In CERENA's 20 years seminar series, this month, Professor Maria de Lurdes Dinis talks about "Environmental Remediation Projects in Portugal (Old Tailings Dam of Urgeiriça) and Worldwide (USA)".
Since 2001, EDM has been carrying out the environmental remediation of former mining areas in Portugal, under Decree-Law No. 198-A/2001, which defined the concession granted to the company. This concession, granted by the Portuguese State on an exclusive basis, covers 199 mining areas distributed throughout the national territory, representing one of the most extensive and complex environmental remediation programmes in Europe.
In 2006 — now 20 years ago — the first major environmental remediation project in a former uranium mine began in the iconic Urgeiriça Mining Area, once one of the most important uranium mining areas in Europe. This inaugural intervention focused on the Old Tailings Dam, marking a decisive step in the environmental recovery of a mining legacy of high historical, industrial and environmental relevance. This seminar will provide an in-depth overview of all the processes that led to and underpinned this pioneering remediation project, covering its design, execution, implementation and the respective technical and scientific foundations that continue to guide decisions in subsequent remediation projects.