The U.S. Department of Energy has started a project to move 16 million tons of uranium tailings from the banks of the Colorado River, near the city of Moab, to a permanent disposal site 30 miles north, near the town of Crescent Junction. This project is called the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project.

Click here for the latest Project Status Update from Lee Shenton, UMTRA Liaison

The Moab Tailings Project Site is located approximately 3 miles northwest of Moab in Grand County, Utah, and includes the former Atlas Minerals Corporation (Atlas) uranium-ore processing facility. The site is situated on the west bank of the Colorado River at the confluence with Moab Wash. The site encompasses 439 acres, of which approximately 130 acres is covered by a uranium mill tailings pile.

DOE restricts access to the radiological control area of the site where the mill tailings and the highest concentrations of soil contamination exist. Staff are on site 7 days per week and perform security, maintenance activities, erosion control measures, tailings excavation and conditioning, storm water prevention activities, and health and safety oversight of the field activities.

The Moab Project is currently shipping two trains a day Monday through Friday. The length of each train is up to 26 railcars, each holding four containers. During the month of November 2009, about 110,000 tons of tailings were shipped to Crescent Junction for disposal for a total of about 540,000 tons.