Crossposted from UNBOSSED
The head of Utah-based EnergySolutions ripped open a tiny salt packet and poured it into a 2-foot-tall vase half filled with red sand.
The salt, CEO Steve Creamer said, symbolizes the amount of Italian radioactive waste the company wants to store in Utah, and the leftover foot of space represents the amount of storage space remaining.
"Just a pinch," Creamer said Tuesday of the salt.
One-thousand, six-hundred tons is a bit more than "a pinch".
Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, and Rep. Ed Withfield, R-Ky are working on a bill to block the importation of foreign radioactive waste to be stored in the USA...because the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) wont. The legislation was heard two days ago before the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality.
Utah Governor Huntsman has announced his opposition to the importation of the waste:
Italian waste will not be coming to Utah", says Bill Sinclair, Utah's representative on to a multi-state group on radioactive waste disposal
(The plan is part of a larger venture to import upwards of 20,000 tons of Italian waste to the USA for processing.)
Interestingly, the issue of importing foreign waste to be stored in the USA did not really break the surface. The issue that concerned members most was that of space:
"Importing foreign waste reduces finite capacity," Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., argued. And "Congress needs to act to stop it."
104 American nuclear power plants deposit their waste at the Clive, Utah storage facility. Most members were concerned that the Italian waste would eat up space for future American waste...and of course, Bush Administration officials tried to mislead the committee members:
Matheson pointed out, the investigator extrapolated from one of the lower disposal years, and that he made no allowance for what may happen if any of the 33 applications for new nuclear power plants get approved.
"You didn't predict growth from those new plants?" Matheson asked.
"That's correct," replied Gene Aloise, the director of the GAO's Natural Resources and Environment section in the Denver Field Office.
Shouldnt there be a disucussion on the merits and responsibilities of nation's to dispose of thier own waste?
The committee has yet to vote on the legislation.