EnergySolutions Violated Utah's Ban on Hotter Nuclear Waste

Two More Reasons

by Rob DeBirk

If we needed any other reason to be gravely concerned about nuclear waste and the direction of Utah's energy policy, last week gave us two.

On Tuesday afternoon, it was revealed that EnergySolutions received no fewer than 15 illegal nuclear waste shipments over the last two years, all of which violated Utah's ban on hotter Class B and C nuclear waste. The State of Utah banned Class B and C nuclear waste back in 2005, but EnergySolutions' repeated errors allowed these illegal wastes into our state, and the company has said there is no way to retrieve them.

Then, Wednesday night, Governor Gary Herbert led off his State of the State address by saying that Utah must have a discussion about nuclear power, touting its "clean" credentials. But we can simply look at Utah's West Desert to see how "clean" a nuclear-powered future would be. And, incredibly, the Governor's comments came on the heels of a recent draft report authored by the Governor's own Energy Initiative which called nuclear power an "impractical" solution to meet Utah's energy needs over the next decade.

In both cases, HEAL Utah was there to quickly respond and give our reasons why EnergySolutions must not be allowed to violate the laws that protect us from hotter nuclear waste, and to explain why nuclear power is too expensive, too water intensive, and could open Utah's doors to the rest of the nation's high-level waste at a time when the Private Fuel Storage proposal, once thought dead, has again resurfaced.

Please take a moment to read some of the recent media stories included below, and then, if you haven't done so already, mark your calendars to attend HEAL Utah's annual Citizen Lobby Training tomorrow:

What: Citizen Lobby Training
When: Tuesday, February 1st, 6:00 - 8:00 pm.
Where: Utah State Capitol,
              350 E Capitol Blvd., Room 130
              Salt Lake City, UT

Space is limited so please RSVP for the training by emailing Rob DeBirk at rob@healutah.org.


Recent Media Stories:

EnergySolutions Illegal Waste Shipments:
State slaps companies, space agency for illegal waste
       (Salt Lake Tribune)
Nuclear waste too hot for Utah is being stored here
       (ABC 4)
State regulators say ES disposed illegal radioactive waste
       (Fox 13)
ES cited for exceeding radiation limits
       (Deseret News)

Governor Herbert Nuclear Comments:
Herbert opens discussion on nuclear power
       (Salt Lake Tribune)
Politics up Close: Nuclear power plant in Utah?
       (KCPW)
Gov. Gary Herbert: Utah shouldn't fear nuclear power plant discussion
       (Deseret News)


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