A MARCA account updated on 4 October 2026 describes a large mound of radioactive waste that sat for decades only a short distance from the Colorado River. The mound came from an old uranium processing plant near Moab, in Utah. From 2009 onward, trains carried upwards of 17 million tons away to a disposal site roughly 30 miles from the mill. The stated aim is to get the material off the riverbank so contaminants are less able to keep threatening the surroundings.
The Moab mill opened in 1956 while the uranium trade was expanding in the Cold War. Ore was processed there into uranium concentrate, leaving huge residues known as tailings. After the plant closed, those residues stayed heaped beside the river. The concern was not only how large the heap was. Contaminants could reach groundwater, and the river was close enough that any shift of the material counted as an environmental worry. Crews now take the waste out, prepare it and load railcars bound for Crescent Junction, where a purpose-built facility holds it so water or erosion is less likely to spread it.
Work is not finished. The project also includes recovery of land that was affected and steps against contaminated groundwater. On that work, the U.S. Department of Energy looks to finish the project's principal tasks in 2029. Until that point, trains will keep hauling away waste that had remained at the former mill for decades.
The rail shipments are meant to put the tailings beyond the Colorado River and the groundwater beside it, with the energy department still aiming to finish the main work in 2029.
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