EM’s Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project surpassed its own record, once again, recently completing its largest weekly shipment to date by transporting 21,092 tons of uranium mill tailings to the Crescent Junction disposal cell.
Office of Environmental Management
June 22, 2021
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MOAB, Utah – EM’s Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project surpassed its own record, once again, recently completing its largest weekly shipment to date by transporting 21,092 tons of uranium mill tailings to the Crescent Junction disposal cell.
The achievement was supported by the addition of a new railcar to the train, enabling EM to ship, on average, an additional 540 tons each week. Prior to adding a new railcar, the project was shipping an average of 20,300 tons each week.
The project continually looks for ways to increase efficiency and reduce cost. EM, the Moab Site remedial action contractor North Wind Portage, and Union Pacific, the rail transportation provider, worked together to evaluate loading, unloading, and transportation processes. After some minor rail improvements at the Crescent Junction Site and fine-tuning operations at both Crescent Junction and Moab, the project was able to add a 39th railcar to the train. Each railcar can carry up to four intermodal containers.
Mill tailings are a sand-like material that remain from processing uranium ore. The tailings are
excavated from the former mill site at Moab, and shipped to the Crescent Junction disposal cell about 30 miles north. Workers place and cap the tailings with a multi-layered cover composed of native soils and rock.
Over the last two and a half years, the Moab Project has added 20 containers to the train. These incremental changes add up. Twenty containers equate to more than 35,000 tons of waste that can be shipped in a year’s time, making a significant impact to the project’s lifecycle.
“The coordination and effort that goes into making these types of improvements are considerable and it takes a multitude of people to ensure successful execution,” Moab Project Manager Greg Church said. “Safely increasing production at this point in time is a great accomplishment and a testament to the quality of our personnel.”
Federal Cleanup Director Russell McCallister commended the project team for helping advance EM’s cleanup.
“The project crew has once again outdone themselves. The tenacity demonstrated by squeezing another railcar on the space-limited rail bench is nothing short of amazing,” McCallister said. “Working together to overcome obstacles and transforming the way we do the work distinguishes this crew as one of the best in the business.”
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