatory reactions in the nasal passages and
kidney damage from acute inhalation exposure to uranium.
Chronic (long-term) inhalation exposure to uranium and radon
in humans may cause respiratory effects, such as chronic
lung disease, while radium exposure has resulted in acute
leukopenia, anemia, necrosis of the jaw, and other effects.
Cancer is the major effect of concern from the radionuclides.
Radium, via oral exposure, may cause bone, head, and nasal
passage tumors in humans, and radon, via inhalation exposure,
causes lung cancer in humans. Uranium may cause lung cancer
and tumors of the lymphatic and hematopoietic tissues. EPA
has not classified uranium, radon or radium for carcinogenicity.
For more information, see EPA Integrated Risk Information
System (IRIS) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry's (ATSDR) Toxicoloaical Profiles for Uranium, Radium,
and Radon.

Jackpile Uranium Mine (historical) Blasting Operations

Regulations

To provide for the safe and environmentally sound disposal,
long-term stabilization, and control of uranium mill tailings and
to minimize or eliminate radiation health hazards to the public,
Congress enacted the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control
Act of 1978 (UMTRCA). UMTRCA has two major sections:

Title I addresses uranium milling sites (tailings) that were
inactive when the law was passed, and Title II addresses
milling sites (tailings) licensed as of 1978.

Title I specifies the inactive mill sites for remediation. Under
Title I, EPA establishes standards for cleanup and disposal of
contaminated material. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

Homestakes Mining Company SuperfundSite Tailings Piles

identifies and remediates the sites and vicinity properties to
the EPA standards. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) evaluates and concurs with the DOE's remediation plans
and concurs when site remediation is adequately completed.
Upon completion of decommissioning, the DOE becomes the
long-term site custodian under NRC General License and is
responsible for performing the routine surveillance and
maintenance activities.

Title II addresses mill tailings produced at active mill operations
sites licensed by NRC or Agreement States. Title II amended
the definition of byproduct material to include mill tailings and
added specific authorities for the NRC to regulate this new
category of byproduct material at licensed sites. Under Title II,
the EPA establishes standards for cleanup and disposal of
byproduct material. The NRC or Agreement State reviews
license applications, issues licenses, conducts inspections,
and oversees the decommissioning activities in meeting the
EPA standards. The NRC reviews and concurs on the DOE's
Long Term Surveillance Plans for conventional mills. The NRC
or the Agreement State terminates the specific licenses for the
mill operations sites. The NRC concurs in the Agreement State
license termination. Upon completion of decommissioning, the
DOE becomes the long-term site custodian under the NRC
General License. To read more, see website: http://
www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/fsmefuncdesc.html

The regulatory responsibility for mining activities depends on
the extraction method used. The states regulate conventional
mining, the extraction of ore from deep underground shafts or
shallow open pits. By contrast, the NRC regulates in-situ leach
recovery. To read more, see website: http://www.nrc.gov/
materials/uranium-recovery/extraction-methods.html

The distinction is that the NRC becomes involved in uranium
recovery operations when the ore is processed and chemically
altered. This happens either in a uranium mill, the next step in
processing ore from a conventional mine, or during in-situ

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recovery. For that reason, the NRC regulates in-situ recovery
facilities, as well as uranium mills and the disposal of liquid and
solid wastes from uranium recovery operations including mill
tailings. The NRC regulates active uranium recovery operations
in Wyoming, New Mexico, and Nebraska. However, the NRC
does not directly regulate the active uranium recovery
operations in Texas, Colorado, and Utah, as they are
Agreement States, meaning that they have entered into strict
agreements with the NRC to exercise regulatory authority over
this type of material. To read more, see website: http;//
www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/glossarv/in-situ-
recoverv.html

The DOE is responsible for post-closure by providing:
long-term surveillance and maintenance of environmental
remedies; access to historical records and information;
contractor benefits continuity; and beneficial reuse of Federal
property no longer needed for Departmental missions. The
DOE conducts long-term surveillance and maintenance
activities at its sites in accordance with approved NRC
Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Plans. The DOE
evaluates and participates in additional studies and conducts
ground water monitoring to address potential data gaps.

