US approves first cleanup of abandoned, contaminated uranium mines

The environmental legacy impacts of Project Manhattan – a US-led World War II program to develop nuclear energy capabilities before foreign adversaries could – are still felt across the United States.

For decades, thousands of sites associated with abandoned uranium mine waste have remained contaminated — hundreds on or near Navajo and tribal lands — with no clear regulatory pathway for cleanup.

On September 30, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a license to Wyoming-based DISA Technologies, authorizing the company to clean up abandoned uranium mine sites across the West and recycle the uranium for domestic energy use — the first license of its kind ever granted by the NRC.

Uranium is a crucial source of reliable baseload power as nuclear energy, and the US requires an estimated 32 million pounds of uranium annually for its current nuclear reactors.

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Source: US approves first cleanup of abandoned, contaminated uranium mines - MINING.COM