Planning for Environmental Restoration of Uranium Mining and Milling Sites in Central and Eastern Europe

XA9846516_J3/ IAEA-TECDOC-982 Planning for environmental restoration of uranium mining and milling sites in central and eastern Europe Proceedings of a workshop held under the Technical Co-operation Project RER/9/022 on Environmental Restoration in Central and Eastern Europe, Felix, Romania, 4-8 November 1996 INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY November 1997 The IAEA does not normally maintain stocks of reports in this series. However, microfiche copies of these reports can be obtained from INIS Clearinghouse International Atomic Energy Agency Wagramerstrasse 5 P.O. Box 100 A-1400 Vienna, Austria Orders should be accompanied by prepayment of Austrian Schillings 100,- in the form of a cheque or in the form of IAEA microfiche service coupons which may be ordered separately from the INIS Clearinghouse. The originating Section of this publication in the IAEA was: Waste Technology Section International Atomic Energy Agency Wagramerstrasse 5 P.O. Box 100 A-1400 Vienna, Austria PLANNING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION OF URANIUM MINING AND MILLING SITES IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE IAEA, VIENNA, 1997 IAEA-TECDOC-982 ISSN 1011-4289 © IAEA, 1997 Printed by the IAEA in Austria November 1997 FOREWORD Environmental degradation is a serious issue in most countries of central and eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. As a result of extensive exploitation of natural resources and in particular of the mining and milling of uranium ores, large areas have become radioactively contaminated necessitating restoration and/or appropriate land use management techniques to ensure that the health and safety of affected population are not compromised. Further exploitation of large territories is thus severely limited and the long term impact, e.g. use of groundwater, is of prime concern. The Member States in the region are aware of the problem, but environmental restoration does not as yet enjoy high priority owing to prevailing economic conditions. An IAEA Regional Technical Co-operation (TC) project RER/9/022 on "Environmental Restoration" for central and eastern Europe and the former USSR was launched in 1992 and concluded at the end of 1996. The first phase of this project had the primary purpose of identifying and characterizing radioactively contaminated sites in the region, including evaluation of doses to the general public and other environmental impacts. The main results of this phase of the project were published in IAEA-TECDOC-865. During the implementation of the project, it became apparent that most countries in the region share the problem of contamination from uranium mining and milling. A new 1995-1996 phase of the project focused on the radioactive contamination of uranium mining and milling sites and the development of plans for environmental restoration of these sites. While the 1993-1994 phase aimed at attracting the attention of Member States in the region to a long neglected problem, the second phase served as a stimulus to initiate concrete planning activities that would lead to corrective actions in highly contaminated areas in those countries. As a consequence, the project emphasis shifted from scientific discussions to the identification of responsibilities, planning activities, and the assessment of existing and required resources for the eventual implementation of restoration plans. It was also expected that the end result of the project would increase regional co-operation in the field of environmental restoration as a means of assisting Member States in building up capabilities to solve environmental contamination issues. The project made use of the regional expertise already acquired in the countries which had more experience in the field of environmental restoration as well as in countries outside the region with similar experience. The 1995-1996 phase of the project consisted of a planning meeting and three workshops that addressed different topical themes. Throughout the course of the project, participants presented the progress achieved and difficulties encountered in the implementation of environmental restoration plans in their respective national context. The papers compiled in this publication were presented at the last workshop, held in Felix, Romania, 4-8 November 1996. They summarize national situations in environmental contamination as of the end of 1996 and ongoing or planned actions for remediation. The IAEA technical officer responsible for the workshops was M. Laraia of the Division of Nuclear Power and the Fuel Cycle. The project was managed and implemented by the Department of Technical Co-operation. The papers were compiled and edited by A.N. Prasad, India. The IAEA wishes to express its thanks to all participants in the programme and would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the excellent co-operation and hospitality of the institutions which hosted the project workshops. EDITORIAL NOTE In preparing this publication for press, staff of the IAEA have made up the pages from the original manuscripts as submitted by the authors. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the governments of the nominating Member States or of the nominating organizations. Throughout the text names of Member States are retained as they were when the text was compiled. The use of particular designations of countries or territories does not imply any judgement by the publisher, the IAEA, as to the legal status of such countries or territories, of their authorities and institutions or of the delimitation of their boundaries. The mention of names of specific companies or products (whether or not indicated as registered) does not imply any intention to infringe proprietary rights, nor should it be construed as an endorsement or recommendation on the part of the IAEA. The authors are responsible for having obtained the necessary permission for the IAEA to reproduce, translate or use material from sources already protected by copyrights. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 7 SUMMARY 17 Plans for environmental restoration of uranium mining and milling sites in Bulgaria 21 K. Nedyalkov Environmental restoration of uranium mines in Canada: Progress over 52 years 35 D.G Feasby Planning environmental restoration in the North Bohemian uranium district, Czech Republic: progress report 1996 49 J. Tomas Environmental restoration of uranium contaminated sites in Estonia within the framework of IAEA project (RER/9/022) in 1995-1996 61 R. Ratas Environmental restoration plans and activities in France: 1995-1996 progress report 71 V. Roussel Environmental restoration plans and activities in Germany 85 E. Ettenhuber Environmental restoration plans and activities in Hungary: 1995-1996 progress report 103 L. Juhasz, P. Szerbin, Z. Lendvai, M. Csovari, I. Benkovics Environmental restoration plans and activities inKazakstan 117 A.Kim Environmental restoration plans and activities in Poland (limited to uranium contamination only): 1995-1996 progress report 129 A. Solecki, Z. Waclawek Environmental restoration plans and activities in the zones of uranium ore extraction and milling in Romania: 1995-1996 progress report 135 C. Bejenaru, I. Ionescu, D. Georgescu Environmental restoration plans and activities in the Russian Federation 153 V. Boldyrev, A. Komarov, R. Kuzin, V. Shatalov Environmental restoration plans and activities in Slovenia: 1995-1996 progress report 161 Z Logar Restoration activities in uranium mining and milling facilities in Spain 171 J.M. Garcia Quiros Environmental restoration in regions of uranium mining and milling in Ukraine: Progress, problems and perspectives 189 C. Rudy Overview of Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project of the United States of America 1995-1996 199 R. Edge LIST OF PARTICIPANTS 213 "MEXT PAGE(S) !®ft INTRODUCTION 1. INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION IN ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION In the new and somewhat transformed world, international co-operation seems to be a rule rather than an exception. New alliances are made in technological as well as in economic fields. Countries with political differences in the past now work together to reap mutual benefits. Parties working in the same field should also take advantage of these changes and trends, and collaborate to make the best use of available technology and expertise. It is a fact that the need for safe management of uranium mining and milling (M/M) waste exists in all continents of the world and as such there is international interest in this field. Broadly, three main modes of international co-operation can be visualized. The first through bilateral arrangements between individual countries and/or organizations. The second based on co-operation on a multi-lateral level among states regionally or interregionally and the third is through international organizations. The co-operation through international organizations in particular, with emphasis on information and technology exchange, including joint research and development and demonstration projects, has been very successful. Co-operation of this nature has many benefits and is extremely practical for several reasons. First, it makes good economic sense to share and learn from each other's experience and compare future strategies. The resulting benefit is that it prevents some duplication of effort. International organizations such as the European Commission (EC), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development/Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD/NEA) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) play a major role in this area by facilitating information and technology exchange and transfer.

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