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This paper discusses the environmental waste management of the Heap-Leach uranium production Facility of Caetite located in a semi-arid region in Brazil. A comparison is made with the first uranium production site Of the country located in loo os de Caldas. It is demonstrated that differences in the operational process along with different environmental conditions can lead to different impacts. In the present case groundwater is the potential most sensitive environmental medium despite the well-established Consensus in the literature that radon and aerosol emissions may turn-out to he the most relevant environmental aspects of an installation located at this type of region. Most of the Ra-226 content in the ore remains in the leached ore that is deposited with the waste rock. A lack in appropriate prediction of the hydrological balance has been causing unanticipated emissions of liquid effluents into the environment. Chemical treatment of this effluent may lie needed. Contamination of groundwater in the short term by the waste ponds is not to be expected but it can be a relevant issue in the long term. As a consequence, careful closure schemes will need to be put in place. Finally, the overall costs with remediation in the Caetite production center are lower than those Observed at the Pocos de Caldas mining site. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.