History of Mine tailings dam failures
Mine tailings dam failure and floodplain impacts on Soda
Butte Creek, Montana and Yellowstone National Park
Related publication: Marcus, W.A.,
Meyer,
G.A., Nimmo, D.R., 2001, Geomorphic control of persistent mine impacts in
a Yellowstone Park stream and implications for the recovery of fluvial systems:
Geology, v. 29, no. 4, p. 355-358.
(
PDF file of article)
http://epswww.unm.edu/facstaff/gmeyer/tails/dambreak.htm
NRC FINES UNITED NUCLEAR $100,000 FOR FAILING TO SET ASIDE FUNDS FOR
DECOMMISSIONING CHURCH ROCK URANIUM MILL
(
Feb 14, 1997) "The Nuclear
Regulatory Commission staff has proposed a fine of $100,000 against United
Nuclear Corporation, of Gallup, New Mexico, for failing to properly comply with
a January 1992 order to set aside $16.4 million needed to decommission and
decontaminate the
Church
Rock uranium mill site near Gallup." [NRC Region IV Press Relase
97/10]
> View
Notice of Violation EA
93-170
Kennecott
Hides Potential for Deadly
Tailings Disaster
The Salt Lake Tribune is reporting that Kennecott Utah Copper
Corp. has concealed, since 1988, the potential for an earthquake-caused major
tailings disaster in Magna ...
www.northwoodswild.org/component/
content/article/57
We already have enough pollution disasters in our
history. 1. Some 1.7 million tons of uranium tailings were dumped
directly into the creeks and lakes of Port Radium, with ...
uww.raniumcitizensinquiry.com/submissions/
submission14.html
failure
Stava tailings dam failure, Trento, Italy. One of the
worst tailings disasters in history
www.tailings.info/stava.htm
Major tailings dam failures
Jul. 21, 2011
Mianyang City, Songpan County, Sichuan Province, China , tailings dam damaged from landslides caused from heavy rains , tailings damaged residential roads and houses, forcing 272 people to leave;
tailings were washed into the Fujiang River, leaving 200,000 people without
drinking water supply
Oct. 4, 2010
Kolontár, Hungary, tailings dam failure , 700,000 cubic metres of caustic red mud , several towns flooded, 10 people killed, approx. 120 people injured, 8 square
kilometres flooded
Dec. 22, 2008
Kingston fossil plant, Harriman, Tennessee, USA , retention wall failure , Release of 5.4 million cubic yards [4.1 million cubic metres] of ashy slurry , The ash slide covered 400 acres [1.6 square kilometres] as deep as 6 feet [1.83
metres]. The wave of ash and mud toppled power lines, covered Swan Pond Road and
ruptured a gas line. It damaged 12 homes, and one person had to be rescued,
though no one was seriously hurt.
April 14,
2005 Bangs Lake, Jackson County, Mississippi, USA , phosphogypsum stack failure, because the company was trying to increase the
capacity of the pond at a faster rate than normal, according to Officials with
the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (the company has blamed the
spill on unusually heavy rainfall, though) , approx. 17 million gallons of acidic liquid (64,350 m3) . liquid poured into adjacent marsh lands, causing vegetation to die
2004, Nov. 30
Pinchi Lake, British Columbia, Canada , tailings dam (100-metres long and 12-metres high) collapses during reclamation
work , 6,000 to 8,000 m3 of rock, dirt and waste water , tailings spilled into 5,500 ha Pinchi Lake
2004, Sep. 5
Riverview, Florida, USA , a dike at the top of a 100-foot-high gypsum stack holding 150-million gallons of
polluted water broke after
waves driven by Hurricane Frances bashed the dike's
southwest corner , 60 million gallons (227,000 m3) of acidic liquid , liquid spilled into Archie Creek that leads to Hillsborough Bay
2004, March 20
Malvési, Aude, France , decantation and evaporation
