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	NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
	Office of Public Affairs	Telephone: 301/415-8200
	Washington, DC 20555-001	E-mail: opa@nrc.gov

No. 99-221

Wednesday, October 20, 1999

Dames & Moore Declines NRC's Offer of Trusteeship For Atlas
Uranium Mill Tailings Pile

Dames & Moore, an engineering firm with extensive experience in uranium recovery and hazardous waste reclamation, has declined the NRC's offer to become the trustee to continue cleanup of the Atlas company's uranium mill tailings site in Moab, Utah. The company notified the NRC of its decision to decline due to its recent acquisition by another company.

There were other highly qualified organizations that were evaluated at the time Dames & Moore was chosen as the trustee. After consulting with the State of Utah, which has the right to concur on the choice of trustee, the NRC plans to offer trusteeship to another organization.

The mill tailings pile resulted from operations of a uranium mill at the Moab site from 1956 until 1984. The facility had been owned by Atlas since 1962. Uranium is no longer processed at the site, and the mill has been dismantled except for one building.

The trustee will be responsible for ongoing remediation of the site, using funds and other assets in the trust which were obtained as part of a reorganization for bankruptcy agreement filed by the Atlas Company in March.

NRC approved Atlas' plan to decommission the site last May. The plan involves re-grading the tailings to enhance drainage off the pile and installing an earth and rock cover system over the pile.

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