Will nuclear waste travel all the way from Ontario, Canada to a site about an hour drive from Salt Lake City?
An interstate panel may consider a resolution later this month on whether to allow EnergySolutions to import up to 1.3 million cubic yards of low-level radioactive waste from Canada, a move worrying local advocates who argue this may be the stepping stone into accepting other types of nuclear waste.
Waste that is accepted to be buried at the Clive facility is Class A, the least hazardous radioactive waste under U.S. standards. That includes items that staff working with radioactive materials wear, like gloves, shoe coverings, cleaning materials and tools. But the proposal can still be hazardous, said Carmen Valdez, senior policy associate at the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah.
“Any level of radiation can be harmful to humans. There is no safe level, frankly,” Valdez said. “And our concern is the lack of public transparency from the company in bringing in international waste, which can lead to international security issues.”
According to EnergySolutions, the type of material being proposed for this project is identical to the low-level radioactive waste the facility has managed for over 30 years.
“While located across the nations’ northern border, these facilities in Ontario currently provide electricity to customers in the United States,” the company said in a statement.
But, environmental groups are still hesitant about the proposal since public input hasn’t been extensive. Especially with this being an unprecedented situation for the compact.
Public comment is allowed in the special meetings where the NorthWest Interstate Compact — a group of states that cooperates on low-level radioactive waste management — is considering EnergySolutions’ petition. But, not many people from the community are keeping tabs on the body, Valdez said. It was only after learning about the discussion from a mailer sent to a former executive that Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah advocates began watching the process.
“There was no announcement, there was nothing on the Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control Board’s meetings, things like that,” Valdez said. “So it was kind of per chance that we saw this and started watching it, and have been attending that.”
A big item on the advocates’ list of concerns, Valdez said, is public safety along the transportation routes for the waste, which is set to travel via rail.
Dave Noriega, a spokesperson for the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, said that “no significant, additional safety measures are necessary with this proposed project since EnergySolutions has extensive experience disposing of Class A waste.”
The state, he said, has robust regulations that minimize risks to the public and the Department of Environmental Quality will continue to regulate all low-level radioactive waste.
Read the full report at UtahNewsDispatch.com.
