Reader comments
Would Utah firm open U.S. door to nuclear waste?

far too one sided. It would have been nice to hear both sides of the argument, but the clear majority of the article was used to cover the the side of those who oppose the plan. I am very disappointed to see the D News putting out such one sided, biased articles.
Please take more responsibility for your journalism and at least try to be impartial when reporting the news. And before anyone tries to crucify me for my comments, I have not decided wether I am for or against the plan. What I do know is I cannot count on the D News to give me equal time and reporting from both sides of the debate. Articles like this will only serve to make me cancel my subscription!

It's been the plan all along for Energy Solutions to turn Utah in to the worlds dumping ground for waste. The writing was on the wall when they came here and got approved to handle this waste. If the truth were known, our legislators knew of the long term plans to bring world wide nuclear waste to Utah. Why else would such a company set up shop in a state that has no nuclear plants? None that I know of anyway. They got their foot in the door now its a matter of financial persuasion of the legislation to get additional approvals for increased imports of waste. We can count on our legislators to go after the money and personal financial gains ahead of the safety of the citizens they represent. We can bet the CEO government in Utah will approve the imports, there's money in it for them. The radiation icon will become a part of our state symbolism and not a place you will want to live.

I'm not really buying this whole slippery slope argument. If we allow EnergySolutions to dispose of some low-level Italian nuclear waste, then somehow we lose the ability to reject future permits for nuclear waste disposal?

We already encourage foriegn low level waste into the state. Why not allow Italian nuclear waste and at least make some money to offset our other money losing projects.

Dear Energy Solutions. Why are you trying to turn your own country into a toxic waste dump? Don't you realize that even the most starving third world countries don't want it or the jobs it brings? There is a lesson to be learned there.

We've got a bunch of deseret out there doing nothing. Why not put it to good use and allow it to bring us in some income?

There should be a grass roots effort against bringing nuclear waste to the state of Utah. Does anyone know of such movement?

Here's a thought, why don't we start MAKING our own nuclear waste so we decrease our carbon footprint? (it's very hard for me to say carbon footprint-makes me feel dirty like I want to vomit). Then energy solutions can have a job right here at home, the elitists (those politicians pushing their global warming hysteria) won't be successful in creating their energy monopoly, and our energy prices will fall way down. I say energy solutions may be on to something. If we can take care of the worlds nuclear garbage, we might as well start first by taking care of our own.

You poeple who talk about about this being a bad thing are simply ignorant. Explain to me how this is a bad thing? We safely and in a controlled manner dispose of low level waste in the middle of nowhere which generates huge income....jobs...economics...etc. Does anyone even know what low level waste is? You poeple are rediculous. How is this a bad thing?

Yes, turning Utah into the World's Largest Dump will do wonders for the tourist industry.

Energy SOLUTIONS? Energy DELUSIONS would be a more proper description of this compmany. Why on earth would we want to bring all this garbage to our beautiful state? Just to make money? Let Italy find another place to get rid of its nuclear waste!

Interesting that people didn't become upset about nuclear waste until they learned that some would come from Italy.

Nuclear waste is nuclear waste. It doesn't matter if it comes from Italy, Israel, Iran, or Indiana.

Yeah, we're all ignorant. We should be clamoring to bring nuclear waste from all over the globe to our state. I mean, just think of all the jobs and money that will come with it.

My guess is you work for Energy Solutions. Only someone that has a vested interest in making $$ off of this would try to make it sound as if becoming a nuclear waste dump for the world is a good thing. Its like the old saying goes, no matter how you polish a turd, its still a turd. You can take the jobs and $$ you make somewhere else. I think Utah can much, much better.

It's bad enough that other states want to dispose of their radioactive waste in Utah, but to make Utah the dumping ground for the world's radioactive waste is a terrible idea. Utah has no nuclear reactors. The citizens of our state have already suffered health consequenses after the nuclear tests in Nevada left downwinders exposed to radiation and the cancer it brings. There is a reason why other places don't want radioactive waste near them. Just say "no" and keep our citizens safer.

That the lawmakers are going to inflict on us citizens when they allow it to happen (ES is their best friend, afterall), maybe the state can start a fund like Alaska has based on its big oil industry where each Utah resident gets an annual stipend from the hugh fees and hugh profit the state and ES will make.

okay, so I can't bring wine to Utah from California but I COULD bring radioactive waste from Italy??? Maybe a statement about radioactive waste should be added to the "word of wisdom".

Why not open the door to more?

If it's "Safe" to store a little, it should be "safe" to store a lot.

Europe will do "Anything" to dispose of their nuclear waste, that means Energy Solutions can charge "Anything" to take it off their hands. Utah can tax nuclear waste facilities at any rate they want. So some day Energy Solutions could carry the State's whole tax burden (like casinos do in Nevada) so we could do away with our Income Tax or Sales Tax (like in Nevada).

So someday Utahns may look to Energy Solutions and the Nuclear Waste industry in much the same light as Navada residents embrace or at least tolerate gambling.

I'm sort of kidding, but if we're going to accept nuclear waste at all and we are really convinced that it is 100% safe, why not expand it. The reason is... Because we all suspect that it ISN'T 100% safe and is probably going to bite us someday.

Why do they want to ship it to the opposite hemisphere of the planet to get rid of it? Anyone who's seen Clint Eastwood westerns knows that there are deserts not so far from Italy.

This is just one example of why Nuclear power is a horrible solution. First of all it is not solving the carbon foot print problem as it requires an enormous amount of fossil fuels to bring this waste over from Europe and then across the U.S. Imagine all of the energy we are wasting just taking care of this with transportation and then running a facility FOREVER to take care of the waste, not to mention the power plants themselves. Low level is just a nonsense feel good word to make people not worry about this huge problem, it's a lie...the same as "Energy Soulutions". By the way...I love our deserts and I don't need nuclear waste placed in them to make them useful.

I don't think one more toxic substance introduced to Utah will hurt anything.