Bidding adieu to Atlas tailings

The Atlas uranium mill tailings near Moab, tailings that are leaching radioactive materials and other contaminants into the Colorado River, appear finally to be on their way.

Members of Utah's congressional delegation have ushered through Congress a complex agreement among the Department of Energy, the Ute tribe and state and local governments that will result in the eventual removal of tailings and will deed the Naval Oil Shale Reserve Area to the Ute tribe. The Ute tribe will pay a 9 percent royalty from any natural gas it develops in the reserve to cover the cost of tailings removal. The Utes have also agreed to the environmental protection of a 75 mile stretch of the Green River.

This agreement — part of the defense authorization bill signed recently by President Clinton — is an important milestone in removing these tailings, which will protect the health of some 20 million people downstream who consume Colorado River water. Kudos to the Utah delegation and Energy Secretary Bill Richardson for seeing the agreement through this session of Congress.

Not only is it important to remove the tailings for health reasons, the tailings are an eyesore and safety hazard in a community that relies heavily on tourism. Although it will take years to remove the tailings, remnants of the Cold War defense machine, safety and aesthetics demand their extraction.

Fortunately, federal officials were dissuaded from capping the tailings, which would be significantly cheaper than removing them but wouldn't ensure safety. "Capping" the tailings with rock and sand would not fully contain radioactive wastes and toxic material. A flood or an earthquake might result in the contamination of the water supply.

The defense authorization also contains compensation increases for uranium miners and millers who developed cancer from their work in unventilated mines. The federal government knew those conditions could cause cancer but never warned them.

Unfortunately, Congress did not raise compensation for downwinders from the current $50,000, but Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, was successful in passing a bill that streamlined the compensation application and expanded the types of cancer covered by the legislation.

These measures are important steps as America moves further away from the Cold War. It is appropriate that the communities and individuals that paid a price during this nation's wars receive this consideration.