More information on DOE, including fact sheets on each of
the sites it manages, is available at: http://www.lm.doe.gov.

EPA Underground Injection Control (UIC) program under the
Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) mandates protection of
underground sources of drinking water from injection,

including in-situ mining. Two general requirements apply to
in-situ uranium mining. Mining operators must obtain a permit
under the applicable UIC program. With delegation of the UIC
program under SDWA to the State of New Mexico, the permit
goes through the state. Following permit approval, the New
Mexico Environment Department (NMED) files an aquifer
exemption request through EPA. An aquifer exemption
removes the mineral bearing freshwater source from
designation as an underground source of drinking water. The
NRC guidance and licenses require operators to prevent
off-site excursions of fluids used in uranium production into
ground water aquifers during operations, and to restore
ground water after operations are completed. EPA works with
its federal partners and state co-regulators to ensure that
in-situ practices do not adversely affect ground water,

EPA shares authority with NRC and the State of New Mexico
in overseeing operations at in-situ leaching facilities. However,
if the operation occurs on federal lands, the federal land
management agency will also have a role. The NRC and NMED
regulate in-situ leaching facility operations, including the
injection of fluids, using environmental, radiation, and ground
water protection standards developed by EPA in accordance
with the UMTRCA. In addition to NRC requirements, operators
of injection wells used at in-situ leaching facilities also must
apply for and receive a Class III well permit and, if needed, a
Class I well permit for disposal of fluids under the authority the
UIC program. NMED issues permits for Class III solution mining
wells.

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Other federal and state responsibilities include, in part, the
following:

EPA — Assess contaminated structures. Where structures
pose a health risk to current or future occupants, take
appropriate response actions using Superfund authority.
Screen abandoned uranium mines that may warrant
emergency removal actions or detailed investigations.

Identify potentially responsible parties to cleanup mine sites.

Bureau of Land Management - Survey, assess and cleanup
legacy uranium mines on Bureau of Land Management
property using CERCLA authority.

State of New Mexico - In 1973, New Mexico became a
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Agreement State and started
regulating milling operations. In 1986, at the request of the
State, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission re-assumed its
regulatory authority from New Mexico for Title II sites located
within the state.

NMED - Protect ground and surface water supplies and ad-
dress risks to private wells.

New Mexico Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources
Department - Assess and maintain a database of uranium

mine sites. Administer programs that affect surface
reclamation of mines and develop surface reclamation
Designs for uranium mine.

New Mexico Department of Health - Conduct public health
surveillance to gather data and assess exposure to uranium.

The Legacy of Uranium

The Navajo Nation

From 1944 to 1986, the extraction of nearly four million tons of
uranium ore occurred on Navajo lands in Arizona, New Mexico,
and Utah. Today the mines are closed, but a legacy of uranium
contamination remains from more than 500 abandoned
uranium mines, homes built with contaminated mine waste
rock, and contaminated water wells. In 2008, the EPA led the
development a federal Five-Year Plan in conjunction with the
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian Health Service, ATSDR, DOE,
NRC, and the Navajo Nation. The Plan addresses contaminated
homes, water sources, and abandoned mines. The Plan lays
out a logical framework for addressing the highest risks while
understanding longer-term problems. Navajo Nation Five-Year
Plan, website: http://epa.gov/region09/superfund/navaio-
nation/index.html.

