Uranium

Wyoming may have missed the Uranium boom

Irina Zhorov — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:27:48 +0000

The uranium market is slowing after a brief boom in the years after 2005. Increasing costs for the industry and uncertainty are making operators reconsider projects.

Cameco Resources’ President Paul Goranson told the legislature’s Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Interim Committee that Cameco will now aim to increase production to about 36 million pounds of yellowcake by 2018…rather than the previously announced 40 million pounds.

State looks at regulating uranium

Irina Zhorov — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:22:37 +0000

The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality has started work on a study to determine the feasibility of regulating a larger share of uranium mining in the state.

Currently the industry is regulated by both federal and state agencies, which some operators say is burdensome, repetitive, and increases the time necessary to receive a permit. The legislature passed a bill this session commissioning the study about becoming what’s called an agreement state.

Gov. Mead releases WY energy policy

Irina Zhorov — Mon, 13 May 2013 22:54:34 +0000

Governor Matt Mead and his policy director, Shawn Reese, released an energy policy for Wyoming at a press conference today. The policy contains 47 initiatives broken down into categories including economic competitiveness and expansion, regulation, conservation, and education. Reese said there were a number of hallmark initiatives.

DOE releases numbers from testing of uranium-contaminated site on Wind River

Irina Zhorov — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 01:03:14 +0000

The US Department of Energy has released data from sampling the agency did at the Riverton Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Site in August. The area, which is on the Wind River Indian Reservation, was contaminated with uranium and vanadium in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when a uranium mill processed ore there. In the ‘90s the DOE recommended waiting for natural dissolution to clean the site, and levels of contamination seemed to be diminishing predictably until a big flood in 2010.

Promising uranium sites found near Baggs

Willow Belden — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 11:34:10 +0000

A uranium exploration company has found an area that seems promising for uranium mining near Baggs, in south-central Wyoming.

Crosshair Energy Corporation completed a soil survey and found additional areas with high levels of radon, which indicates uranium in the ground.

Crosshair Vice President Tom Bell says that’s good news for the company.

“Right now we have a resource that’s about five million pounds of uranium in the ground,” Bell said. “And we think that we can add a significant amount of additional pounds of uranium in this new area that we’re moving into.”

More groundwater testing for uranium-contaminated Riverton site

Irina Zhorov — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 23:45:37 +0000

The U.S. Department of Energy will run additional groundwater tests at a Riverton site contaminated with uranium. The Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act site was contaminated after hosting a uranium mill there in the 1960’s.

What’s your opinion on a potential increase of uranium mining in Wyoming?

Tara Orr — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 15:56:43 +0000

What’s your opinion on a potential increase of uranium mining in Wyoming?

WPM/NPR Community Discussion Rules

June 15th, 2012

Bob Beck, Tristan Ahtone , Willow Belden, Rebecca Martinez and Irina Zhorov — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 23:41:40 +0000

Many are optimistic that Wyoming’s Uranium Industry will grow

Many are Optimistic That Wyoming’s Uranium Industry Will Grow

Bob Beck — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 23:25:54 +0000

Intro: For the last several years a number of companies and politicians have expressed interest in getting more actively involved in Wyoming’s Uranium industry. Currently a task force of lawmakers is studying nuclear energy production and companies are testing the waters before they jump into the marketplace. The upside is that Wyoming has a lot of Uranium, the downside is cost and regulations. Wyoming Public Radio’s Bob Beck has more.

Uranium Mining In Jeffrey City: Past, Present and Future

Irina Zhorov — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 23:20:16 +0000

HOST: Everyone is predicting a uranium boom internationally and Wyoming has the largest deposits in the U.S. The state has a legacy of uranium mining, as well. Wyoming Public Radio’s Irina Zhorov looks at the boom and its history.

Wyoming Cleans Up After Uranium Boom Years

Rebecca Martinez — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 23:03:09 +0000

HOST: When the Cold War caused a uranium boom in the 1950s, soil and water in the state suffered contamination. Reclamation has improved the landscape, and regulation is catching up with the industry but it’s not perfect yet. Wyoming Public Radio’s Rebecca Martinez reports.

REBECCA MARTINEZ: Ore from Wyoming’s rich uranium deposits was refined and concentrated into yellowcake at mills in the state before being sent to processing and enrichment facilities elsewhere. The mills produced large amounts of sandy waste called tailings, which still contained uranium.

Uranium industry growth has challenges

Bob Beck — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 22:49:38 +0000

Many people hope that Wyoming’s uranium industry will become much more active, as interest in nuclear energy grows.

University of Wyoming Ag Economist Tex Taylor says there is a lot of potential for increased employment and tax revenue for the state. But Wyoming Senator Eli Bebout, who chairs the Senate Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee, says new and smaller companies are often stymied by the state and federal permitting process and other regulatory hurdles.

