NORTHEAST CHURCH ROCK MINE
EPA #: NNN000906132
State: Navajo Nation(NN)
County: McKinley
City: Coyote Canyon
Congressional District: 3
Other Names: United Nuclear Corporation
Description and History
NPL Listing History
NPL Status: Part of another site
Proposed Date:
Final Date:
Deleted Date:
The Northeast Church Rock Mine (NECR) is a former uranium mine that was operated by United Nuclear Corporation (UNC) from 1967 to 1982. Most of the 125-acre mine permit area is held in trust for the Navajo Nation by the United States Government and is immediately adjacent to the Navajo Reservation. Approximately 40 acres are patented mining claim land owned by UNC. There is a small community of residents that live immediately next to the mine site on the reservation, downstream and down-wind of the waste piles. The residents graze sheep, cattle and horses, and collect herbs around the area.
The mining activities have resulted in a legacy of waste piles, sediment settling ponds abandoned building pads and mine equipment debris. When the mine was closed, several basic activities took place to protect future land users and neighbors. The majority of the buildings and equipment were cleared from the area. Some of the mine waste piles were returned to the shafts. Remaining waste piles were contoured to reduce movement of the material. The ponds were drained and a fence was installed around the mine site and associated areas.
While the mine was in operation the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the New Mexico Mining and Minerals Division regulated the site.
EPA has detected widespread radium contamination in 14 areas on and off-site, including the Sandfill areas, the ponds, the waste piles, the Non Economic Storage Area, the Boneyard. Beyond the permit boundary, Vent Holes #3 and 8, a parking area adjacent to the NECR 1 waste pile, a former trailer park, the unnamed arroyo and four residential yards also present elevated radium and uranium levels.
At present, there is an elevated health risk for people who frequent the site from inhaling radium contaminated dust particles, associated radon gas or utilizing contaminated rainwater and runoff that has pooled in the ponds. There is an elevated risk associated with livestock that may graze and water on the site. Elevated concentrations (activity) of Radium-226 have been detected throughout the 125-acre mine permit boundary and contiguous surface areas. Different radionuclides emit gamma rays of varying strength, but gamma rays can travel long distances and penetrate entirely through the body. Exposure to high levels of Radium-226 over a long period of time may result in harmful effects including anemia, cataracts, fractured teeth, cancer (especially bone cancer), and death. Exposure to high levels of uranium can cause kidney disease. It is not known to cause cancer, but can decay into other radioactive materials that may.
The following sections will cover the larger issues surrounding the NECR Mine Site by identifying the sources of health risks posing a substantial and imminent threat to human health and the environment that have developed in the time since active mining stopped, what agencies have responded and what their responses have been, the investigation of the site contaminants to identify areas that are contaminated and to assess the contamination levels in these areas, and what options exist to address the problem.
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Contaminants and Risks
Contaminated Media:
Surface Water
Air
Soil and Sludges
The sources of risk to people’s health comes from two aspects of this mine: dewatering the mine shafts while it was in operation and the mine waste piles that were created while removing the valuable ore.
Dewatering
The miners would tunnel 1600-1800 ft below the surface to extract the uranium ore that was processed at the nearby UNC uranium mill, now a Superfund cleanup site managed by the U.S. EPA Region 6 (Dallas) and the NRC. The uranium ore was situated in the ground immediately adjacent to an underground aquifer (groundwater). This resulted in groundwater seeping into the mine shafts. That water was pumped from the mine shafts to the surface and had the potential to carry uncontrolled radioactive sediments held in suspension to the surface. UNC was required to treat this water before it was released into a wash called simply the unnamed arroyo. Water pumped out of the mines was treated via a system of sequential treatment ponds where the suspended sediments would drop to the sides and bottom of the pond as the water flowed through and out of the third pond into the unnamed arroyo. The ponds have been drained for the most part, however they can fill up with seasonal precipitation. EPA has found that some of the sediments that dropped out of suspension were not completely removed from the ponds during active mining and NRC’s license closeout activities and lead to unhealthy surface water within the ponds. The water that flowed out of the final treatment pond carried contaminated sediments into the unnamed arroyo that flows between some of the residences.
Additionally, the State and NRC approved disposal of uranium mill tailings, concentrated with radium at the Site. Mill tailings were hauled to the Site, stockpiled in several areas known as Sandfills and were then slurried into the mine workings and stopes to prevent collapse. The sandfill areas and ponds present the most elevated radioactivity.
Mine Waste Piles
The waste piles are a result of removing dirt, rock, and rubble (overburden) from the mine shafts surrounding the valuable uranium ore bodies. Within these waste piles exists low-grade uranium, associated radioactive minerals, such as radium, and other heavy metals that were not separated from the overburden. This has resulted in large wastepiles of contaminated soil on the surface of the site, where plants have begun to grow and people may come into contact if walking on the site. Additionally, the contaminated overburden is carried off the Site by wind and water erosion.
