What's New - Guidelines, Networks and Approaches for Modern ISR Uranium Recovery

With the worldwide growth of demand for nuclear power, the uranium extraction industry has responded by producing more uranium to fuel the new nuclear power fleet. In doing so, the industry is facing challenges and opportunities not seen 30 years ago - and chief among these is demonstrating that the industry has incorporated lessons learned in the past 30 years to develop uranium recovery methods that are cleaner, greener, safer and more sustainable than ever before. This approach is not only prudent, but essential to demonstrating to stakeholders that the industry has matured and will meet current environmental and worker protection standards. Just as people no longer drive cars with 30-year old technologies, the uranium recovery industry has developed new standards for safe, environmentally protective uranium recovery. Of particular interest is the advent and expansion of the use of in-situ uranium recovery (of, in current terms, ISR). As this method is the newest means of extracting uranium and has been adopted worldwide, this paper with particularly focus on issues associated with use of ISR; and the agencies and networks that are focusing on ensuring that this method of uranium recovery will result in safe, sustainable uranium recovery operations. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has taken an active role in ensuring that it is properly positioned to regulate the new generation of ISR facilities in the U.S. For example, in February 2007, the NRC announced that it was considering the preparation of a generic environmental impact statement (GEIS) in anticipation of receiving up to fourteen (1) potential license applications for new in situ uranium recovery (ISR) facilities (hereinafter 'ISR GEIS'). As the U.S. operators of research and development (R and D) and full-scale commercial production operations over a thirty plus year period, the ISR uranium recovery industry in the U.S. possesses relevant technical and environmental database, as well as associated extensive site and regional-specific analyses of the geological, hydrological, geochemical, and other relevant conditions at sites where uranium resources amenable to the ISR uranium recovery technique are found within the country. At the time of the NRC announcement that a GEIS would be prepared, this array of data and analyses was spread throughout a variety of NRC and Agreement State licenses and license amendment applications and their accompanying technical and environmental reports. The industry worked together to provide these data and analyses in the form of a Generic Environmental Report (GER) to the NRC--expending considerable effort to compile and consolidate, to the extent reasonably achievable, such data within the allotted comment period time-frame. In addition, the industry's general comments focused on a broad overview of the statutory and regulatory programs associated with the preparation of an ISR GEIS and licensing of ISR uranium recovery projects. These were identified as issues which are frequently mis-characterized or misunderstood by interested stakeholders and, therefore, were considered to be of primary importance that all such stakeholders understand these issues so that the risks associated with ISR uranium recovery can be gauged properly. One issue of concern is the potential that uranium mining, milling and ISR operations may result in degradation of drinking water. This issue is aggressively addressed in the U.S. regulatory regime in several ways before and during ISR operations. Furthermore, in U.S. ISR operations, after uranium recovery ceases the groundwater in the recovery zone is restored consistent with baseline or other water quality standards that are approved by NRC prior to the commencement of active production operations. Upon completion of groundwater restoration, wells are sealed or capped below the soil surface using approved plugging methods. Surface process facilities are decontaminated, if necessary, and removed, and any necessary reclamation and re-vegetation of surface soils is completed. As a result, after site closure is completed and approved, there is no visual evidence of an ISR uranium recovery site, and the decommissioned site will be available for unrestricted (i.e., any future) use. In over three decades of ISR, there have been no significant, adverse impacts to adjacent, non-exempt USDWs outside the recovery zone and into the related area of review (AOR) 2 from ISR uranium recovery operations in the United States. Well-field balancing, including the process 'bleed', monitoring, and pump tests at ISR uranium recovery sites have been highly successful in assuring that recovery solutions are contained within the ore (recovery) zone. Before monitoring ceases, restoration is completed to minimize or eliminate the potential risk of post-operation excursions that could result in the migration of contaminants from the exempted recovery zone portion of the aquifer to adjacent, non-exempt portions of the aquifer. At present, further standards being developed by the IAEA and the U.S. NRC, coupled with voluntary participation in networks such as the International Forum on Sustainable Options for Uranium Production, are providing guidance, support and exchanges necessary to support safe, sustainable modern uranium recovery. This paper will present an overview of 2008-09's major initiatives in standards and guidance development, network growth and technology advances in the area of modern ISR uranium recovery. These will include: - Overview of the IAEA's Center of Excellence and leadership it can provide to Member States; - Progress in completing, implementing and applying NRC's Generic Environmental Impact Statement for ISR; - Establishment, mission, accomplishments and plans of the International Forum on Sustainable Options for Uranium Production. (authors)