From The Denver Post (Bruce Finley):
Heavy-metals waste from Energy Fuels Resources Corp.’s proposed uranium-processing in southwest Colorado would include arsenic, lead, molybdenum and cadmium. A failure to fully address handling of this potentially harmful material “is considered to be a major deficiency in the application,” Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment regulators said in a recent request for information.
Beaches around waste impoundment ponds would be exposed to birds. “What are the risks to wildlife from exposed tailings beaches?” the request asks.
State regulators asserted that people at fences around Energy Fuels’ 880-acre site could be exposed to radiation approaching a 25-millirem limit. “A projected dose that approaches a regulatory limit cannot be considered trivial,” a CDPHE document said.
The Colorado Water Conservation Board is opposing Energy Fuels’ filings to use water from the Dolores River. Energy Fuels has begun drilling wells to supply enough water to process 500 tons of uranium a day. But company officials say they may need additional water…
CDPHE officials are required to decide by Jan. 17 whether to issue a permit. “If they need more information to make their decision, we’ll give it to them,” said Dick White, Energy Fuels’ vice president for exploration. Controlling radiation levels at the fence “may require additional cover” on the ponds,” White said. One option for protecting birds would be “hazing” — setting up motion detectors and noise-making cannons that would drive them away, said Frank Filas, environmental manager for the project.