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Uranium Mining in Roanoke River Basin

Uranium Mining in Roanoke River Basin. Presentation to Virginia Beach City Council November 25, 2008. Uranium Mining in Virginia. 1973-78: Uranium prices create push to mine uranium in the Piedmont of Virginia 1979-82: Three Mile Island and UMTRCA sensitize public to radiological pollution

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Uranium Mining in Roanoke River Basin

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  1. Uranium Mining in Roanoke River Basin Presentation to Virginia Beach City Council November 25, 2008

  2. Uranium Mining in Virginia • 1973-78: Uranium prices create push to mine uranium in the Piedmont of Virginia • 1979-82: Three Mile Island and UMTRCA sensitize public to radiological pollution • 1983: VA General Assembly enacts moratorium on uranium mining • 1985: VCEC (US/UAG) recommends lifting moratorium. VA Beach and other localities adopt resolutions in opposition. The moratorium remains in effect today.

  3. Uranium Mining in VA: 2007-08 • Skyrocketing uranium prices renew interest in uranium mining in Virginia • Deposits in Pittsylvania County may be very large, worth as much as $7-10 billion • A Canadian Company doing business as Virginia Uranium Ltd. is created to “invest and to actively participate in the management, business and operations of Virginia Uranium Inc.” through its representation on the board and its shared management with Virginia Uranium, Inc.

  4. Uranium Mining in VA: 2007-08 • Virginia Uranium is conducting a PR and lobbying campaign to have the uranium mining moratorium lifted • In the 2008 GA, SB525 proposed the VA Mining Commission and a study of uranium mining impacts. It did not become law. • Earlier this month, the VCEC formed a subcommittee and asked the VCCER to contract for a study

  5. Historical Spot Price of Uranium

  6. Uranium Mining – The Process • Open-pit mine: Uranium ore is excavated • Pulverizing mill: Uranium ore is ground into sand & clay-like particles • Chemical Plant: Uranium is leached out of the pulverized ore • 1,000 pounds of ore produces 1 pound of uranium and 999 pounds of mill tailings • Mill tailings retain 85% of the original radioactivity for >> 300,000 years

  7. Uranium Mining Tailings • Tailings are highly susceptible to transport by air and water • Tailings are stored as slurries and sludge, then ultimately as dewatered piles • Non-radioactive overburden, clay, and liners are used to construct confinement cells and caps to confine and immobilize the tailings

  8. Virginia Uranium Proposal • 100 million pounds of yellowcake at 4 million pounds per year (2,000 tons per year) for 25 years • Current U.S. production (all in the west) is 1,700 tons/year • Current U.S. capacity (all in the west) is 2,900 tons/year • Current U.S. reactor demand is 23,000 tons/year

  9. Uranium Mill Tailings • 100 million pounds of uranium yellowcake will result in 50 million tons (30 million cubic yards) of mill tailings • 12 confinement cells, each 40 acres and 2.5 million cubic yards • Mount Trashmore = 20 acres and 1.3 million cubic yards • Depending upon groundwater, much of the cell may be below ground

  10. Uranium Tailings Legacy • Historically, tailings were not properly confined resulting in radioactive contamination of ground and surface waters • Legacy of human and environmental tragedy: 1950’s to early 1980’s • 1978: Federal government stepped in to remediate – UMTRCA (DOE, NRC) • Clean up has cost billions over three decades – work and costs ongoing

  11. Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (Title 1 & 2) • 24 abandoned sites under jurisdiction of DOE, 26 Licensed by NRC (or NRC Agreement States) • All sites but Canonsburg, PA located in the west – virtually all in the arid west • Total of 250 million tons of tailings • Sites ranging from 2 to 33 million tons (except PA site which is very small) • Cole’s Hill tailings: 50 million tons

  12. UMTRCA Sites – DOE and NRC Source - USEPA

  13. The Past vs the Present • Virginia Uranium does not dispute past issues with uranium tailings • They indicate that modern confinement cell design and NRC regs will protect surface waters • NRC regs require that confinement cells be designed for at least 200 yr life or 1,000 yrs if “reasonably achievable” • Hurricane Camille was estimated to have caused 2,000 years of erosion in a single night

  14. Tailings Piles in Virginia • Unlike the west, precipitation is high and evaporation is low • Water management is far more complex • Many historical confinement structure failures caused by inability to manage water • In Virginia, storms have generated near probable maximum precipitation (PMP) • PMP can erode and fragment virtually any earthen structure (man-made or natural) • PMP will transport sediments great distances downstream very quickly

  15. All USGS Stream Gages

  16. Stream Gages with Extreme Floods

  17. Maximum Probable Precipitation • In Virginia, about 29 inches in six hours • 1969 - Hurricane Camille – 27 to 31 inches (unofficial estimates higher) • Like standing under a waterfall • 2,000 years of erosion in one night • Mountainsides stripped clean • 1995 – Madison County - similar intensity but over a smaller area

  18. Maximum Probable Precipitation

  19. Current Radiological LevelsVA Beach-Norfolk Water Systems

  20. Worst Case Scenario • A storm similar to Nelson County fragments confinement cells and transports radioactive sediments to Lake Gaston • Radiation levels rise to SDWA levels • VA Beach defaults on services contract • Ultimately, contract is terminated, VA Beach liable for stranded costs • VA Beach abandons Lake Gaston Project and builds desalting plant • Cost to VA Beach > $500 million • Unlikely but not Inconceivable

  21. VCEC Study • VCEC subcommittee has no representation from Roanoke Basin • VCCER is heavily weighted by coal, energy and transportation interests • No environmental, public health, or water supply agency involvement • No funding has been identified • The 1985 US/UAG recommendation to move forward is perplexing given what was going on at the time

  22. Staff Recommendation • Oppose uranium mining in Virginia, oppose lifting of the moratorium on uranium mining, and oppose any attempt to develop a regulatory framework for uranium mining until it can be demonstrated to the City’s satisfaction that there will be no significant release of radioactive sediments downstream

  23. Uranium Mining Impact Study • Completely open to public scrutiny • Independent experts who are provided adequate time and resources • Include modeling and simulation of PMP storms and tailings cell failure • Include a peer review group that is independent of the VCEC/VCCER and includes public health, environmental, water supply and water resource agencies, including the USACE

  24. QUESTIONS?

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