A student group from the University of Utah’s Institute of Nuclear Materials Management chapter recently toured the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project (UMTRA) site. Students from universities tour the project, mostly in spring and summer, to complement course curricula, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). After a brief site history and project overview, the University of Utah students viewed the uranium mill tailings removal operations in Moab. They observed the site’s gantry crane loading a train, and visited the well field along the Colorado River to see the groundwater interim action system and recently re-vegetated areas. Leading the tour was Joe Ritchey, senior program manager with S&K Logistics Services, and DOE Environmental Management’s technical assistance contractor at the Moab site. The group ended the tour at the permanent disposal cell being constructed near Crescent Junction, with Ritchey explaining the soil and rock used in the disposal cell cover at the Crescent Junction site (pictured). [Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Energy]
