Performance assessment of the Lakeview Mill Site is currently underway. Check back later for more details.
Background
The Lakeview mill site is located in Lake County Oregon within the Basin and Range geologic province. In the 1950’s uranium deposits were discovered in the area and in 1955 the first uranium ore was produced at the White King and Lucky Lass mines. The Lakeview Mill was constructed in 1958. Although the mill was contracted through 1963, it was closed in November of 1960 due to lack of ore. The mill had five owners between 1960 and 1968, at which point the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) acquired ownership. The ARCO sponsored decontamination efforts of the site through which most of the contaminated material was incorporated into a tailings pile covered with a thick earthern cover. In 1976, areas of elevated radioactivity and contaminated-material burial sites were discovered and further removal/relocations of contaminated material occurred. By 1977, the mill was in compliance with the Oregon State environmental regulations of the time. In 1978, the mill was purchased for a lumber mill site.
Remediation of the Lakeview Mill site began in 1986 and concluded in 1989. The remediation efforts included excavation and relocation of the mill tailings and any contaminated soil. Contaminants included radium, thorium, and uranium. In August 2000, a groundwater protection strategy was proposed to insure human and environmental protection. The strategy focuses on controls of contaminated groundwater. The groundwater will be monitored biennial until 2013 and afterwards every five years.