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Show (Dig PageA2 cDmfs-Jnhfpfnhf- Will residents be exposed to harmful Continued from Page A 1 on Highway 191 sees a flat-toppe- d mountain of dry desert sand But strucinside the square, ture is a hidden pool of radioactive dam-lik- e sludge and toxic chemicals left over from the process of extracting uranium from raw ore Radon daughters The precise concentrations of radioactive elements and chemicals in the pile are still being studied What is known is that it contains varying amounts of uranium, radium and va nadium, along witn a list of other iums" including thonum, polonium and thallium The pile also contains radioactive radon, heavy metals, such as lead nd a stew of potentially toxic chemicals used as agents in processing uranium ore Some of the radioactive constituents are know n to cause an increased nsk of cancer in people exposed to them for a sufficient length of time The exposure time vanes greatly from one radioactive element to another In theory, residents or tourists Thursday, December 7, 2000 nt dust? air-bor- ne in the region around the Moab pile could be expoaed in two different ways The primary health concern, according to a DOE fact sheet on the Monticelio project, is a potential increase in the risk of cancer from inhalation of radon an odorless, invisible gas that decomposes into a nasty family of radioactive isotopes nicknamed radon daughters. But radon gas tends to rise straight up in the open air and is less of a threat to anyone not near the pile. The nsks from breathing in dust particles generated from the pile is ranked somewhat lower on the scale than the risks from radon gas. But under the right conditions dust can travel. g stuff That is pretty But according to the information gathered during this investigation, it appears the DOE and its contractors have a good track record of safely moving and uranium tailings piles and of protecting the people nearby from adverse health nsks scary-soundin- A good track record The DOE has been very diligent with controlling emissions from their sites said Mike Gardner, en- scientist with the pnmary contractor on vironmental MACTEK, the Monticelio project. If the Moab pile is moved, there will likely be several agencies involved in monitoring the operation Pile workers lose jobs as funds run out Continued from Page A 1 Department of Energy plans to move the pile into question. Guarding scenario in which against a worst-cas- e the pile sits in limbo for a five or ten years, they have been lobbying in Washington, D C. for money to help them get the pile to a stage where it is safe to leave for a few years. The Department of Energy is taking charge of the tailings cleanup But it has yet to get money to follow through on its stated intention of moving it. iLi ... after one visit to Hair Safari all her troubles were over. Moab Area Integrative Healthcare Practitioners Minion (Statement Our mission is to promote community awareness of, and accessibility to, a wide range of information and choices for health services through a cooperative network of healthcare practitioners. Sue Berkhahn Sibel Iren Catherine Shank . 259-940- 7 259-56- 1 Jan Simone .259-812- 3 259-497- 0 9 Energy Work Tami Barney Stannard 259-521- 4 Don Leathers 259-812- 3 Kim Taunya Green 259-451- 0 259-455- 7 Midwifery Janma Schmidt James Ferro Joan Sangree 259-304- 6 Agency-approve- Kathryn Kemp 259-411- 3 Jan Simone 259-782- 4 259-497- 9 Continued from Page A1 they made a promise that if we were patient, theyd take care of us this time around. Theyve broken that Pfflf MBG Sign up for Junior Leagues Great after school activity! After school special from 2:30-- 6 pm: 2 games , shoes & drink for only $5, Monday - Friday Pit Lattes gravel Creek Mill Dr. 259-474- 8 Open Daily at 2 pm promise," Whitney said. Chief Deputy Doug Squire said the Grand County Sheriffs Department also worries about losing employees due to low wages. Were definitely in the lower third compared to what other counties pay their law enforcement," he said. During a meeting with county department heads on Tuesday morning, some employees suggested that a small tax increase would be appropriate in order to give county employees a larger raise. County recorder Marlene Mosher told council members that employees deserve a larger raise because their workload has increased. We feel like we owe this to our people," she said. I think you could do it by just keeping the mill levy the same, but I dont think a small tax rate increase is going to change things that much." Whitney made a similar argument. He said that if the council would simply keep Lie levy at the same rate as last year, more money would be available without raising taxes. Individuals will not get an increase in taxes because new growth in the county will spread the cost out if the mill levy remains the same," he said. And you would still have more money d work began in September. Jim Langley, PwCs director for the Atlas project, explained that the earthwork related to the pile is nearly complete. is still continuThe earth-movining. In loading up the top of the pile, of the way were about one-thir- d through." But he also said the trust money budgeted for that part of the project is close to running dry. The company recently began laying off workers, though he said those layoffs were due to the trucking phase of the project coming to an end. The dewatering work will continue through December, he said, as d ment tailings relocation projects along the Colorado, they had never heard of an incident where the established safety thresholds for radioactive dust particles were breached at e monitoring stations At the Monticelio site, nine air monitoring stations that collected dust samples around the clock ringed the project. Those samples were regularly tested at the lab for uranium, radium, polonium and thonum Reports for some of the busiest years of the project, 1996 through 1998, show that at no time did the