Tests show depleted uranium meets standards

SALT LAKE CITY — An Oak Ridge, Tenn., laboratory notified the Utah Department of Environmental Quality Monday that samples of depleted uranium taken from EnergySolutions' low-level radioactive waste disposal facility meet health and safety standards set by the state.

According to a news release, the Utah Division of Radiation Control had tests conducted in March at the direction of Gov. Gary Herbert. The radioactive material tested by Eberline Services Inc. in Oak Ridge had been shipped to EnergySolutions' Clive, Tooele County, facility in December from the Department of Energy's Savannah River, S.C., cleanup site, DRC director Dane Finerfrock told the Deseret News.

The material consisted mostly of depleted uranium — or DU — along with other radioactive elements.

Depleted uranium is classified as Class A low-level waste by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. But the Savannah River waste also contained trace amounts of other radioactive elements, including technetium, which, if concentrations are too high, would be prohibited from disposal under state law.

Finerfrock said the test results came back well within legal limits for Class A waste, suggesting minimal levels of concentration from other elements.

DRC contracted with Eberline to analyze 171 random samples collected from drums containing depleted uranium. The lab used an Environmental Protection Agency method that determines the number of samples for a statistical approach to find out whether the waste concentrations exceed EnergySolutions' Class A license, the release noted.

"We took a much more conservative and thorough approach to sampling," Amanda Smith, DEQ executive director, said in a statement. "We believe that given questions raised about the nature of this waste, the state should do its due diligence and perform additional tests."

The Radiation Control Board is in the process of developing a rule that would require a performance assessment to determine if depleted uranium can be safely disposed above ground at EnergySolutions, the release stated. The waste material from Savannah River will be continually monitored until the performance assessment is completed.

"We welcomed the governor's request for additional sampling and tests of the contents of the depleted uranium containers because we were confident that the independent laboratory findings would validate our original testing and documentation." Val Christensen, EnergySolutions president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.