Who is Involved
EPA Region 9 is the lead on the mine Site according to the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Navajo Nation and EPA Regions 6 and 8.
EPA Region 6 has the lead for groundwater remediation, while the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has the lead for soil remediation at the UNC Mill NPL Site, located on private property. The two sites share a continguous boundary.
The Department of Interior addressed another nearby uranium mine known as NE Churchrock #1 and 2, aka Kerr McGee Quivira Mine. The Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Indian Affairs were the lead agencies.
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Investigation and Cleanup Activities
EPA has taken an initial action to completely fence the Site and mitigate imminent and substantial endangerment to several residences near the Site. EPA is also conducting a study to determine the best approach to long-term cleanup of the affected area.
In March 2005, the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency (NNEPA) requested that the U.S. EPA (EPA) conduct a response action under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) at the Site. In February 2006, the EPA submitted a consultation agreement to the NNEPA to conduct good faith government-to-government coordination of CERLCA response activities.
In November 2006, UNC, under order by the EPA, conducted a removal site investigation campaign to assess the 14 areas that are contaminated and to the severity of the contamination. EPA and NNEPA had several personnel overseeing the month-long effort. UNC collected 375 surface and subsurface soil samples and over 900 gamma survey points. A copy of the draft Removal Site Evaluation is located in the Technical Documents section.
In April 2007, the EPA initiated a time critical removal action of radium contaminated soils from the three residences and side yards nearest the NECR mine site based upon validated data from the site investigation report. EPA addressed one additional yard close to the Kerr McGee site as a fund-lead (Residential Removal #2). The removal around the residences was viewed as a priority due to the high use immediately around the home sites. EPA chose an action level of 2.24 pCi/g Radium 226. Approximately .5 feet of soil from approximately 1/2 acre around each structure was excavated, stockpiled at the NECR mine. EPA conducted verification soil samples and 100% gamma scans prior to backfilling. Approximately 6,000 cubic yards of soil were trucked to an off-site radioactive TSD in Grandview, ID. A berm and french drain were installed as interim actions. Soils were backfilled and hydroseeded with native grasses. Residents were asked to participate in a temporary lodging program to minimize disruptions to their daily lives while removal activities occurred.
In Spring 2009 the EPA will finalize an Engineering Evaluation and Cost Analysis (EE/CA) for the removal action at the remainder of the mine site (Non-Time Critical Removal Action).
Upon concurrence from the Navajo Nation, the EPA will negotiate with UNC to conduct a removal action on the remainder of the Site.
Cleanup Results to Date
Initial site activities were conducted using Time Critical Removal Action authority. The rest of the Site will be addressed using Non-time Critical Removal Action authority.
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Potentially Responsible Parties
Potentially responsible parties (PRPs) refers to companies that are potentially responsible for generating, transporting, or disposing of the hazardous waste found at the site.
United Nuclear Corporation is performing investigation work under the terms of an Administrative Order on Consent. EPA issued a Unilateral Administrative Order to remove and dispose of residential contaminated soils at an off-site TSD facility.
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Public Information Repositories
The most complete collection of documents
is the official EPA site file, maintained at
the following location:
Superfund Records Center
Mail Stop SFD-7C
95 Hawthorne Street, Room 403
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 536-2000
Enter main lobby of 75 Hawthorne street,
go to 4th floor of South Wing Annex.
The public information repositories for
the site are at the following locations:
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Contacts
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Name |
Phone Number |
Email |
Address |
| EPA Site Manager |
Andrew Bain |
(415) 972-3167 |
bain, andrew@epa.gov |
US EPA Region 9, Mailcode - SFD-8-2
75 Hawthorne Street
San Francisco, CA 94105 |
EPA Community
Involvement Coordinator |
Luis Garcia-Bakarich |
(415) 972-3237 or 1-800-231-3075 |
garcia-bakarich.luis@epa.gov |
US EPA Region 9, Mailcode - SFD-3
75 Hawthorne Street
San Francisco, CA 94105 |
EPA Public Information
Center |
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(415) 947-8701 |
r9.info@epamail.epa.gov |
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| State Contact |
Navajo Nation EPA Contact: Diana Malone - (928) 871-7820
New Mexico Environment Dept:
Jerry Schoeppner - (505) 827-0652, jerry.schoeppner@state.nm.us
New Mexico Mining and Minerals Division:
Holland Shepherd - (505) 476-3437, holland.shepherd@state.nm.us |
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| Community Contact |
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| Other Contacts |
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After Hours
(Emergency Response) |
US EPA |
(800) 424-8802 |
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