THOREAU, N.M. – The public is invited to tour a proposed disposal facility for radioactive waste at the Red Rock Regional Landfill, 10 a.m.noon Thursday, Aug. 14. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Navajo Nation EPA and state of New Mexico officials are conducting the tour and will discuss the proposed layout for the disposal facility.
The landfill's main purpose is to accept and dispose of municipal solid waste, industrial solid waste and petroleum-contaminated soil. However, U.S. EPA has proposed transporting 1 million cubic yards of low-level radioactive waste containing uranium and radium from BHP Billiton's Quivira Mine in Church Rock to the landfill.
U.S. EPA set aside $85 million from the $1 billion Navajo Nation/Tronox settlement to address the contamination and selected its preferred removal action Jan. 6. The action rejects other proposed alternatives including capping the waste in place and a high-pressure slurry ablation treatment to remove radioactive contaminants.
The 76,710 truckloads of uranium mine waste is expected to be trucked 44 miles from the Red Water Pond Road community in Church Rock, via state Highway 566 to Interstate- 40, and will travel through downtown Thoreau for up to 4-1/2 years. The solid waste landfill also expects to accept radioactive waste from the former Section 32 and 33 uranium mines.
Members of the public are asked to park at the Red Rock landfill gate and will be transported in vans to different areas on the facility, according to an EPA poster.
Information: Kenyon Larsen, USEPA Remedial Project Manager (415) 9144213, larsen.kenyon@epa.gov; Michele Dineyazhe, USEPA Remedial Project Manager, (928) 310-4854, dineyazhe.michele@epa.go v; Priscilla Tom, USEPA Community Involvement Coordinator (505) 2400093, tom.priscilla@epa.gov; and Vivian Craig, Navajo Nation EPA, (928) 551-0673, viviancraig@navajonsn. gov