Protect clean water from toxic uranium mining

In-situ leach (ISL) uranium mining is dirty.

Drill a hole, many holes, deep underground. Put a big straw in each hole. In some straws, spit acid to dissolve the uranium deposit. In the remaining straws, slurp out the acid uranium solution. Repeat.

Like fracking, ISL mining injects hazardous chemicals deep underground that threaten groundwater. Like fracking, ISL mining liberates additional toxics, like arsenic and lead.

But ISL has an even worse track record than fracking when it comes to polluting water. Every ISL mining operation permitted in the United States has polluted groundwater. Not one ISL mining operation has been fully reclaimed to premining conditions, ever.

ISL mining is guaranteed water pollution.

For the first time in twenty years, EPA is updating their dangerously low standards to better protect drinking water.

TAKE ACTION: Tell EPA we need strong rules to protect groundwater from uranium mining pollution!

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For more information:

Earthworks In-Situ Leach Uranium Mining
EPA Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Health and Environmental Protection Standards for Uranium and Thorium Mill Tailings (40 CFR 192)
NRDC Nuclear Fuel's Dirty Beginnings

Gina McCarthy

EPA Administrator
Email: A-and-R-Docket@epa.gov

Subject: EPA-HQ-OAR-2012-0788

Your Letter:
Dear Administrator McCarthy, Thank you for proposing new Health and Environmental Protection Standards for Uranium and Thorium Mill Tailings under the authority granted to you by the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act. Communities in our Western States deeply need protections like these for their dwindling water supplies. These rules will help because the mining industry has never fully cleaned up an aquifer polluted from uranium milling. We support requiring baseline characterization of aquifer geochemistry before ISL recovery begins. We also appreciate EPA establishing important restoration standards and long-term monitoring requirements. The proposed 30 year monitoring horizon improves chances of detecting excursions before they occur. Yet, we caution that computer simulations are no substitute for monitoring. Thus, EPA should continue to require monitoring until the aquifer is restored to pre-existing standards. Neither the 30 year window nor the reliance on computer modeling should supersede monitoring. Thank you for accepting our comments.

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Original Petition by Earthworks