BY JIM MIMIAGA
Radioactive sludge has been leaking and spilling from trucks delivering mining waste to the White Mesa uranium mill south of Blanding, Utah, according to a report from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
A dripping trail of radioactive waste leads toward the White Mesa mill along U.S. 191. An investigation in June by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission found that mining company Cameco Resources failed to adequately package hazardous waste for transport. Waste shipments from the Saskatchewan-based company have been suspended pending an NRC correction plan. Enlargephoto
A dripping trail of radioactive waste leads toward the White Mesa mill along U.S. 191. An investigation in June by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission found that mining company Cameco Resources failed to adequately package hazardous waste for transport. Waste shipments from the Saskatchewan-based company have been suspended pending an NRC correction plan.
Twice in eight months — on Aug. 19, 2015, and March 28-29, 2016 — a container truck shipping barium sulfate sludge from a Wyoming uranium mine to White Mesa’s waste-storage facility leaked its toxic contents en route.
In an Aug. 30 letter, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission ordered mine owner Cameco and Power Resources Inc., to suspend shipments pending an investigation and approved corrective action plan.
An NRC investigation in June concluded Cameco failed to effectively package the waste and did not accurately describe the contents and quantity of loads in shipping papers...