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IMon-IMavajo Land in New Mexico

The Grants Mining District located in the northwestern New
Mexico was the major uranium-producing region in the United
States from the 1950s until late into the 20th century. The
legacy of uranium mining affects over 320 square miles of the
San Mateo Creek Watershed. In 2010, the EPA collaborated
with ATSDR, DOE, NRC, DOI, and the State of New Mexico to
develop a plan for non-Navajo land affected by uranium
mining. The Plan establishes objectives to assess health risks
and environmental impacts from potential releases to soil,
surface water, and ground water, and physical hazards from
open adits and shafts, coordinated among federal, state and
tribal participants responsible for protecting human health and
the environment. The five-year plan serves as a roadmap for
the future recovery of the Grants Mining District. Grants
Mineral Belt Five-Year Plan, website: http://www.epa.gov/
earthlr6/6sf/newmexico/grants/nm grants index.html

Jackpile Mine, Pueblo of Laguna

The Jackpile Mine, once the world's largest open pit uranium
mines is located on the Pueblo of Laguna near the village of
Paguate. In 1953, the Anaconda Copper Company began
mining the site, and operations ceased in 1982 under Atlantic
Richfield Company. The Bureaus of Indian Affairs and Land
Management adopted a Record of Decision in 1986 with the
objective of reclaiming and stabilizing the Jackpile Uranium
Mine site. EPA is assessing the site for possible listing on the
National Priorities List (NPL). To read more about the NPL,
see website: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/NPL

Homestake Mining Company
Superfund Site

The Homestake Mining Company Site is located in Cibola
County, just north of the village of Milan and the town of
Grants, New Mexico. In 1958, uranium milling began under
a license issued by the Atomic Energy Commission. The
Homestake Mining Company operated the mill from 1958 until
1990 and the NRC decommissioned and demolished the mill
between 1993 and 1995. During those years, seepage from mill
tailings impoundments contaminated the ground water, and
activities at the mill left the soil contaminated. The Site is

undergoing reclamation under the NRC in coordination with
NMED and the EPA. To read more, see website: http://
www.epa.gov/region6/6sf/newmexico/homestake mining/
index.html

United Nuclear Corporation
Superfund Site

The United Nuclear Corporation Site is located 17 miles
northeast of Gallup, on the southern border of the Navajo
Indian Reservation in Church Rock, McKinley County, New
Mexico. The Site includes a former uranium ore processing
mill (25 acres) and tailings disposal area (100 acres). The
tailings cells are capped with an interim radon barrier as
part of the reclamation activities directed by the NRC. Two
evaporation ponds constructed on top of the cells are part of
the EPA ground-water remedy. To read more, see website:
http://www.epa.gov/region6/6sf/pdffiles/0600819.pdf

Other Uranium Mills
Within the San Mateo Basin

Ambrosia Lake Sub-district

Ambrosia Lake - Phillips Mill Site (Active from 1958 tol982):

A Title I site, under DOE custody for long-term surveillance,
maintenance and ground water monitoring under the NRC
general license provisions.

Anaconda-Bluewater Site (Active from 1953 to 1982):

A Title II site, reclaimed and transferred to DOE in 1997
for long-term surveillance, maintenance and ground water
monitoring under the NRC general license provisions.
Rio Algom-Ambrosia Lake site (Active from 1958 to 2002):
A Title II site, under the jurisdiction of the NRC for reclamation.

Laguna Sub-district

L-Bar Mill Site (Active from 1977 to 1981): A Title II site,
reclaimed and transferred to DOE in 2004 for long-term
stewardship.

Marquez Sub-district

Bokum Mill Site: The NRC terminated its source material
license following multiple inspections, which confirmed that
no ore was produced or processed at the site.

EPA works with its federal, state and tribal partners to
address abandoned uranium mines and to identify parties
responsible for cleanups. Efforts are in progress to address
properties and structures contaminated by historic uranium
mining for the Navajo Nation and the Grants Mineral Belt in
New Mexico. EPA will continue its regulatory work with the
NRC and the states to help ensure that in-situ leaching

injection and recovery operations are protective of ground
water resources. EPA remains firmly committed to protecting
public health and the environment by addressing the
environmental effects of legacy uranium mines.

For more information, contact:

Superfund Risk and Site Assessment Section

214.665.8125

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