Welcome to A People's Atlas of Nuclear Colorado
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Navigating the Atlas
You may browse the Atlas by following the curated "paths" of information and interpretation provided by the editors. These paths roughly track the movement of radioactive materials from the earth, into weapons or energy sources, and then into unmanageable waste—along with the environmental, social, technical, and ethical ramifications of these processes. In addition to the stages of the production process, you may view in sequence the positivist, technocratic version of this story, or the often hidden or repressed shadow side to the industrial processing of nuclear materials.
Using the buttons on the left, you may also browse the Atlas's artworks and scholarly essays, access geolocated material on a map, and learn more about contributors to the project.
If you would like to contribute materials to the Atlas, please reach out to the editors: Sarah Kanouse (s.kanouse at northeastern.edu) and Shiloh Krupar (srk34 at georgetown.edu).
Cover Image by Shanna Merola, "An Invisible Yet Highly Energetic Form of Light," from Nuclear Winter.
Atlas design by Byse.
Funded by grants from Georgetown University and Northeastern University. Initial release September 2021.
Using the buttons on the left, you may also browse the Atlas's artworks and scholarly essays, access geolocated material on a map, and learn more about contributors to the project.
If you would like to contribute materials to the Atlas, please reach out to the editors: Sarah Kanouse (s.kanouse at northeastern.edu) and Shiloh Krupar (srk34 at georgetown.edu).
Cover Image by Shanna Merola, "An Invisible Yet Highly Energetic Form of Light," from Nuclear Winter.
Atlas design by Byse.
Funded by grants from Georgetown University and Northeastern University. Initial release September 2021.
Center for Land Use Interpretation, Maybell Disposal Cell #1, 17 May 2012, CLUI Land Use Database
Site
Maybell Disposal Sites
The Maybell Disposal Site is actually two sites. The primary site is located on a former mill that processed uranium ore between 1957 and 1964. Trace Elements Corporation established the facility in 1955 and managed the site until Union Carbide Corporation (now Umetco) assumed control in 1957. Remedial action began in 1995, and disposal cell construction was completed in 1998. Located in an area that contains several abandoned mines, groundwater—located from 35 to 300 feet below the Maybell Site—holds elevated levels of arsenic, cadmium, lead, uranium, selenium, and molybdenum.
Umetco Minerals Corporation constructed and operated heap leach cells at the Maybell West Site from 1975 through 1982. During operations, low-grade uranium ore mined from local pits was placed into heap leach cells constructed from 35- to 55-foot-high berm; sulfuric acid leached the materials to extract uranium deposits, which were collected by a drain system and then concentrated. Reclamation and decommissioning of the site began in 1995 and was completed in 2005. Over 1,970,000 tons of mine tailings have been stabilized at the Maybell West site.
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Legacy Management. "Maybell West, Colorado, Disposal Site" Fact Sheet. May 2020. Accessed July 31, 2020.
Center for Land Use Interpretation, Maybell Disposal Cell #2, 17 May 2012, CLUI Land Use Database
Umetco Minerals Corporation constructed and operated heap leach cells at the Maybell West Site from 1975 through 1982. During operations, low-grade uranium ore mined from local pits was placed into heap leach cells constructed from 35- to 55-foot-high berm; sulfuric acid leached the materials to extract uranium deposits, which were collected by a drain system and then concentrated. Reclamation and decommissioning of the site began in 1995 and was completed in 2005. Over 1,970,000 tons of mine tailings have been stabilized at the Maybell West site.
Sources
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Legacy Management. "Maybell, Colorado, Disposal Site" Fact Sheet. May 2020. Accessed July 31, 2020.U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Legacy Management. "Maybell West, Colorado, Disposal Site" Fact Sheet. May 2020. Accessed July 31, 2020.
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