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MOAB Project Celebrates Safety Milestone

This gantry crane moves containers carrying mill tailings from haul trucks onto the train. The containers are then shipped to the Crescent Junction site for disposal. Shipments occur four days a week.
This gantry crane moves containers carrying mill tailings from haul trucks onto the train. The containers are then shipped to the Crescent Junction site for disposal. Shipments occur four days a week.

Kudos to the NW Moab Project team!!!

Press release from DOE:
(Grand Junction, CO) ― The U.S. Department of Energy’s Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project hit a major milestone last week achieving 1,000 work days without a lost-time injury or illness as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. During this time period, more than 140 employees have safely logged over 600,000 work hours, excavated 1.25 million cubic yards of mill tailings, and shipped 1.4 million tons of material.

Above Image: This gantry crane moves containers carrying mill tailings from haul trucks onto the train. The containers are then shipped to the Crescent Junction site for disposal. Shipments occur four days a week.

“Safety is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, and determination. Because our project has a small workforce, we all feel the pain if someone gets hurt,” said Federal Cleanup Director Russell McCallister. “Working 1,000 days safely and doubling our waste shipments during that time is nothing less than outstanding. It is an honor to work alongside such a talented, motivated, and inspirational group of people.”

Moab UMTRA Project equipment operators load mill tailings into containers. Haul truck drivers then lid and rinse the containers and load them onto a train. Each train carries up to 144 containers to the Crescent Junction, Utah disposal cell.
Moab UMTRA Project equipment operators load mill tailings into containers. Haul truck drivers then lid and rinse the containers and load them onto a train. Each train carries up to 144 containers to the Crescent Junction, Utah disposal cell.

“A healthy and successful safety program requires employee commitment and contributions from all involved. This milestone is a testament to the project’s safety culture and the personnel who have contributed,” Project Manager Greg Church said. “As a project, we will continue to strive for excellence and look forward to more achievements and continued success in the future.”

The Remedial Action Contractor, North Wind Portage, and the Technical Assistance Contractor, S&K Logistics Services, are the Moab UMTRA Project’s primary contractors. The project has relocated more than 60 percent of the mill tailings pile from the Moab site to the Crescent Junction disposal cell and in February 2019, expanded its workforce to accommodate increased shipments.