Operations at the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) project in Utah resumed within just a few days earlier this month after a truck overturned while carrying a load of waste, an Energy Department spokesperson confirmed Tuesday.
A truck carrying a container of uranium mill tailings rolled onto its side while rounding a corner at about 9 a.m. MST on Monday, Feb. 10, the DOE spokesperson said by email. No one was injured.
The accident happened on a road heading uphill to the rail facility, where containers are loaded onto trains for transport to a waste site 30 miles away at Crescent Junction, according a DOE accident report. The driver was taken to site’s clinic for a post-accident drug test.
Personnel at Crescent Junction were briefed on the accident and discussed similar hazards present at their location. The Union Pacific train shipment for the day was canceled.
The release was contained to the site and limited operations resumed Feb. 12, with shipments restarting Feb. 13, the spokesperson added. Less than half of the tailings being carried in the container spilled onto the ground and were gathered up within a couple days.
The mishap was initially reported Feb. 21 in The Times-Independent newspaper.
Contractor North Wind Portage (NWP) is responsible for removal and disposal of 16 million tons of tailings from the old Atlas Mineral Corp. uranium ore processing site. The company’s current $154 million five-year task order expires after September 2021. As of last September, 10 million tons of the material had been shipped to the disposal site.
In November, DOE issued a request for information for vendors that might be interested in bidding on the next round of Moab work.
