Ground water restoration after ISL uranium mining difficult to attain by flushing
U.S. Bureau of Mines research paper cites inability to completely restore aquifers at 5 mines in Texas and Wyoming
Posted August 19, 2007
RESTORING GROUND WATER QUALITY FOLLOWING IN SITU LEACHING - Daryl R. Tweeton, research physicist, Twin Cities Research Center, Bureau of Mines, Minneapolis, Minn. (from In Situ Mining Research - Proceedings: Bureau of Mines Technology Transfer Seminar, Denver, Colorado, August 5, 1981)
Excerpts:
When planning in situ uranium leaching, the restoration of groundwater quality is one of the areas of greatest uncertainty...
The waste solution from in situ leaching and from postleach restoration can be disposed of in either a deep disposal well or an evaporation pond. Generally, deep disposal wells have been used in Texas and evaporation ponds in Wyoming...
The liquid waste from the leaching operation or from surface treatment facilities can be evaporated in a shallow pond with a large surface area. As evaporation occurs a sludge remains, which is an important disadvantage because there are stringent regulations governing the disposal of the sludge...
Ground water restoration appears to be a bigger problem than was thought earlier. Field testing has shown that "complete restoration," as defined by the State regulatory agencies, has not been attained with reasonable degrees of flushing at any of these sites...
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