From The Telluride Watch (Karen James):
Throughout a long public process concerning the approval of what could be the nation’s first new uranium mill constructed in nearly three decades, project supporters have largely rejected arguments made by opponents as being overly emotional and lacking in sound, scientific substance.
But that criticism may have lost some of its sting last week when scientists hired by local environmental group Sheep Mountain Alliance to examine parts of a 15-volume radioactive materials license application submitted to state regulators last fall by Energy Fuels Resources Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Toronto-based Energy Fuels Inc., presented their findings during two public meetings held in Telluride and Ophir…
A solution of sulfuric acid would be used to leach the desired metals from the ore, leaving behind a waste solution containing concentrated levels of heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and lead that would then be piped into lined evaporation ponds for containment. “You don’t want anything to come in contact with this,” [Jamie Holmes, managing scientist with the Boulder, Colo.-based environmental consulting firm Stratus Consulting that studied hydrological issues at the proposed Piñon Ridge mill site said. “You don’t want it in the groundwater, in surface water, you don’t want any wildlife coming in contact with it.” Historically, however, linings have leaked, and net systems designed to prevent wildlife interaction with the toxic sludge have failed. “Our biggest concern is that they will generate toxic waste, not control it properly and then leave it to taxpayers to clean up,” Holmes said. “That is a recurrent problem in this industry,” he continued, referring specifically to heavy metal mining and milling.
With a little research into the Cercla regulated cleanup sites you will find that the fiduciary responsibility of the clean up is the actual responsibility of the mining company and the recipient of the mined product. It is usually the “taxpayer who turns a blind eye to the quality control assurance and inspections of the methods of storage, processing and facility management when the money from the permitting and operation fees are payed to the counties and the states start arriving.