Linking Atomic History: Moab Project Joins Colorado's 150th Birthday Celebration

In the first frame, representatives from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Environmental Management Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project, at left, blue tent, and the DOE Office of Legacy Management’s Atomic Legacy Cabin engage with community members at a recent Colorado Day event in Grand Junction, Colorado. In the second photo, a Moab Project representative speaks with an attendee about the project.

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — The Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project recently joined stakeholders here for a celebration marking Colorado's sesquicentennial hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM).

Featuring history, science and hands-on activities honoring Colorado’s 150 years of statehood, the event took place at LM's Atomic Legacy Cabin. With roots dating back to the Manhattan Project, the cabin tells the story of uranium mining and processing on the Colorado Plateau.

The Moab Project is part of the history of the plateau, which spans portions of Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. The project is responsible for relocating uranium mill tailings from the former Atlas Minerals uranium mill, which once processed ore from across the region. The mill left behind the tailings pile that the Moab Project has spent more than a decade moving to an engineered disposal cell near Crescent Junction, Utah.

To help share that connection, the Moab Project staffed a booth at the Colorado Day event featuring the project's history, current operations and progress toward completing the cleanup.

The celebration connected the Moab Project with the Grand Junction community, showing how the region's atomic-era history continues to shape environmental cleanup work across state lines.

Upon completing the DOE Office of Environmental Management’s cleanup mission at the Moab Project, the Moab and Crescent Junction sites will transition to LM for long-term surveillance and maintenance.

-Contributor: Barbara Michel