samples exceed the safety thresholds. In fact, the levels were generally two to four orders of magnitude below those limits. One of the things we did in Monticelio, when the pile was uncovered, we kept the ground watered," said Paul Mushovich, EPAs project manager who worked m an oversight role on the Monticelio project. We had a performance criteria of no visible dust And that can usually be controlled with water trucks." He said radioactive particles attached to dust at no time came close to exceeding the safety limits either on the off-sit- site or off He said the major safety concerns at the Atlas site, if the waste is relocated, will be for the workers, not the community in the surrounding area And he seemed to think that the most significant dangers for them would be the standard kind of ns is associated with normal construction projects. No vitible dut Another protocol used at Monticelio dictated that all dustgenerating work ceased in winds over 40 mph. We had a policy And dunng the moving of the tailings, we kept everything wet enough so that dust wasnt a factor," said Gary Kamker, customer relations for MACTEC, the pnmary contractor on the Monticelio project. But as anyone who spends time in Canyonlands knows, dust storms zero-du- st do happen And in high winds, sprinkler systems used to keep the ground moist become less effective. Dust storms did pose something of a problem in Monticelio and could do so in Moab. In Monticelio, there were only a few times when they exceeded the zero- - dust rule because it was windy," said Kamker. But I wont lie to you and tell you that sometimes it didnt get away from you. Sometimes the dust did blow. But if it did get away from us, it was only for a hrief period of time. The radioactivity of the dust is probably not dangerous at all." g The average price paid for a book at Grand County Public Library is $24.73. It is estimated that there are 54,949 paid librarians in the United States. Source: Bowker Annual Library and Book Trade Almanac. the company finishes installing wicking wells and other tasks. But, as it now stands, most of the workers will be laid off after the first of the year. PwC is concerned that as the (DV trust funds run out, the pile will be left in a vulnerable state prone to erosion. Were stopping short so we can seal up the pile and stop, walk off. But theres a possibility that we will not run out of money in January, he added. Late last week he had participated in a conference call with members of the NRC and DOE regarding funding to help get the pile to a state where it could sit safely for a few years. Langley said his sources in the nations capital were concerned that with the fallout from election 2000, funding to move the pile might bet a long time in coming. County to examine 3 260-113- 8 Mm 1076 Clinton's Secretary of Energy, Bill Richardson, has previously stated he intends to move the pile away from the river, and the amendment on the tailings cleanup includes specific references to relocating it. But the same amendment also charges the National Academy of Sciences with conducting a study that names the most reclamation plan. They must finish the plan by Oct. 30, 2001. If the Secretary of Energy decides to go against the conclusions of the NAS study, he has the option of ignoring it, but he must justify his decision to Congress in writing if he does. Observers close to the process say DOEs track record points to a decision to move the tailings. But the Atlas pile is larger, and probably more expensive to move than most of the projects the DOE has undertaken previously. That higher price tag currently estimated at $320' million along with the unknowns of a new administration taking office in January, have some wondering how that might change the future. cost-effecti- Body Wprh.& Massage 259-734- 1 Anne Frye 259-190- 7 Drew Roots Nuclear Regulatory plan to cap the pile in place and had roughly $4 5 million in the trust to pay for it. PwC hired contractors to study the contents of the pile, dry it out, and design a ground-wate- r remediation program. That one-thir- A bill signed into law by President Clinton on Oct 30 gives the DOE one year from that date to announce its plan for the remediation of the pile X, When PwC took charge of the project, they were to go to work on a to ensure it does not harm Moab citizens The Energy Department, the Environmental Protection Agency. Utah's Department of Environmental Quality and the contractor will all likely monitor the project Several sources told this reporter that m all the Energy Depart- raise to work with. We just feel like we're lost on the list. If you have a scrap left, youll toss it to us." Whitney said employees were hoping for a five- - percent pay increase in 2001. But council member A1 McLeod said that keeping the mill levy steady amounts to a tax increase, and that requires a public hearing to implement. The state says you have to call that a tax increase and go through the process. McLeod said council members are taking the employees concerns seriously and plan to discuss later this week whether to recommend a tax increase in order to provide a higher pay raise. Were talking about it. Im in a real quandary about it. They have some good arguments," McLeod said. Join us for our Annual Christmas Shoppers Night ISAUEiQ & Celebration Off 20 our entire inventory P Friday, December 15th J? 6:00 to 9:00 PM Back of Beyond i? i Bookstore f? 83 N. Main St. 259-515- 4 IT f i f 9 V (. ;( same tost as plaster statuary, but built to last! :i HOLE N THE ROCK STATUARY 2 FOR S2 big mac lust bring this coupon into Your Moab McDonald's and Cat two BIG Limit 10 sandwiches par coupon Pleasa present coupon at tinxi cf erdsr Offer expires n3Drvc dr" 15 1 -- MICs for only $2.09 we love to see you smile 2 miles south on HWY 9 we deliver (435) 686-225- 0 1 I224C3 -- i 1 1 jqUality and variety 255 r ' Hand Carved Granite Lanterns Animals, large & small Religious statuary Planters Fountains and much more! poor c |