Apr 14 - The Salt Lake Tribune



EnergySolutions can take no more depleted uranium until it shows its radioactive landfill can contain the radioactive waste for thousands of years.

After talking about DU for a year, the Radiation Control Board pushed forward Tuesday with new requirements despite the nuclear waste company's past threats of legal action.

Meanwhile, board members opted against trying to regulate blending, the nuclear industry's practice of mixing Class A low-level radioactive waste with more hazardous Class B and Class C material so that reactors can dispose of waste that now has nowhere else to go.

"I think the issues the board is addressing are all about protecting the public health and safety," said Board Chairman Peter Jenkins, commenting on the common thread of six votes taken Tuesday.

 EnergySolutions senior vice president Tom Magette reminded board members why his company thinks no new "performance assessment" is needed for the company's mile-square disposal site in Tooele County.

He said the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has deemed the site suitable for Class A waste, including DU. He also said the board had not met its requirement to show evidence that federal law is not protective enough before jumping in with a tougher standard.

Yet, EnergySolutions is first in line to accept up to 1.4 million tons of DU in coming years -- about half from uranium enrichment plants coming online and half from government stockpiles -- and the board has determined after a year of study that current NRC regulations were never intended to address such large volumes of highly concentrated DU waste.

"At very least, DU is incompatible with the state's ban on B&C waste," said Jenkins, following the meeting. "It will present an unacceptable risk after 100 years."

Board members took a series of votes affirming that no more DU should be buried in Utah until the company can provide an engineering study that confirms the site will be able to withstand the hazards of time, including inundation, for longer than 10,000 years. The study is under way and is expected to be submitted for state review by the year's end.

DU is different from most other low-level radioactive waste because it becomes most hazardous after 1 million years. About 49,000 tons is already buried at EnergySolutions, and the U.S. Energy Department has put the disposal of another 11,000 tons on hold until the state agrees it can come to the Tooele County site.

Company spokesman Mark Walker said he did not know whether EnergySolutions plans to challenge the regulation.

"The existing regulatory framework is protective of human health and the environment," according to a company statement. "And the voluntary commitments made by EnergySolutions provides additional protection of human health and the environment."

On blended waste, the board acknowledged it had not seen any health and safety reasons to regulate blended waste, so members unanimously approved a position statement opposing down-blending done expressly "for the purposes of disposal site access."

The nuclear industry has amassed Class B&C waste since July 2008, when a South Carolina site began to shut out all low-level waste from 36 states. The industry has asked the NRC to clarify its regulations to say that blending is permitted. If permission is granted, a Class A site like EnergySolutions can help solve the problem.

fahys@sltrib.com

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What's next?

EnergySolutions must submit a detailed engineering report that proves its site can safely contain high concentrations of depleted uranium for 10,000 years and beyond. The company has said it expects to complete the report by year's end. But more DU burial won't be allowed at the Tooele County site until state regulators examine the report and determine the waste can be properly contained.

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