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The uranium tailings cleanup outside of Moab was honored last week with a U.S. Department of Energy Secretary's Achievement Award.
The award, presented by Secretary of Energy Steven Chu at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., recognized the cleanup's employees, the project director and contractors for exceptional service.
"The employees recognized today have gone above and beyond the call of duty, demonstrating an exceptional commitment to public service," said Chu in a news release. "Their dedication, knowledge and skills have served to strengthen our nation's economic and energy security and the work of the Energy Department."
The Secretary's Achievement Award is given to groups or teams for their outstanding accomplishments and contributions.
The cleanup crew at the site of the old Atlas Corp. uranium-processing mill was one of nine teams that received the award this year.
It was honored for excavating and moving more than 4.5 million tons of uranium mill tailings and transporting them by rail 30 miles to a new disposal site. The work so far means 28 percent of the 16-million-ton mill tailings pile has been hauled away from the edge of the Colorado River, a water source for around 30 million people that was tainted by uranium, ammonia and other hazardous chemicals leaching from the waste pile.
"Thanks to our dedicated, well-trained and hard-working federal and contractor employees, we are ahead of schedule and our safety record is exemplary," said Don Metzler, who oversees the cleanup for the Energy Department. "We are proud to accept these awards on behalf of the entire workforce."
Judy Fahys