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Locals concerned about planned nuclear waste site at Fermi complex

THE MICHIGAN MESSENGER Watchdog: ‘We think the casks themselves are sitting ducks. If one of them was targeted, radiation would become wind borne.’By Eartha Jane Melzer 9/15/09

Plans to create a long-term high-level nuclear waste storage site along Lake Erie at DTE Energy’s Fermi power-generating complex in Monroe County have triggered safety concerns by area residents who warn that the spent fuel could be vulnerable to accident or attack. So far federal regulators have dismissed their calls for enhanced oversight.

DTE Energy’s Fermi 2 plant is an 1122-megawatt boiling water reactor that has been in service since January 1988. The reactor is powered by uranium fuel rods, a portion of which must be replaced every 18 months. For decades the spent, but otherwise still highly radioactive, fuel rods have been housed in a temporary storage pool at the plant.

This year, DTE plans to begin the process of transferring the material into steel-lined concrete casks for long term storage on the property.

Michigan Messenger » Locals seek safety review of planned nuclear waste site at Fermi complex

September 17, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, radiation, radioactive