The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project recently achieved a milestone by removing 17 million tons of uranium mill tailings from the banks of the Colorado River near Moab.
Office of Environmental Management
September 29, 2026
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MOAB, Utah — The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental ManagementMoab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project recently achieved a milestone by removing 17 million tons of uranium mill tailings from the banks of the Colorado River near Moab. Since 2009, crews have transported the tailings by rail from the Moab Site to an engineered disposal cell about 30 miles away in Crescent Junction. Cleanup activities will continue, focusing on developing and implementing the final groundwater compliance action plan; removing remaining contaminated soil beneath and adjacent to the surface tailings pile; compliance with radiological regulatory standards; disposition of equipment and infrastructure; completing the disposal cell cover that will manage moisture and protect the cell’s long-term integrity; and final site stabilization, including surface regrading and revegetation. Crews are pictured in front of a rail shipping container.
-Contributor: Carla Johnson
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