Bluewater Disposal Cell, New Mexico

A uranium mill operated here from 1953 to 1982, owned by the Anaconda Copper Company, which was later bought by ARCO. The mill was decommissioned in 1989, and the demolished structures and tailings were contained in three adjacent disposal cells by 1995. The site covers 3,300 acres, making it one of the largest uranium mill reclamations sites in the nation. The main disposal cell is half a square mile in size, and contains 16 million cubic yards of material. Radioactive soils mixed with PCBs were placed in 144 drums, and buried in a 1-acre cell.