Uranium & Fuel

Tailings Site / US Regulator Proposes Civil Penalty For Western Nuclear

By David Dalton
31 December 2019

US Regulator Proposes Civil Penalty For Western Nuclear
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has proposed a civil penalty of $14,500 against Colorado-based Western Nuclear for providing incomplete and inaccurate information regarding groundwater flow at the company’s Split Rock uranium mill tailings site near Jeffrey City, Wyoming.

An NRC investigation determined that in May 2015 Western Nuclear submitted information in a technical report to the commission on groundwater flow at the Split Rock site that was not complete and accurate.

Western Nuclear’s submission of inaccurate and incomplete information inhibited the NRC’s regulatory oversight of a site possessing a significant amount of radioactive material. This violation “negatively impacted” the NRC’s ability to ensure adequate protection of public health and safety, a statement said.

The NRC said Western Nuclear has 30 days to pay the civil penalty or contest the notice of violation.

The Split Rock site consists of three reclaimed tailings impoundments occupying about 70 hectares and other reclaimed disposal areas. Mill operations, which consisted of the processing of uranium ore from mines south of the facility, began in 1958 and continued until 1981.

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