The EEOICPA was passed in 2000. It provides compensation to workers who became ill as a result of their employment manufacturing nuclear weapons in the USA, as well as their spouses, children, and grandchildren. Uranium Mill in Monticello EEOICPA coverage is available for qualified former Workers and their families.
Are you eligible for compensation? If you or a family member worked at this or another DOE facility and became ill, you may be entitled to compensation of up to $400K plus medical benefits. Call EEOICPA Counsel Hugh Stephens at 1-855-548-4494 or fill out our free claim evaluation, We can help even if you’ve already filed, even if your claim was denied!
Here, we have compiled publicly available information and documentation about the facilities covered by the Act to clarify how their activities relate to the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act.
Uranium Mill in Monticello
State: Utah
Location: Monticello
Time Period: 1948-1960; Remediation 1983-2000
Facility Type: Department of Energy
Facility Description: The AEC-owned processing mill at Monticello recovered uranium and vanadium from AEC-furnished ore. The Galigher Company became the Management and Operations (M&O) contractor for the mill in August 1949, one year after the AEC purchased it from the War Assets Administration. The National Lead Company, Inc., assumed responsibility for mill management and operations on April 1, 1956. The AEC shut down the mill and began decommissioning activities in 1960.
Additionally, from 1983 through 2000, DOE environmental remediation contractors performed environmental remediation under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) at the Uranium Mill in Monticello. DOE and DOE contractor employees who performed this remediation are covered under EEOICPA.
Contractors: Galigher Company (1948-1956); and the National Lead Company, Inc. (1956-1960).
Listing:
Uranium Mill in Monticello is listed as a Department of Energy (DOE) site under the EEOICPA.
Compensation:
As of 06/07/2015, the total compensation paid under Parts B and E of the EEOICPA, including medical compensation, for workers suffering from the effects of having worked at the Uranium Mill in Monticello is $6,842,233.
Background:
A uranium processing mill was operated in Monticello, Utah, from 1942 through 1959 to process both uranium and vanadium ores for the Federal Government, either under leases or through cost-type contracts. Mill operations were terminated in 1960, and the plant was dismantled in 1964.
Mill tailings, the radioactive sandlike material that remains after uranium has been extracted from the ore, were used throughout the city of Monticello for construction purposes. Limited amounts of tailings were used as fill for open lands; backfill around water, sewer, and electrical lines; and as sand mix in concrete, plaster, and mortar. Wind and water erosion also transported tailings from the millsite onto neighboring properties.
The main contaminants of concern include radium- 226 and associated radon gas. The contaminants posed potential threats to human health and the environment resulting from exposure to radiation emanating from soils contaminated with uranium mill tailings and from radon gas inhalation.
In 1986, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) placed the Monticello Vicinity Properties Site on its National Priorities List as the “Monticello Radioactive Contaminated Properties Site.” The National Priorities List is EPA’s list of top-priority sites that are eligible for cleanup under the Federal Superfund program. All sites under the Superfund program are regulated by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). All cleanup activities must satisfy the requirements of this Act.
Before the start of cleanup at any site on the National Priorities List, EPA tries to identify and locate entities that had responsibility for contributing to the creation of the waste. EPA first considers those entities to provide funding for the cleanup activities. If those entities are unable to provide funding, then Superfund money is used to fund the remediation. The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, the predecessor agency to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), was the primary recipient of products from this mill. Therefore, DOE has been responsible for funding and completing this remediation.
