Costs of storing it over 40 years at one of the six sites are within 2 percent of each other — about $29 million at Warren Depot, Ohio to $29.5 million at Utah Industrial Depot, Tooele. For instance, it would be cheaper to send mercury to a facility that already has mercury stored there. It would be more expensive to transport all the 128,662 flasks to Tooele.

The cost estimates do not include security, which is minimal at the Utah Industrial Depot, compared to the existing Army depots where mercury is already stored.

It has prompted some skepticism of the report.

"It appears they have gone out of their way to make Utah look like a much better location by not accounting for the true costs of storing it here, which has us concerned that they are trying to pave the way for dumping it here indefinitely," Groenewold said.

Federal regulators say a final announcement is forthcoming.

"After the final (mercury management environmental impact statement) has been available for public review for a minimum of 30 days, a record of decision will be published that explains the basis for selection of the alternative that will be implemented," the report stated.

The final environmental impact statement is available online at www.mercuryeis.com.

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