NEW YORK - New York state is suing the federal government to hasten the clean up of radioactive contamination in the soil and groundwater at a site near Buffalo where nuclear fuel was reprocessed 40 years ago, officials said.
"Federal law requires the US Department of Energy to decontaminate the site and pay for off-site disposal of the nuclear waste, and we must ensure that they fulfill these obligations," New York Gov. George Pataki, a Republican, said in a statement.
New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat and the incoming governor, and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority filed the lawsuit involving the West Valley reprocessing site, which New York says it has paid more than US$250 million so far to clean up.
The site separated reusable uranium and plutonium from spent fuel, most of which came from a federal nuclear reactor in Washington state and other defense-related reactors. The state said radioactive substances stored or disposed at the site will remain a threat to public health and the environment for tens of thousands of years.
Disposal of long-lasting nuclear waste could become even trickier in the future as US power companies plan to add more nuclear plants because they emit virtually none of the gases scientists link to global warming.
A private operator called Nuclear Fuel Services reprocessed fuel at the site from 1966 to 1972, but left behind contamination including underground tanks containing high-level radioactive waste, according to the state.
The state said that under a 1980 law, the DOE is responsible for cleanup and disposal of nuclear contamination on approximately 200 acres of the West Valley site.
In a release, the DOE said it is committed to fulfilling its legal responsibilities regarding the site.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
