N-waste foe pleads for DU ban

In no uncertain terms, one of the Utah's staunchest radioactive waste opponents called on Gov. Gary Herbert to prohibit EnergySolutions from bringing any more shipments of depleted uranium into the state.

During a news conference at the Capitol on Friday, the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah formally requested that Herbert use his authority to halt proposed shipments of so-called DU to the company's Clive waste management facility in Utah's west desert.

"The state of Utah … has acted like it doesn't have the power to make EnergySolutions not take the foreign waste and not take the depleted uranium," said Christopher Thomas, HEAL Utah policy director. "In fact, they do have the power."

In August, the U.S. Energy Department reported that almost 15,000 drums of DU from the Savannah River Site in South Carolina would be shipped to Utah, with the first shipment scheduled to arrive next month.

In a letter to the governor, HEAL Utah executive director Vanessa Pierce stated that, "EnergySolutions' proposal to dump millions of pounds of depleted uranium in Utah poses a 'clear and present hazard' to the citizens of this state and requires 'immediate action' on your part to 'eliminate' this risk and protect the health and well-being of all Utahns."

On Tuesday, the state Radiation Control Board voted against a HEAL-backed moratorium to prohibit EnergySolutions from continuing to accept depleted uranium.

Currently, the company's license allows for the storage of unlimited quantities of depleted uranium, classified by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission as a Class-A low-level waste product. Critics argue that storing such large amounts of radioactive waste could pose a serious environmental hazard for centuries into the future.

Herbert said during the news conference that he's more worried about depleted uranium from South Carolina going to the EnergySolutions site in Tooele County than foreign nuclear waste. He said a recent decision by the Utah Radiation Control Board not to issue a moratorium on depleted uranium was motivated by the fear the state could lose regulatory control to the federal government.

In February, EnergySolutions offered to share its profits with the state over a 10-year period if Utah would agree to drop its legal fight to stop the storage of foreign low-level Class-A radioactive waste. That agreement could infuse state coffers with more than $1 billion over the next 10 years, the company estimated.

The idea was scrapped by then-Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. despite a significant budget crunch.

The company has since reiterated its pledge to share revenues if the state would drop its appeal of a May court decision that would allow EnergySolutions to accept the foreign waste.