nuclear-news

36 states to dump nuclear waste close to Texas aquifer?

the landfill is close to a major aquifer that provides water to one-quarter of the country’s irrigated land as well as drinking water to thousands of people.

Commission Lets 36 States Dump Nuke Waste In Texas, NPR, by The Associated Presstext  HOUSTON January 4, 2011, Texas commission approved rules on Tuesday that paves the way for 36 states to export low-level radioactive waste to a remote landfill along the Texas-New Mexico border.The 5-2 vote by the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Commission came after last-minute legal maneuvering on Monday failed to delay the meeting, environmentalists warned the dump would pollute groundwater and more than 5,000 people commented on the plan.
The expansion stokes the debate over where — and if — nuclear waste can be dumped in the United States, an argument that has taken on new importance since President Barack Obama vowed to decrease the country’s dependence on foreign oil, partly by building more nuclear power plants……

Vermont’s concerns about where to get rid of its waste are shared by other states. In 2008, South Carolina severely curtailed who could send waste to its low-level nuclear dump, shutting down the last major facility that had been accepting the waste. And a battle over burying high-level nuclear waste at Nevada’s Yucca Mountain, a years-long, multimillion dollar project that has suffered a series of setbacks, has created fierce opposition to building additional nuclear facilities.

Opponents argue that until there are viable solutions for dealing with the dangerous radioactive waste, no new plants should be built and the U.S. should instead focus on expanding solar and wind energy………
“You do sense the panic in the marketplace that there’s no place for this stuff to go,” Lindquist said.
Texas Commissioner Bob Wilson has opposed the expansion plans and the rules for some time. He voted against the rules on Tuesday, but largely because he fears the commission is unprepared to deal with the enormity of the task once the 1,340-acre site begins accepting waste from other states……
Trevor Lovell, a spokesman for Public Citizen, one of the most outspoken opponents of the plan, said his group will meet Wednesday to decide the next step, but he said a lawsuit was possible.

“The commission that is moving forward on this has no staff, has no bylaws, and yet they are attempting to make very substantial changes and rules that would allow in radioactive waste from the entire country,” Lovell said. He noted that the landfill is close to a major aquifer that provides water to one-quarter of the country’s irrigated land as well as drinking water to thousands of people.

“We don’t feel that it’s been demonstrated that the landfill is safe,” Lovell said.

Commission Lets 36 States Dump Nuke Waste In Texas : NPR

January 6, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, water