"After evaluating the alternatives for safely transporting the mill tailings from Moab and considering input received from citizens in the Moab community and surrounding areas, [the Department of Energy] has decided to ship the tailings using the existing Union Pacific Railroad track," Assistant Energy Secretary for Environmental Management James A. Rispoli said in a news release. "We believe our decision will be most protective of the community over the long term."
The decision could delay relocating the tailings, left over from uranium mining in the area. Truck shipments could have started sooner than by rail since the track for hauling the contaminants will not be completed until 2009.
The DOE said Tuesday that as determined previously, the oversized shipments were not practical to be transported by truck on U.S. Highway 191. The tailings have leached ammonia, uranium and other contaminants into the Colorado River, which serves some 50 million people in seven states.
While the DOE says the shipments will be by rail to the disposal cell in Crescent Junction, about 30 miles north of the tailings site, the department said it reserves the right to use truck transportation under "certain circumstances" to continue the cleanup, such as in the event that a storm affects rail operations.
If such a move is necessary, the DOE said it would inform the public and work with state transportation officials to coordinate highway upgrades.
