Finally — radioactive waste leaving Moab

Sweeping a hand across the view of the Pile, Hedden said historic pictures show the entire area swamped by the river.

"A big flood could conceivably wash this whole thing into the Colorado River," he said.

The beginning of the removal was, as Department of Energy project director Donald Metzler put it, "something many of you have waited a long time to see."

As far back as the '70s, Steve Creamer, current chief executive officer of Energy?Solutions, was conducting studies on the Pile. Monday he was able to celebrate being the contractor on its removal.

"It's a fun place to be in my career," he said. "It's even better to have a project that is right here that is so important not only to the people of Utah but to citizens of the United States."

The official start of the tailings removal — rail cars hauling the waste to Crescent Junction 30 miles to the north — actually began operations two weeks ago, with Monday's event held to celebrate ramping up to full operations.

EnergySolutions was awarded $98.7 million to remove the waste in its first phase, with another $108 million being directed to the project through federal stimulus funding. It's anticipated the stimulus money will accelerate the removal of the waste.

For U.S. Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-Calif., who twisted arms of congressional colleagues and jockeyed to get Department of Energy oversight of the project, it can't come too soon.

"I told people to get it out of here, I didn't care what they did," she said. "This is protecting our environment, protecting our community. This is a new day."

She said people often ask why she has such interest and she replies, "We drink your water. It's very simple."

The back-slapping, the handshakes and the celebration of the milestone event also included remarks by Tony Amadeo, the vice president of Midwest Operations for S&K Aerospace, the technical contractors on the project.

He said because the company is tribally owned, the work being done at the Pile is especially significant.

"We are good stewards of the environment and our ecosystem. Returning it back to nature is a big part of our tribal values."

E-mail: amyjoi@desnews.com

Mill tailings

Uranium mill tailings are byproducts of mined ore from which the radioactive components, uranium and vanadium, have been removed. Because most of the radioactive elements are gone, the remaining tailings contain low levels of radioactivity. They are still considered waste, and typically also contain chemically hazardous heavy metals such as lead and arsenic. There are vast amounts of uranium mill tailings at old mining sites, especially in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.

Source: moabtailings.org