Library of Documents

This page provides links to relevant documents on uranium and thorium milling and extraction, the regulatory history of 40 CFR Part 192, EPA published documents concerning the development of the regulation, and links to other documents or information on uranium and thorium milling and extraction facilities. Little thorium extraction is currently taking place in the U.S., so most literature cited here is on uranium.

Regulatory History of 40 CFR Part 192

While the EPA regulations cover thorium extraction facilities, little thorium extraction is currently taking place in the U.S. Thorium is a potential source of nuclear power, but significant development of this mineral will depend upon technology and price breakthroughs.

Uranium extraction facilities are those which produce 11(e)(2) byproduct material as determined by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, including mills, In Situ Leach (ISL) recovery facilities, and heap leach facilities. Conventional underground or surface (open pit) mines and their associated wastes are not included.

40 CFR Part 192

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Federal Register Notices

• Health and Environmental Protection Standards for Uranium and Thorium Mill Tailings (PDF) (20 pp, 127K) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 40 CFR Part 192, Vol 60, No. 7 FR pgs. 2865-2871. Final rule as amended. Jan. 11, 1995.
• Groundwater Standards for Remedial Actions at Inactive Uranium Processing Sites (PDF) (18 pp, 5.30MB) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 40 CFR Part 192, Vol. 60, No. 7, FR pgs. 2854-2864. Final Rule, January 11, 1995. Word searchable version
• Health and Environmental Standards for Uranium and Thorium Tailings (PDF) (16 pp, 5.42MB) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 40 CFR Part 192, Vol 58, No. 218 FR pgs. 60340-60356. Final rule, November 15, 1993.
• Health and Environmental Protection Standards for Uranium and Thorium Mill Tailings (PDF) (3 pp, 0.80MB) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 40 CFR Part 192, Vol 56, No. 251 FR pgs. 67569-67571. Advanced notice of proposed rulemaking, December 31, 1991.
• Standards for Remedial Actions at Inactive Uranium Processing Sites (PDF) (9 pp, 2.3MB) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 40 CFR Part 192, Vol. 52, No. 185, FR pgs. 36000-36008. September 24, 1987. Proposed Notice.
• Environmental Standards for Uranium and Thorium Mill Tailings at Licensed Commercial Processing Sites (PDF) (22 pp, 6.79MB) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 40 CFR Part 192, Vol. 48, No. 196, FR pgs. 45926-45947. Final rule, October 7, 1983.
• Environmental Standards for Uranium and Thorium Mill Tailings at Licensed Commercial Processing Sites; Invitation for Comment (PDF) (20 pp, 5.61MB) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 40 CFR Part 192, Vol. 48, No. 84, FR pgs. 19584-19603. Proposed notice, April 29, 1983.
• Standards for Remedial Actions at Inactive Uranium Processing Sites U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (PDF) (16 pp, 4.15MB) 40 CFR 192, Vol. 48, No. 3, FR pgs. 590-604. Final rule, January 5, 1983.
• Standards for Remedial Actions at Inactive Uranium Processing Sites. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (PDF) (2 pp, 1.04MB) 40 CFR Part 192, Vol 48, No. 3 FR pgs. 605-606. Advanced notice of proposed rulemaking, January 5, 1983.
• Proposed Disposal Standards for Inactive Uranium Processing Sites; Invitation for Comment (PDF) (8 pp, 2.0MB) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 40 CFR Part 192, Vol. 46, No. 6, FR pgs. 2556-2563. Proposed notice, January 9, 1981.
• Proposed Cleanup Standards for Inactive Uranium Processing Sites; Invitation for Comment (PDF) (6 pp, 800K) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 40 CFR Part 192, Vol. 45, No. 79, FR pgs. 27370-27375. Proposed notice, April 22, 1980.
• Interim Cleanup Standards for Inactive Uranium Processing Sites (PDF) (3 pp, 0.36MB) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 40 CFR Part 192, Vol. 45, No. 79 FR pgs. 27366-27368. Interim standards, April 22, 1980.

Background and Supporting Documents

• Section 206 of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) (PDF) (3 pp, 404K)This section of UMTRCA provides EPA with the authority to develop public health and environmental protection standards for uranium and thorium mills and mill tailings.
• Technical Support for Amending Standards for Management of Uranium Byproduct Materials – 40 CFR Part 192 Subpart D, Draft – Background Information Document (PDF) (171 pp, 7.88MB) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. May 1993.This document contains background information and data compiled by EPA in support of the proposal to amend 40 CFR 192 Subpart D concerning the long-term disposal of uranium mill tailings at licensed non-operational uranium mill sites.
• Ground-Water Protection Standards for Inactive Uranium Tailings Sites (40 CFR 192) – Background Information for Final Rule (PDF) (294 pp, 10.11MB) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, March 1989.This document contains background information and a discussion of EPA’s proposal of groundwater protection standards for inactive uranium tailings sites under the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 (UMTRCA).
• Final Environmental Impact Statement for Remedial Action Standards for Inactive Uranium Processing Sites (40 CFR 192) – Volume I (PDF) (235 pp, 11.92MB) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. October 1982.
• Final Environmental Impact Statement for Remedial Action Standards for Inactive Uranium Processing Sites (40 CFR 192) – Volume II (PDF) (314 pp, 14.02MB) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. October 1982.This final statement examined standards for the disposal of uranium mill tailings at the 24 sites designated under the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 (UMTRCA), as well as standards for the cleanup of nearby lands and buildings contaminated with mill tailings.

