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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Work to remove 16 million tons of radioactive waste away from the tourist town of Moab is about to go a little faster.
The U.S. Department of Energy says it plans to double the amount of uranium tailings removed each day from the shores of the Colorado River.
Right now, rail cars take about 2,800 tons of tailings a day to a dump site 30 miles away, where they're placed in specially designed cells. The DOE says a second train will be added in mid-August.
Trains began transporting the waste in April as part of a $1 billion cleanup project. So far, more than 160,000 tons have been removed.
Project leaders say $108 million in federal stimulus funds will allow the project to proceed faster than originally thought.
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(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
