The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking comment on a draft environmental impact statement concerning the proposed transfer of waste from the site of the largest nuclear waste spill in U.S. history to a nearby mine.
United Nuclear Corporation (UNC), now owned by General Electric, proposed to amend its license to excavate some 1 million cubic yards of waste from the Northeast Church Rock Mine Site and haul it 17 miles to be permanently disposed of at the Church Rock Mill Site in McKinley County, New Mexico.
The Church Rock Uranium mine on Navajo Nation land in New Mexico was the site of a major liquid waste accident in 1979, when a tailings impoundment dam failed, releasing some 350 million liters of the tailings into nearby rivers, contaminating them and land nearby with radioactive waste. It happened only months after the Three Mile Island partial core meltdown in Pennsylvania.
The disposal proposed in the license amendment now up for public comment would, if approved, take four years total, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission wrote in its draft environmental impact statement.
But it could take around 20 years to finish up other projects, such as the UNC Mill Site reclamation and Northeast Church Rock Mine Site remediation, according to NRC. The draft environmental impact statement shows a timeline that ranges from 2019 to 2030.
UNC is proposing to transfer the waste to the proposed disposal site using 26 dump trucks on access and haul roads connecting the two sites. Alternatively, UNC could move the waste via an above-grade, covered conveyor system to the UNC Mill Site. The UNC proposes to source material to cover the waste from four different sites.
The comment period will last until Dec. 28, and virtual public meetings will be held Dec. 2 and Dec. 9 from 4-7 p.m. ET. The meetings can be accessed at: https://usnrc.webex.com. Event number: 199 946 2983. Telephone bridge line: 888-454-7496. Participant passcode: 7838183.
