Uranium booms again in Utah and across the Colorado Plateau. Miners and land will be protected this time, industry vows.
He’s a member of the generation of workers who mined, milled or transported the radioactive rock during the Cold War to meet demand from a U.S. government intent on developing nuclear weapons to keep up with Russia. Along with an apology for the cancers and lung diseases they later developed, the U.S. has paidToday, uranium mining is undergoing a renaissance on the Colorado Plateau.
Mines monitor groundwater for radiation. Regulators require extensive ventilation systems that push clean air into mines and pull hazardous gases out. In higher-grade uranium mines, workers routinely wear personal dosimeters that measure their exposure to radiation. Race Fisher in the La Sal mine. Still, many environmentalists say that it’s unnecessary to mine uranium on the Colorado Plateau, one of the world’s most sensitive, arid landscapes, when the U.S. can continue to import higher-grade uranium from allies like Australia and Canada. Descending into the uranium mine. Clean energy targets are driving higher prices for uranium, the metal most widely used as fuel for nuclear fission.
“This is something that was only partly understood in the mid-20th century,” Barton said. Effective ventilation neutralizes the main hazards to Colorado Plateau miners, she said, who are extracting lower-grade and less radioactive uranium.uranium ore itself, Barton said, “a bunch of my uranium samples are sitting right over there in my office and have been for a couple of years now. It really is mostly just a rock.
Radon densities are typically measured in becquerels per cubic meter — which counts how many radon particles decay per second. The— double the national average — based on tests tracked by the Utah Department of Health. The World Health Organization recommends reducing radon in a home over the 100 becquerel mark, while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends taking action at 148.that are evaluated on an annual basis by the Mine Safety and Health Administration, under the U.S.
“All metal mining has inherent hazards and risks to human health, safety and the environment that must be addressed. Uranium mining is no different, and the hazards are well-known and easily mitigated,” Moore said. “Today, uranium mining is a relatively low-risk activity.”Companies also make plans — and post bonds to support — the eventual closing of a modern mine.
Reimondo of the Grand Canyon Trust, like other environmental advocates, remains skeptical. “It’s one thing to make a mess and be able to clean it up,” said Reimondo. “It’s another to make a mess with something that is very difficult, if not impossible, to clean up.”estimates that American Indian lands contain as much as 50% of the U.S.’s potential uranium reserves.