EPA Technical Reports

• Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials From Uranium Mining Volume 1: Mining and Reclamation Background (PDF) (182 pp, 2.3MB, also available in chapters below), [EPA 402-R-08-005] April 2008, originally printed and published on-line [EPA 402-R-05-007] January 2006, Revised June 2007.

Chapters

• Cover, Executive Summary, Table of Contents (PDF) (13 pp, 266K)
• Chapter 1 Introduction (PDF) (20 pp, 472K)
• Chapter 2 Uranium Mining and Extraction Processes in the United States (PDF) (18 pp, 584K)
• Chapter 3 Volume and Characteristics of Uranium Mine Wastes (PDF) (31 pp, 876K)
• Chapter 4 Uranium Mine and Extraction Facility Reclamation (PDF) (21 pp, 224K)
• Chapter 5 Conclusion (PDF) (2 pp, 78K) This chapter was not affected by the revisions.
• Chapter 6 Bibliography (PDF) (17 pp, 175K) This chapter was not affected by the revisions.
• Appendices (PDF) (60 pp, 690K)

The January 2006 version of this report (without later revisions) is also available in print or CD-ROM. See Obtaining Documents or send a request to information.radiation@epa.gov.

• Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials From Uranium Mining Volume 2: Investigation of Potential Health, Geographic, and Environmental Issues of Abandoned Uranium Mines (PDF) (131 pp, 3MB, also available in chapters below) [EPA 402-R-08-005] April 2008 (Originally released on-line August 2006 as EPA 402-R-05-007.)

This report provides a general scoping evaluation of potential radiogenic cancer and environmental risks posed by small abandoned uranium mines in the western United States.

Chapters

• Cover (PDF) (1 pg, 20K)
• Introduction (PDF) (4 pp, 28K)
• Chapter 1 Major Studies Supporting This Scoping Risk Analysis (PDF) (9 pp, 318K)
• Chapter 2 Geographic Analysis on the Location of Uranium Mines (PDF) (8 pp, 502K)
• Chapter 3 Cancer Risks from On-Site Exposure (PDF) (31 pp, 544K)
• Chapter 4 Risk from Uranium Mining Waste in Building Materials (PDF) (10 pp, 244K)
• Chapter 5 Potential Ecological Impacts from Uranium Mines (PDF) (4 pp, 54K)
• Chapter 6 Uncertainties (PDF) (1 pg, 13K)
• Chapter 7 Conclusions (PDF) (4 pp, 28K)
• Chapter 8 Bibliography (PDF) (7 pp, 41K)
• Appendix I. Swimming Risk (PDF) (4 pp, 19K)
• Appendix II. Calculation of Slope Factors for Naturally Occurring Radionuclides (PDF) (3 pp, 85K)
• Appendix III. Occupational and Public Risks Associated with In-Situ Leaching (PDF) (11 pp, 178K)
• Appendix IV. Risks Associated with Conventional Uranium Milling Operations (PDF) (10 pp, 168K)
• Appendix V. List of Acronyms and Abbreviations and Glossary of Terms (PDF) (18 pp, 100K)

Guidelines for Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials.

• Evaluation of Guidelines for Exposures to Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials, (294 pp, 4.1 MB) National Research Council, 1999.

This 1999 report was prepared for EPA at the requested of Congress. It discusses and evaluates EPA’s radiation protection and risk standards and guidelines for Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (TENORM), including uranium, radium and thorium. It is available for purchase or downloading.

• Evaluation of EPA’s Guidelines for Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (TENORM):  Report to Congress (22 pp, 2.3 MB) [EPA 402-R-00-01] June 2000.

This report is EPA’s response to the recommendations of the National Research Council.

Uranium Location Database Compilation: Overview and Database Files

EPA has compiled mine location information from federal, state, and Tribal agencies into a single database as part of its investigation into the potential environmental hazards of wastes from abandoned uranium mines in the western United States.

Overview

• Uranium Location Database Compilation (PDF) (26 pp, 472K)[EPA 402-R-05-009] August, 2006

This supporting document is an overview of the Uranium Location Database.

Database Files

The database is designed for use with geographic information system (GIS) software. A geographic projection (NAD 1983) of the uranium locations found in the database may be generated with GIS software, using these sample files:

• uld-ii.dbf database file containing mine name, latitude, longitude, etc.
• uld-ii_gis.zip contains three files required to complete the sample geographic projection [about zip format]

The entire database compilation contains the master database, component databases, shape files and supporting documentation. To order, see the directions on Obtaining Documents.

• 1995 Technical Resource Document, Extraction and Beneficiation of Ores and Minerals, Volume 5 Uranium (PDF) (139 pp, 491Kb)
• 1985 Wastes from the Extraction and Beneficiation of Metallic Ores, Phosphate Rock, Asbestos, Overburden from Uranium Mining, and Oil Shale (PDF) (295 pp, 630K)

Public Information Meetings 2010

Public Information Meetings provided an overview of the regulatory review and existing standards and gave stakeholders the opportunity to present their input.

Meeting Notes

• Casper, WY (May 24, 2010) and Denver, CO (May 26, 2010)
• Tuba City, AZ (September 15, 2010)
• Corpus Christi, TX (November 4, 2010)

Presentations

• Presentation given at Colorado and Wyoming meetings
• Presentation given at Tuba City, Arizona meeting

Other Related Meetings

• EPA presentatoin at NAS Uranium in Virginia Committee Meeting

The National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council has established a committee which is investigating the regulatory framework and potential environmental impacts of uranium mining and milling in Virginia. This presentation given on October 26, 2010, provided an overview of EPA’s regulatory responsibility for uranium mining and milling, as well as review of its existing regulations for these types of facilities.