Effects of Climate and Ecological Processes on Engineered Uranium Disposal Cell Performance with Respect to Nearby Subsistence-Based Indigenous Communities
type: CreativeWork
description: Near-surface earthen-engineered disposal covers are used to consolidate uranium mill tailings waste generated from defense-related uranium mines located across the United States. Disposal covers made from compacted soil layers stabilize waste consisting of a mixture of chemical and radiological constituents to limit air, soil, and water contamination above and below ground. However, 20 to 30 years post-construction, vegetative succession, dust deposition, and soil development are changing the as-built engineering design, clearly notwithstanding the longevity standard of 200-1,000 years. Little is known about how natural ecological succession will impact the performance of earthen-engineered covers. Furthermore, there is a dearth of information about how subsistence-dependent Indigenous communities located nearby inactive uranium disposal facilities are impacted by past, present, and future operations of legacy sites. The Department of Energy – Legacy Management (DOE-LM) is evaluating whether natural ecological processes occurring above disposal covers are sustainable and alternate long-term remedies that could reduce maintenance costs and exposures to humans and the environment. Using quantitative and qualitative methodologies, three interdisciplinary studies were completed to address key knowledge gaps for uranium legacy sites. The overall research objectives are: (1) to investigate how natural ecological succession above engineered covers, specifically plant establishment and root intrusion, may be a potential benefit or potential detriment to disposal cover performance; (2) to provide climatological data and future climate trajectories to understand whether engineered cell covers are vulnerable to climate impacts; and (3) to understand community risk perceptions from the unheard voices of indigenous people and the impacts to their livelihoods from uranium legacy sites. In the first study, 144 samples of various vegetation types were analyzed for metal and radiolo…
abstract: Near-surface earthen-engineered disposal covers are used to consolidate uranium mill tailings waste generated from defense-related uranium mines located across the United States. Disposal covers made from compacted soil layers stabilize waste consisting of a mixture of chemical and radiological constituents to limit air, soil, and water contamination above and below ground. However, 20 to 30 years post-construction, vegetative succession, dust deposition, and soil development are changing the as-built engineering design, clearly notwithstanding the longevity standard of 200-1,000 years. Little is known about how natural ecological succession will impact the performance of earthen-engineered covers. Furthermore, there is a dearth of information about how subsistence-dependent Indigenous communities located nearby inactive uranium disposal facilities are impacted by past, present, and future operations of legacy sites. The Department of Energy – Legacy Management (DOE-LM) is evaluating whether natural ecological processes occurring above disposal covers are sustainable and alternate long-term remedies that could reduce maintenance costs and exposures to humans and the environment. Using quantitative and qualitative methodologies, three interdisciplinary studies were completed to address key knowledge gaps for uranium legacy sites. The overall research objectives are: (1) to investigate how natural ecological succession above engineered covers, specifically plant establishment and root intrusion, may be a potential benefit or potential detriment to disposal cover performance; (2) to provide climatological data and future climate trajectories to understand whether engineered cell covers are vulnerable to climate impacts; and (3) to understand community risk perceptions from the unheard voices of indigenous people and the impacts to their livelihoods from uranium legacy sites. In the first study, 144 samples of various vegetation types were analyzed for metal and radiolo…
author: Joseph, Carrie Nuva
language: en
keywords: climate change, ecological processes, indigenous, remediation, soil development, uranium mill tailings
date published: 2019
date modified: 2026-07-24T00:57:10Z
provider: University of Arizona
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: The University of Arizona.

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/10150/631953