Wyoming's uranium recovery policy (two opinion pieces)

[TexasTowelie]

Wyoming needs policy upgrade before uranium boom arrives
by Maria Katherman


What do Vladimir Putin, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have in common? Yes, all are oligarchs, but locally the trio is also responsible for re-starting uranium extraction in Wyoming. Putin’s war in Ukraine, plus Gates and Buffet pushing the Natrium nuclear power station in Kemmerer, are resurrecting demand for domestic uranium. We cannot influence the decisions they make, but Wyomingites can influence how a uranium boom plays out here.

The Powder River Basin is the focus of coming uranium mining in Wyoming, where the Uranium Energy Corporation, which has its corporate offices in Texas, has purchased the Wyoming holdings from Russia’s atomic energy corporation, Rosatom, which operated in the U.S. as “Uranium One Americas.”

The uranium is extracted by “in situ leaching/removal” mining. Operators inject alkaline or acidified water down wells drilled in a ring around a central well to the level of the uranium-containing stratum. Uranium dissolves into this treated water and the central well pumps out the uranium-bearing solution. Pipes deliver the solution to towers where most of the uranium is stripped onto resin and transported to a central processing facility. The leftover solution is piped to lined settling/evaporation ponds. Failures in drilling procedures, well casings, pipelines and settling ponds/liners are the usual sources of contamination from uranium, industrial fluids, radium 226/228 and other toxic metals associated with the ore body.

No company wants spills to happen. They are expensive! We don’t know the Russians’ contamination record while they were operating in the basin because it’s nearly impossible to access inspection or spill reports in Wyoming. UEC’s record in Texas, meanwhile, do not turn up reports of spills.

Read more: https://wyofile.com/wyoming-needs-policy-upgrade-before-uranium-boom-arrives/

============================

The rebuttal:

Wyo’s uranium recovery policy is sound and ready to meet demand
by Travis Deti, Executive Director of the Wyoming Mining Association (WMA)


Wyoming is America’s leader in the production of uranium. While it’s true that production has dramatically slowed in recent years, current global events and continuing climate change concerns among many groups have brought this valuable natural resource back to the forefront. There is great opportunity on the horizon.

Wyoming’s uranium community is very concerned with unfounded accusations made in a recent opinion piece posted by WyoFile on June 30, with a revised and edited version posted July 1. The updated version removed potentially libelous statements regarding a specific uranium recovery company, but remains riddled with errors and misinformation. As a result, the Wyoming Mining Association and our state’s uranium producers are compelled to respond; the people of Wyoming deserve to know the facts.

Today, all of Wyoming’s uranium recovery is performed using the in-situ process. In-situ uranium recovery is heavily and stringently overseen by state and federal regulations. The primary components of the regulatory framework include the State of Wyoming Environmental Quality Act (Title 35, Chapter 11, Article 4 and specifically sections 426 through 436; WDEQ Land Quality Division Chapter 11, In Situ Mining); the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (which allows for the State of Wyoming Agreement State Program for Uranium Recovery); the Safe Drinking Water Act (EPA’s regulations for Underground Injection Control and Aquifer Exemptions); the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA); and Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976.

Other permits required for in-situ uranium recovery include discharge permits under the Wyoming Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Program, permits under the Clean Air Act, permits from the Wyoming Office of the State Engineer and other local permits. In short, there is thorough regulatory oversight over uranium recovery facilities. This includes substantial federal oversight even in the case of state programs. In key areas such as radioactive material licensing and underground injection control, state programs must meet federal requirements and are subject to continuing federal oversight. Given all this, there is simply no need for a “policy upgrade” as emphasized in the WyoFile opinion piece.

Read more: https://wyofile.com/wyos-uranium-recovery-policy-is-sound-and-ready-to-meet-demand/

===========

Disclosure: I have relatives that worked at uranium mines, consulted with the Wyoming Association, and the Wyoming DEQ.

[cbabe]

1. Uranium mining and the Navajo

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium_mining_and_the_Navajo_people
…

Water in the Navajo Nation currently has an average of 90 micrograms per liter of uranium, with some areas reaching upwards of 700 micrograms per liter.[6] In contrast, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers 30 micrograms per liter the safe amount of uranium to have in water sources.[7] Health impacts of uranium consumption include kidney damage and failure, as kidneys are unable to filter uranium out of the bloodstream.[8] There is an average rate of End Stage Renal Disease of 0.63% in the Navajo Nation, a rate significantly higher than the national average of 0.19%.[9]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been cleaning up uranium mines in the Navajo Nation since as part of settlements through the Superfund since 1994. The Abandoned Mine Land program and Contaminated Structures Program have facilitated the cleanup of mines and demolition of structures built with radioactive materials.[10] Criticisms of unfair, inefficient treatment have been made repeatedly of EPA by Navajos and journalists.[11][12][13]

…more…