pond of uranium conversion plan, dam failure after heavy rain in preceding year , 30,000 cubic metres of liquid and slurries , release led to elevated nitrate concentrations of up to 170 mg/L in the canal of
Tauran for several weeks
2000, Oct. 11
Inez, Martin County, Kentucky, USA, tailings dam failure from collapse of an underground mine beneath the slurry
impoundment, release of 2.5 million m3 of liquid into an adjacent settling pond, subsequent
release of 1.5 million m3 of water (carrying some residual slurry) from the
settling pond into the environment
1997, Dec. 7
Mulberry Phosphate, Polk County, Florida, USA,
phosphogypsum stack failure , 200,000 m3 of phosphogypsum process water , biota in the Alafia River eliminated
1997, Oct. 22
Pinto Valley, Arizona, USA ,
tailings dam
slope failure 
, 230,000 m3 of tailings and mine rock , tailings flow covers 16 hectares
1994, Nov. 19
Hopewell Mine, Hillsborough County, Florida, USA , dam failure , phosphate , Nearly 1.9 million m3 of water from a clay settling pond , spill into nearby wetlands and the Alafia River, Keysville flooded
1994,
Payne Creek Mine, Polk County, Florida, USA , Fort Meade, Florida, USA , IMC-Agrico, Florida, USA : phosphate
1994, Feb. 14
Olympic Dam, Roxby Downs, South Australia copper, uranium , leakage of tailings dam during 2 years or more , release of up to 5 million m3 of contaminated water into subsoil
1993, Oct.
Gibsonton, Florida, USA , phosphate , Fish killed when acidic water spilled into Archie Creek
1991, Aug. 23
Sullivan mine, Kimberley, British Columbia, Canada, dam failure (liquefaction in old tailings foundation during construction of
incremental raise) , dam failure (liquefaction in old tailings foundation during construction of
incremental raise)
1988-1980, Tennessee Consolidated No.1, Grays Creek, TN, USA , Montcoal No.7, Raleigh County, West Virginia, USA, Olinghouse, Wadsworth, Nevada, USA , dam failure
1981, Dec. 18
Ages, Harlan County, Kentucky, USA , dam failure after heavy rain , 96,000 m3 coal refuse slurry , the slurry wave traveled the Left Fork of Ages Creek 1.3 km downstream, 1 person
was killed, 3 homes destroyed, 30 homes damaged, fish kill in Clover Fork of the
Cumberland River
1980, Oct. 13
Tyrone, New Mexico, USA dam wall breach, due to rapid increase in dam wall height, causing high internal
pore pressure , 2 million m3 , tailings flow 8 km downstream and inundate farmland
1979, July 16
Church Rock, New Mexico, USA, uranium , dam wall breach, due to differential foundation settlement , 370,000 m3 of radioactive water, 1,000 tonnes of contaminated sediment , Contamination of Rio Puerco sediments up to 110 km downstream
1979 or earlier (unidentified),
British Columbia, Canada , piping in the sand beach of the tailings dam, 40,000 m3 of ponded water , considerable property damage
1977, Feb. 1 Homestake,
Milan, New Mexico, USA, uranium , dam failure, due to rupture of plugged slurry pipeline , 30,000 m3 ,
1975-1965,
Silverton, Colorado, USA, Mike Horse, Montana, USA , Deneen Mica, North Carolina, USA , unidentified), Southwestern USA , Fort Meade, Florida, USA , (unidentified), East Texas, USA : dam failure , CO: tailings flow slide polluted nearly 100 miles (160 km) of the Animas river and
its tributaries; severe property damage; no injuries
1972, Feb. 26
Buffalo Creek, West Virginia, USA , collapse of tailings dam after heavy rain (view
Citizens'
Commission report , 500,000 m3 , the tailings traveled 27 km downstream, 125 people lost their lives, 500 homes
were destroyed. Property and highway damage exceeded $65 million. (
see details
)
http://www.wise-uranium.org/mdaf.html
Virginia Green is Virginia’s program to encourage green practices throughout the state’s tourism industry!
Sandy recycles at the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center. 
