In September the Cotter Corporation, a subsidiary of General Atomics, reopened three uranium mines in west Montrose County on the north side of Paradox Valley. The company plans to reopen another three mines, two in Paradox and one above the old Uravan townsite, as well.

This is hardly the first time uranium has been mined in southwestern Colorado. In 1948 the United States government, in a move to reduce the country's dependence on foreign countries for uranium, declared that it would purchase all uranium ore mined in the U.S. That announcement sparked a mining boom in the Four Corners Region. The resulting uranium belt stretched from Moab, Utah to Grants, New Mexico, and included the western portions of Montrose and San Miguel counties. During its peak (the boom ran through the 1950s and 60s), 10,000 miners were employed in over 750 mines throughout the region.

Some of those mines were in and around Naturita; there was also the UMETCO Minerals Company mill at Uravan. That mill opened in 1915 as a radium recovery plant, and in 1935 the town of Uravan was established to house mill and mine workers and their families. From the 1940s to 1984 the mill processed uranium. In 1985 the site, including the mill and the town, was designated a Superfund site. Since then, the site has been cleaned up and demolished.

While during the 1950s and 60s the U.S. government was the sole purchaser of uranium, private companies were operating the mines. Among the largest were Kerr-McGee, Vanadium Corporation of America, United Nuclear and Union Carbide, the parent company of UMETCO.

A HEALTH HAZARD

During the mid-century boom, uranium mining for miners and millers was a risky proposition. In addition to the physical stresses and hazards associated with any kind of underground mining, exposure to radon, a decay product of radiation, causes lung cancer. Additionally, the miners are at risk for exposure to the silica dust that is released from the sandstone substrate in which uranium is typically found. Silica can cause silicosis or pulmonary fibrosis.

In those early days, mines were not well-ventilated; miners, for the most part, were not provided with respirators to protect them from the silica dust and radon.

One study of white miners and millers on the Colorado Plateau from 1950-1962 found that the study group of miners was 11 times more likely to get lung cancer than people not exposed to radiation. A subsequent study found that miners were six times more likely to die from lung cancer than those not exposed to the radiation.

As for silicosis, one study found that the rate of contraction among miners was 24 times the rate of those not exposed to silica dust.

While underground uranium mining is enjoying a renaissance today, some on the Colorado Plateau are asking whether the jobs it provides are outweighed by the risks attendant with underground uranium mining.

"I think we are seeing both sides," said Dr. Teresa Coons, senior scientist at the Saccomanno Research Institute at St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction. "Certainly there are environmental groups and community groups that are just starting to sit up and take notice. They are asking, 'Are we going to repeat the mistakes of the past?'"

On the other side of the issue: The people who have made a lot of money mining. Now, "there is the potential for making money again and they are pleased," said Coons.

And the enthusiasm doesn't stop there. "There are miners who are thrilled," she said. "Miners are a unique group. I've had people who would be in a study about occupational illness and they would tell me that mining was the best job they ever had."

While mining is dangerous, it also offers an opportunity for workers "to get paid at a higher level than they could otherwise expect with a high school degree or less," said Coons. In the heyday of uranium mining, "There were folks who were buying a new car every month and buying their families all sorts of neat stuff.

"And there are people who love the dangerous side and the challenge of the work."

A PRICE INCREASE

An increase in the value of uranium has caused local mining of that radioactive element to resurface, said Stuart Sanderson, director of the Colorado Mining Association. And that increase in price can be tied to an increase in demand for uranium to power nuclear power plants. The consumer is beginning "to look at other fuel sources," he said, thanks to increased "demand for energy, as natural gas prices have risen.

Another factor is the reduction of worldwide uranium reserves, said Dr. Coons. "There is a need internationally, even if not a huge demand in the United States. The market price increase is partly because reserves are rapidly becoming depleted."

Today's price, $20 per pound, is double last year's $10 a pound. The uranium market hit its peak in the mid-1970s, when the price soared to nearly $50 a pound on the spot market – the equivalent of $90 a pound in 2000 dollars.

Nuclear energy supplies about 20 percent of the nation's energy needs. Coal-fired power plants produce 52 percent of the country's energy needs.

"It is nice to see a resurgence in mining," said Sanderson. "In fact there are several mining commodities that are coming back." In addition to uranium, vanadium, molybdenum and gold are being sought after."

And a five-fold increase in the price of vanadium has made working the nearby mines viable. Vanadium is used to harden steel and the demand on the international market has soared as countries like China have expanded.

"Because of the quantity of vanadium in the ore, the vanadium can carry a lot of our expenses in extracting the uranium," said Jerry Powers, administrative manager for the Cotter Corporation. "We are primarily a uranium mining company," he says. Mining the vanadium "was the icing on the cake."

The reopened mines have brought some jobs to the area. "A lot of people have come from Cortez and Dove Creek," he said of the labor force, which is mostly local, and now totals about 60 people (although some come from as far away as Nevada).

Powers expects that number to jump to 95-100 people over the next six months, as additional mines are reopened and shifts are added to the already operating mines, which are currently producing about 30 tons of ore a day.

According to Powers the risk from radiation from the mines is relatively low.

Miners are protected by a host of federal and state agencies that have a hand in the regulation of uranium mining. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency oversees the treatment and release of radioactive water pumped from the mines, which is then "treated before it is released into the watershed," said Powers. The EPA also watches over air quality in the mines; the Colorado Department of Health issues permits for water quality. The U.S. Department of Mine Safety and Health watches over personnel safety and the Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology permits the mines and oversees reclamation, Powers said.

As for protecting miners' health, today's safety standards are far stricter than in earlier years.

"You hear about lung cancer in uranium workers," said Powers, from back in the days when "we didn't know what radon was about and sent people in to work."

Mining companies today monitor air quality for radiation and dust, and make general calculations as to the amount of radiation in the air and the exposure level for the miners. Air pumps ventilate the mines; some miners, when it is deemed necessary, are required to wear respirators, and even ear protection. Showers are also available, so employees can wash off radiation and dust before returning home.

"The opening of a mine does not increase" the levels of radiation occurring naturally in the area, said Powers; moreover, he added, there is little risk to nearby residents or people passing through.