Contract protests erupt over Moab tailings removal

Work to remove more than 11 million tons of remaining radioactive tailings near the banks of the Colorado River will continue on schedule, despite a protest war over a lucrative remediation contract. With $121 million at stake in a five-year contract awarded by the United States Department of Energy, the losing bidders have struck back in protest, wanting to secure more work to remove what remains from the waste left by a now-defunct uranium mine. Both EnergySolutions and Gonzales-Stoller have filed protests over a bid being awarded to a competitor company called Portage, for cleanup of the former Atlas mill site. To date, a little more than 4.8 million tons have been removed. Deseret News