Welcome to A People's Atlas of Nuclear Colorado
To experience the full richness of the Atlas, please view on desktop.
Navigating the Atlas
You may browse the Atlas by following the curated "paths" of information and interpretation provided by the editors. These paths roughly track the movement of radioactive materials from the earth, into weapons or energy sources, and then into unmanageable waste—along with the environmental, social, technical, and ethical ramifications of these processes. In addition to the stages of the production process, you may view in sequence the positivist, technocratic version of this story, or the often hidden or repressed shadow side to the industrial processing of nuclear materials.
Using the buttons on the left, you may also browse the Atlas's artworks and scholarly essays, access geolocated material on a map, and learn more about contributors to the project.
If you would like to contribute materials to the Atlas, please reach out to the editors: Sarah Kanouse (s.kanouse at northeastern.edu) and Shiloh Krupar (srk34 at georgetown.edu).
Cover Image by Shanna Merola, "An Invisible Yet Highly Energetic Form of Light," from Nuclear Winter.
Atlas design by Byse.
Funded by grants from Georgetown University and Northeastern University. Initial release September 2021.
Using the buttons on the left, you may also browse the Atlas's artworks and scholarly essays, access geolocated material on a map, and learn more about contributors to the project.
If you would like to contribute materials to the Atlas, please reach out to the editors: Sarah Kanouse (s.kanouse at northeastern.edu) and Shiloh Krupar (srk34 at georgetown.edu).
Cover Image by Shanna Merola, "An Invisible Yet Highly Energetic Form of Light," from Nuclear Winter.
Atlas design by Byse.
Funded by grants from Georgetown University and Northeastern University. Initial release September 2021.
Center for Land Use Interpretation, Slick Rock Disposal Cell, 17 May 2012, CLUI Land Use Database
Site
Slick Rock Disposal Site
Located along the Dolores River in San Miguel County, southwest Colorado, the Reflecting the productivity of the Slick Rock Mining District, several processing plants were constructed adjacent to the Delores River to mill ore into yellowcake.
The Slick Rock East Mill was constructed by the Shattuck Chemical Company in 1931 and acquired by North Continent Mines in 1934. The federal government assumed control in 1945 and adapted the radium and vanadium mill sites to provide uranium for the Manhattan Project. The facility was taken over by the Union Carbide Corporation in 1957 until it closed in the early 1960s. Radioactive and other contaminated materials were moved to the Slick Rock and Burro Canyon disposal sites, and the Slick Rock East milling site has since been seeded with native grasses and recontoured.
Also on the banks of the Delores, the Slick Rock West facility was operated by Union Carbide from 1957-1961 to upgrade ore mined in the surrounding area before shipping it to the company's plant in Rifle, CO for further processing. Remediation began in 1995 to remove 671,000 cubic yards of contaminated matter, including benzene, manganese, molybdenum, nitrate, radium-226, radium-228, selenium, toluene, and uranium.
Slick Rock processing sites consist of two former uranium- and vanadium-ore processing facilities: Slick Rock East (formerly the North Continent site) and Slick Rock West (former Union Carbide operation). Umetco Minerals Company today owns both. The site’s multiple centers closed in the early 1960s, leaving radioactive tailings and other contaminated materials, and was consequently subject to the Uranium Mill Tailings Control Act of 1978. Built-up radioactive contamination was found blocking the freeflow of alluvial groundwater underneath the Dolores River. Main contaminants included selenium and uranium, but benzene, manganese, molybdenum, nitrate, radium-226, radium-228, and toluene were also found. Water access and pumping has been restricted until the underground contamination is flushed out according to Department of Energy (DOE) standards. The site was inspected on May 5, 2008; corrective action was recommended but the site was reported to have been functioning in good condition.
In 1995, approximately 129,000 cubic yards of tailings and other contaminated materials were moved to the Slick Rock Disposal site, also known as the Burro Canyon disposal cell, located around five miles east of the former processing areas and situated above the Dolores River floodplain. Covering twelve acres on the overall 62-acre site, the disposal site rises fifty feet above the surrounding landscape on all sides but the northwest corner. The disposal cell contains 1.14 million dry tons (around 814,000 cubic yards) of contaminated materials with a total activity of 175 curies of radium-226. A multicomponent cover system encapsulates the materials, including a low-permeability radon barrier of compacted soil, frost protection layer, bedding layer of sand and gravel, and rock (riprap) erosion-protection layer. The DOE Office of Legacy Management manages the disposal site according to a site-specific long-term surveillance plan based on the cell design’s effectiveness for 1,000 years, to the extent reasonably achievable, or to at least 200 years.
The Slick Rock East Mill was constructed by the Shattuck Chemical Company in 1931 and acquired by North Continent Mines in 1934. The federal government assumed control in 1945 and adapted the radium and vanadium mill sites to provide uranium for the Manhattan Project. The facility was taken over by the Union Carbide Corporation in 1957 until it closed in the early 1960s. Radioactive and other contaminated materials were moved to the Slick Rock and Burro Canyon disposal sites, and the Slick Rock East milling site has since been seeded with native grasses and recontoured.
Also on the banks of the Delores, the Slick Rock West facility was operated by Union Carbide from 1957-1961 to upgrade ore mined in the surrounding area before shipping it to the company's plant in Rifle, CO for further processing. Remediation began in 1995 to remove 671,000 cubic yards of contaminated matter, including benzene, manganese, molybdenum, nitrate, radium-226, radium-228, selenium, toluene, and uranium.
Sources
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Legacy Management. "Slick Rock, Colorado, Disposal and Processing Sites" Fact Sheet. May 2020. Accessed June 10, 2021.Slick Rock processing sites consist of two former uranium- and vanadium-ore processing facilities: Slick Rock East (formerly the North Continent site) and Slick Rock West (former Union Carbide operation). Umetco Minerals Company today owns both. The site’s multiple centers closed in the early 1960s, leaving radioactive tailings and other contaminated materials, and was consequently subject to the Uranium Mill Tailings Control Act of 1978. Built-up radioactive contamination was found blocking the freeflow of alluvial groundwater underneath the Dolores River. Main contaminants included selenium and uranium, but benzene, manganese, molybdenum, nitrate, radium-226, radium-228, and toluene were also found. Water access and pumping has been restricted until the underground contamination is flushed out according to Department of Energy (DOE) standards. The site was inspected on May 5, 2008; corrective action was recommended but the site was reported to have been functioning in good condition.
In 1995, approximately 129,000 cubic yards of tailings and other contaminated materials were moved to the Slick Rock Disposal site, also known as the Burro Canyon disposal cell, located around five miles east of the former processing areas and situated above the Dolores River floodplain. Covering twelve acres on the overall 62-acre site, the disposal site rises fifty feet above the surrounding landscape on all sides but the northwest corner. The disposal cell contains 1.14 million dry tons (around 814,000 cubic yards) of contaminated materials with a total activity of 175 curies of radium-226. A multicomponent cover system encapsulates the materials, including a low-permeability radon barrier of compacted soil, frost protection layer, bedding layer of sand and gravel, and rock (riprap) erosion-protection layer. The DOE Office of Legacy Management manages the disposal site according to a site-specific long-term surveillance plan based on the cell design’s effectiveness for 1,000 years, to the extent reasonably achievable, or to at least 200 years.
Sources
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Legacy Management. "Slick Rock, Colorado, Disposal and Processing Sites" Fact Sheet. May 2020. Accessed June 10, 2021.Loading...
Continue on "Mill Tailings"