A decade of waste shipments reduces the tailings pile The scope of the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project includes relocating mill tailings and other contaminated materials from a former uranium-ore processing facility in Moab, Utah, to an engineered disposal cell constructed near Crescent Junction, Utah.
On April 20, 2009, the first trainload carrying mill tailings departed from the Moab site. More than 11 million tons of the estimated 16 million tons of tailings have been shipped to the Project’s disposal cell.
The photos on this fact sheet show differences in the tailings pile over many years from various perspectives around the Moab site. Some photos were taken before waste shipments began.
The mill tailings pile looking south, visible from U.S. Highway 191, in July 2003. The photo was taken before tailings shipments began.
The mill tailings pile, visible from U.S. Highway 191, in January 2020. More of the Scott M. Matheson Wetlands Preserve are visible beyond the tailings pile.
The mill tailings pile looking southwest, visible from Arches National Park, in February 2013.
The mill tailings pile, from a similar vantage point, in May 2018. The lower left hand corner of the tailings pile has decreased in size compared to the photo above.
The mill tailings pile, from an aerial perspective looking southwest, in April 2014.
The mill tailings pile, from an aerial perspective looking west, in May 2018. The evaporation pond, visible in the photo above, was removed in July 2016.
The mill tailings pile, visible from Arches National Park, in January 2003. The photo was taken before tailings shipments began.
The mill tailings pile, visible from Arches National Park, in April 2018. Since 2003, the entrance road into the national park was constructed and U.S. Highway 191 was widened.
The mill tailings pile, visible from Arches National Park, in January 2020. The pile has decreased in size revealing more of the Scott M. Matheson Wetlands Preserve behind it.