“ Polluters are finding that the cheapest place to send unwanted radioactive waste is the White Mesa Mill — but it ’ s not a waste dump , it ’ s a uranium mill ,” Tim Peterson , director of cultural landscapes at the Grand Canyon Trust , said in a statement . “ If the White Mesa Mill wants to act like a radioactive waste dump , it should be regulated like one .”
The Grand Canyon Trust , based in Arizona , is an environmental advocacy nonprofit focused on Grand Canyon and Colorado Plateau conservation .
Bears Ears has received increased attention in recent years after the Trump administration reduced the boundaries of the monument by about 85 percent in 2017 . President Biden officially restored environmental protections to Bears Ears in October , describing the spot as “ a sacred homeland to hundreds of generations of native peoples ,” as The Hill reported .
The adjacent White Mesa Mill first received its license to process uranium ore , including from Grand Canyon region mines , in 1980 , according to the report . Only toward the end of that decade did the mill begin accepting low-level radioactive waste from contaminated military and industrial sites . Doing so , the authors explained , allowed the mill to charge a fee for processing and disposal .
Three decades later , the mill is continuing to profit from this model — extracting small amounts of uranium from the waste and then dumping the leftovers in on-site waste ponds , the report found . This business earns the mill ’ s owner between $ 5 million and $ 15 million every year , the authors wrote , citing a 2020 earnings call with Energy Fuels Inc . executives .
Although the White Mesa Mill is operating as a low-level radioactive waste disposal facility , it is licensed only as a uranium mill and therefore has needed to obtain repeat amendments to its operating license in order to accept waste , according to the authors .
The U . S . Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensed and regulated the mill until 2004 , after which Utah became an “ agreement state ” — a state that has signed an agreement with the commission to regulate radioactive materials . Yet despite Utah ’ s early opposition to the transport of radioactive waste into its territory , state regulators have continued to approve the license amendments , some of which are valid for decades , the report found .
“ As the uranium market shifts amid the transition away from fossil fuels , two years of COVID disruption , and the attack on Ukraine , the White Mesa Mill must stand as a cautionary tale for decision-makers of how domestic mineral production is not , by its very nature , a boon ,” Amber Reimondo , energy director for Grand Canyon Trust , said in a statement .
“ We have much work to do to genuinely ensure social and environmental justice in America ’ s energy transition ,” she added .
The report said the site expanded its work in accepting radioactive waste , not only from facilities across America , but also from international origins .