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Environmental Geotechnology & Tailings Reclamation

by Jack A. Caldwell, Jacobs Engineering Group Inc, Albuquerque, NM, USA,
Bryan T. Hobbs, Jacobs Engineering Group Inc, Albuquerque, NM, USA,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Geotechnical Practice for Waste Disposal '87

Abstract:

The Department of Energy is responsible, in terms of Federal Legislation, for remedial action work at 24 inactive uranium mill tailings piles in ten states. This paper describes the setting and the conceptual design of the remedial works proposed for the Ambrosia Lake pile in New Mexico. The remedial action will involve reshaping the tailings pile by filling in a depression and providing a top profile from which precipitation will drain. A radon barrier of compacted clay will be placed over the pile to control radon emanation. Durable rock and graded filters are placed over the pile to protect the radon barrier and tailings from erosion by extreme precipitation. Large swales around the pile will divert water from the upland watershed. The remedial works are an exercise in protecting the environment and the public for a long design life: up to 100 years.

Subject Headings: Mine wastes | Piles | Uranium | Compacted soils | Soil treatment | Air pollution | Precipitation | New Mexico | United States

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