Land Grab: What Happened on the Wind River Reservation?

Tristan Ahtone — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 22:41:34 +0000

HOST: As we just heard, the uranium industry may have a long way to go in earning back the public’s trust, especially on the Wind River Reservation. In 2010, the Department of Energy released well monitoring data from the Wind River Reservation. What they found was that uranium levels in a number of their wells had spiked up to 100 times the legal limit. In early May the Department of Energy released tap test results showing uranium levels nearly twice the legal limit, but later said the results were anomalies.

Concerns expressed about in situ uranium mining

Tristan Ahtone — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 00:18:25 +0000

With uranium mining making a comeback across the country and especially Wyoming, a recent government report recommends that better coordination between federal agencies is needed for financial assurances and that agencies need to update databases to find out how many abandoned mines actually exist in the U.S.

Government Accountability Office and environmental director, Anu Mittal says in situ mining - a process where operators inject chemicals and water underground to pump uranium back to the surface for processing, may also pose future problems.

Reservation Tap Water Has Acceptable Levels Of Uranium To Drink

Tristan Ahtone — Sat, 12 May 2012 00:24:20 +0000

The Department of Energy announced Friday that water being provided to residents of the Wind River Reservation is safe to drink.

Last week, DOE officials confirmed that tap water in four households on the reservation showed elevated levels of uranium nearly twice the legal limit.

This week, the DOE’s April Gil said in a statement that the elevated levels were inaccurate, the tap water has been retested, and is safe for consumption.

Wind River Reservation residents still worry about uranium waste in tap water

Tristan Ahtone — Fri, 11 May 2012 21:52:50 +0000

Last week, the Department of Energy announced that uranium at nearly twice the legal limit had been found in the tap water of four households on the Wind River Reservation. The event marks another incident in a long and troubled history in the area. Wyoming Public Radio's Tristan Ahtone brings us this report on the find.

Tribes concerned over health effects of uranium contamination

Tristan Ahtone — Mon, 07 May 2012 12:46:02 +0000

Tribal officials on the Wind River Reservation continue to seek answers after the Department of Energy announced that uranium was found in some residents' tap water.

DOE officials announced last week that data collected in the fall indicated that four households near a former uranium waste site had levels of uranium nearly twice the legal limit.

Dean Goggles is executive Director for the Wind River Environmental Quality Commission. He says tribal members are currently faced with more questions than answers.

Tribal Officials Concerned Over Uranium Laced Tap Water

Tristan Ahtone — Fri, 04 May 2012 18:06:42 +0000

Tribal officials on the Wind River Reservation continue to seek answers after the Department of Energy announced that uranium was found in some residents' tap water.

DOE officials announced Wednesday evening that data collected last fall indicated that four households near a former uranium waste site had levels of uranium nearly twice the legal limit.

Dean Goggles is executive Director for the Wind River Environmental Quality Commission.

BLM seeks public comment on proposed uranium mine

Willow Belden — Wed, 02 May 2012 00:57:59 +0000

The BLM has drafted an Environmental Impact Statement on a proposed uranium mine near Rawlins. The project would stretch over more than 4,000 acres of land and would use in-situ technology, where they inject fluid into the ground to extract the uranium and then bring it to the surface to process.

Dennis Carpenter, the BLM’s Rawlins Field Manager, says the project doesn’t raise many concerns.

“It’s a pretty small project by most of our standards,” Carpenter said, adding that the area has been mined in the past.

Mead wants tribes to have more authority on uranium remediation

Tristan Ahtone — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 23:23:36 +0000

In a February letter to the Department of Energy, Gov. Matt Mead expressed concern that the passive handling of uranium contamination on the Wind River Reservation might not be living up to the DOE’s remedial action plan.

The DOE asserted that the site would clean itself up after 100 years, and despite that uranium tailings were removed from the site decades ago, spikes in uranium were measured in DOE monitoring wells in 2010.

Legislator Says Tribes Should Not Take Lead On Reservation

Tristan Ahtone — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 00:33:16 +0000

With problems over water contamination in the town of Pavillion, and possible actions to remediate a contaminated uranium site on the Wind River Reservation, tribal officials have pushed to be the lead agency in both situations, as the areas impacted are within the boundaries of the reservation and impact tribal trust assets.

Senate Gives Approval To Funding For Uranium Cleanup

Bob Beck — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 00:26:38 +0000

The Wyoming Senate has given initial approval to a Joint Resolution asking Congress to increase funding and monitoring at the Riverton Uranium Mill Tailings remediation site. Mill Tailings at the site, on the Wind River Reservation, constitute contaminated materials left over from the former Susquehanna-Western uranium mill that operated in the 50’s and 60’s.

Senator Cale Case told the Senate that the federal government had expected the site to naturally clean itself up after the company ceased operation in the area. However, he says that hasn’t been the case…