Environment - Remediation of contaminated uranium mining sites completed
The federally owned Wismut has completed the remediation of one of the largest uranium mining contaminated sites in Saxony. The mining rehabilitation company announced on Friday that around 300 million euros had been invested over the past 30 years in the preservation of the Helmsdorf industrial tailings management facility on the outskirts of Zwickau. The plant had been used to process uranium ore during the GDR era.
The remediation was one of the most challenging remediation tasks in technical, ecological and financial terms, it said. "There was no national or international experience in the remediation of tailings management facilities of this size."
50 million cubic meters of radioactive residues
It began with immediate hazard prevention after the end of uranium mining in Saxony and Thuringia in 1990, when 50 million cubic meters of radioactive residues, so-called tailings, were stored on an area of around 200 hectares. The edges were initially covered to prevent radioactive dust from being spread by the wind. Then the 15-meter-high water level was pumped out and the sludge drained so that the whole thing could be covered with different layers. Much of the material came from a tailings pile in neighboring Crossen. Around 3.25 million cubic meters were transported from there to Helmsdorf over a period of around 20 years using a special conveyor system.
According to Wismut, the surface is now designed in such a way that water can run off naturally and as little of it as possible penetrates the ground. However, leachate will have to be collected and cleaned for many years to come. In addition, more than 140 measuring stations will continue to be operated on the site in order to monitor the condition in the future.
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- Germany's federal mining company, Wismut, has also begun the refurbishment of the former Soviet Union's nuclear program-related uranium mining sites in Zwickau, Thuringia, due to the presence of radioactive residues.
- The refurbishment project in Zwickau is a significant effort, as around 50 million cubic meters of uranium tailings have been stored there since the end of mining activities in 1990.
- After completing the remediation of the Helmsdorf facility in nearby Saxony, Wismut's next priority is the refurbishment of the uranium mining sites in Zwickau to ensure environmental safety and prevent future contamination.
- The mining sites in Zwickau, which were used extensively during the Soviet Union's nuclear program, pose a risk to the local environment and community, making refurbishment an urgent necessity.
- The German government has committed resources to support Wismut's refurbishment efforts in Thuringia and Saxony, recognizing the importance of addressing environmental concerns from the legacy of uranium mining in the region.
Source: www.stern.de
