Challenges and first solutions related to the decommissioning of uranium mining in East Germany

Uranium mining in East Germany produced approx 220,000 t of uranium and left behind a host of wastes covering a surface of some 240 km2. At present efforts are focused on decommissioning, risk reduction and rehabilitation of 32 km2 of site facilities of Wismut GmbH comprising 1,550 ha of waste piles, 620 ha of tailings ponds, one worked-out open cut and the underground openings of five former mining sites. Once the exposure situation is assessed, the scope of rehabilitation will be defined, technological issues addressed and their ecological benefit identified. The main scientific and technological challenges are: the prognosis of pollutant dispersion while the pits are flooded; the removal or covering of waste piles in an ecologically acceptable manner; the dewatering of tailings ponds; and the establishment of a comprehensive monitoring system