Rocky Flats was the largest generator of TRU waste. Read about mediocre cleanup at the Flats. Uranium Mill Tailings Uranium is used as a fuel to produce weapons materials and also to produce electricity in nuclear power plants. Uranium ore has been mined in the U.S. for over 40 years. Raw uranium ore is milled to concentrate the uranium, leaving tailings behind.
Tailings are leftover rock and debris containing residual uranium and radium.
In the 1950s and 1960s uranium mill tailings were used as fill dirt in some construction activities. The Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action project addresses the cleanup of these sites and properties contaminated with tailings. Liquid wastes containing radionuclides and heavy metals were discharged from 1958 to 1978 into eleven unlined tailings ponds. The jury took only six hours to reach a decision after listening to nearly 25 days of testimony, presided over by U.S. District Court Judge Zita Weinshienk. Included in the verdict was a provision to provide the 14 residents with lifetime monitoring for cancer and other illnesses.