Sludge may get to stay in tanks at Aiken, S.C., nuclear plant

The Augusta Chronicle, Ga. --Oct. 9--AIKEN, S.C.

Oct. 9--AIKEN, S.C. -- A congressional roadblock to a faster, cheaper way of cleaning up millions of gallons of radioactive waste at Savannah River Site was removed Friday when a House-Senate conference committee approved an amendment by U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

His controversial legislation, which will allow federal energy officials to leave grout-and-concrete-laced atomic residue after pumping out the bulk of 37 million gallons of waste from 49 storage tanks at SRS, was designed to sidestep the ruling of a federal judge in Idaho that stopped cleanup at nuclear reservations in both states.

Mr. Graham, who credited South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett, R-S.C., for supporting his amendment, said the cleanup plan will save $16 billion and finish 23 years ahead of schedule.

"This is a big day for environmental cleanup in South Carolina," Mr. Graham said in a prepared statement. "It's a good plan for the site, state and nation."

The amendment, approved in a defense authorization bill conference committee, allows the U.S. Department of Energy to reclassify high-level nuclear waste so that less than one percent can be left in the tanks.

The bulk of this waste, the legacy of more than 50 years of nuclear weapons production at SRS, will be converted into glass logs that will be shipped to a permanent waste storage facility to be built at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.

The amendment, which was vehemently opposed by U.S. Sen. Ernest "Fritz" Hollings, D-S.C., also gives the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control the power to oversee the cleanup of each SRS tank and grant or deny a permit for closure.

The state agency will consult with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on final inspections.

"DOE can't leave a tank that's not cleaned up," Graham spokesman Kevin Bishop said. "South Carolina has the ultimate say on whether a tank has been cleaned up and can be closed up. That's a big, big win for the state."

To meet concerns about safety and the environment, the legislation also provides for a third review of the process by the National Academy of Sciences. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board already have completed reviews and deemed the process safe. Two SRS tanks were cleaned and sealed with this process during the late 1990s, Mr. Bishop said.

"It's no secret that some of these tanks are over 50 years old," Barrett said. "Any further delay would have just increased the risk to my constituents in the Aiken area."

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