Colorado regulators address ablation

In July 2015, Black Range Minerals submitted information to CDPHE regarding their ablation technology and asked the department to make a determination on how this technology would be regulated under the Colorado Rules and Regulations Pertaining to Radiation Control. The department requested additional information from Black Range in August 2015 and received a response from Black Range in April 2016.

The department is seeking to evaluate how it should regulate this new technology to properly manage the risks to the public and the environment. In order to achieve this goal, the department is evaluating how this technology fits into its current regulatory framework and seeks inputs from all stakeholders to help us make these decisions. Some possible options include:

• No radioactive materials license
• General radioactive materials license for the possession of source material involved in mining operations
• Specific radioactive materials license for source material
• Part 18 radioactive materials license for Uranium processing (not milling)
• Source material milling radioactive material license
• New regulatory category

The department also seeks input as to what kind of application information, financial assurances, and public process would be appropriate if a license will be required.

All material for review can be found on the CDPHE Ablation Process - Black Range Minerals web page: (https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/ablation-process-black-range-minerals).

Public comments on the above issues will be accepted through July 8, 2016 and can be sent to:
Jennifer Opila, Radiation Program Manager
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
4300 Cherry Creek South Drive
Denver, CO 80260
[email protected]

Additional information regarding public stakeholder meetings can also be found on the Ablation Process - Black Range Minerals web page.

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Freddy Arck
Public Information Specialist
P 303.692.3304 | C 303.919.0675
4300 Cherry Creek Drive South
Denver, CO 80246-1530
www.colorado.gov/cdphe/hm