“Uravan: A Fading Memory” by PSU student Jess Byrne and Mary Ann McGarry
May 21, 2009 by Mary Ann
As I walked into the elementary school in Paradox Valley, CO I was led to the office where I met Jon the principal and another faculty member who informed our PSU group about their backgrounds and where they each had grown up. The female teacher’s story intrigued me, she related that the town where she was raised no longer exists. When I asked for an explanation, she told me almost everything in the community had been placed in a big hole and buried under concrete.
Uravan is a special kind of ghost town. Once an active mining district, when the perils of human exposure to certain radioactive materials was documented, the town was declared a superfund site, and the uranium and other related toxic contaminated materials were “cleaned up”. I was astonished; I couldn’t imagine my hometown becoming non-existent and having all of my childhood memories fading into a dream-like recollection. I realized the teacher I’d met could never visit her old house, or the places she use to hang out with her childhood friends. I immediately wanted to know more about the removal of this town!
Upon returning to New Hampshire and conducting some research, I learned the site of Uravan is located in Montrose County, Colorado (refer to attached map). This 680 acre site along the San Miguel River, close to the border of southeastern Utah has not only been abandoned, all that remains is a boarding house and recreation hall and posted signs warning visitors that the area may be radioactive. The town’s name is derived from compounds mined in the area-“Ura” for uranium and “Van” for vanadium. The region supplied Madame Curie with radium for her pioneering medical research, and Manhattan Project scientists for their development of the atomic bomb- a weapon used on Japan to end World War II.
The story of Uravan began in 1881 when the yellow-colored ore carnotite – a mineral that contains radium,
Carnotite
vanadium, and uranium- was discovered in the vicinity. In 1915 a mill was established, and in 1928 the U.S. Vanadium Corporation acquired the mill and started refining vanadium, a mineral primarily used to harden steel (1). In the mid-1930’s the company then built stores, a post office, a fire station, schools, a health clinic, and other recreational amenities for its employees (2). “At one time, over 800 people lived along the tree-lined streets…” (3) Active mining in the area continued through the 1950’s, and then declined in the ‘60’s and ’70’s.
View of Uravan and the river
The mining process left large volume of wastes which contaminated the air, soil and groundwater near the plant. Contaminants included radioactive products- crystals and mill tailings containing radioactive uranium and radium. Other chemicals in the tailings and ground water included heavy metals, such as lead, arsenic, cadmium and vanadium. Environmental cleanup of the site commenced in 1986 and was essentially completed by 2001. (3) Residents had to move at this time. The contaminated materials were relocated and placed in “covered containment cells” (4). Because no one now lives in the town of Uravan the health risks are considered low; the land and water are no longer being used, so Uravan is no longer considered a hazard (5)After investigating the history of Uravan, I gained a new appreciation for the EPA and other organizations that protect human health. I wonder how many former residents of Uravan suffered consequences from years of living on the contaminated site. Not only was their health compromised, but they eventually lost their town. Former residents have tried to keep their memories alive through an online memorial website (3). I certainly didn’t expect to return from my first visit to the Colorado Plateau with such an interesting Ghost town. Learning about a place that so significantly impacted American and world history had special meaning for me as a result of personally meeting a former resident.
Ore truck unloading
Bibliography
- 1. http://www.mii.org/Minerals/photovan.html.
- 2. http://coloradohistory-oahp.org/programareas/shf/articles/2002/uravan.htm.
- 3. http://www.uravan.com/.
- 4. http://www.epa.gov/Region8/superfund/co/uravan/
- 5. Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, 4 May, 2009,
- 6. http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/hm/rpuravan.htm#summary.
- Photo of Uravan with the San Miguel River in front http://www.dregs.org/fldtrips.html.
- Photo of the mineral cartonite, http://mysite.du.edu/~jcalvert/phys/uranium.htm.
Location of Uravan
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As I walked into the elementary school in Paradox Valley, CO I was led to the office where I met Jon the principal and another faculty member who informed our PSU group about their backgrounds and where they each had grown up. The female teacher’s story intrigued me, she related that the town where she was raised no longer exists. When I asked for an explanation, she told me almost everything in the community had been placed in a big hole and buried under concrete. 
