Monticello Uranium Mill Site

rocbolt
recent  |  interesting  |  random  |  favorites  |  contacts  |  sets  |  tags:  
Monticello Uranium Mill Site
Monticello Uranium Mill Site

Monticello, Utah

In 1942, the U.S. government, through the Defense Plant Corporation (DPC), provided funding for a mill to be constructed at a uranium and vanadium ore-buying station that was built in 1940. The mill, created to produce vanadium and uranium for military purposes, was operated for DPC by the Vanadium Corporation of America (VCA) from 1942 into early 1944. VCA reopened the mill from 1945 to 1946 under lease from DPC. The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), predecessor of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), obtained the mill in 1948, but it continued to be operated by private entities until ore milling was terminated in January 1960.

Approximately 900,000 tons of ore were processed at the mill. Mill tailings— predominantly sandy residue that contains low levels of radionuclides and metals that remain after ore is processed— were impounded at four locations adjacent to the
nearby Montezuma Creek.

Properties in Monticello and near the mill site were contaminated by windblown tailings, tailings carried by water in Montezuma Creek, and tailings that were used for construction-related purposes such as:
- fill for open lands, backfill around water, sewer, and electrical lines
- base for driveways, sidewalks, and concrete slabs, backfill against basement foundations
- sand mix in concrete, plaster, and mortar.

Attribution Noncommercial Some rights reserved
Taken on: August 20, 2017
Tags: Everybody's photos tagged with Utah Utah Everybody's photos tagged with Monticello Utah Monticello Utah Everybody's photos tagged with uranium uranium more » Everybody's photos tagged with vanadium vanadium Everybody's photos tagged with uranium mining uranium mining Everybody's photos tagged with superfund superfund Everybody's photos tagged with manhattan project manhattan project « less
Sets appears in:   • Monticello Uranium Mill   
Camera: Canon PowerShot G16, f/2.8, 1/2000 sec, 6.1mm, ISO 80 (more info) (hide info)
Camera: Canon PowerShot G16
Aperture: f/2.8
Exposure Time: 0.001 sec (1/2000)
Focal Length: 6.1mm
ISO: 80
Exposure Bias: -1/3 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire
Exposure Mode: Manual
Metering Mode: Multi-segment
White Balance: Auto
Color Space: sRGB
Show full info
Stats: 1,271 views