nuclear-news

Danger in transporting Canadian radioactive trash to South Carolina

“The concerns are in transport, adding waste to the system and also opening the door for receipt of unusual nuclear waste materials that would end up being dumped in South Carolina,” 

Canadian nuclear waste heading for SC, Greenville  Online , 22 Dec 13
Critics say it’s unusual to ship weapons-grade uranium so far  COLUMBIA — Sometime next year, a convoy is expected to begin delivering shipments of highly radioactive liquid waste containing weapons-grade uranium from Canada to the Savannah River Site near Aiken.

It’s not so unusual for SRS, once home to the manufacture of nuclear weapons parts, to receive nuclear materials or to process radioactive waste.

What makes these shipments controversial, and according to one environmental activist, unprecedented, is that they are being shipped so far and with such a lethal cargo.

Tom Clements, …..said he doesn’t understand why the two nations are taking the dangerous step of shipping the waste so far when it could be disposed of in Canada.

Clements said he believes money is at the heart of the decision, with the U.S. Department of Energy being paid to take the waste.

“This is being driven by waste dumping on Canada’s side and DOE wanting to get the money on the U.S. side because of budget pressures increasing,” he said.

Canadian officials disagree with Clements’ characterization. DOE officials could not be reached for comment.

Details of the shipments, including the route, amount of the waste shipped, security or when they will begin, cannot be publicly disclosed, Canadian officials say…….

It’s the older tank full of waste, what environmental groups say amounts to 23,000 liters, that’s at issue. According to the Canadian government, the older vessel is inside a vault and shielded by thick concrete walls. The waste, officials say, is under high-level security, and is monitored for temperature, pressure and chemical composition.

The plan is to load batches of the liquid in smaller, special casks for shipment, with the transport of the casks taking place over a period of years…..

The concern is risk in shipping, with an accident or leakage of some sort but also there is a concern for the Savannah River Site because it’s going to add some volume, though not a lot, of high-level waste into the already strained system at the site,” Clements said. “Instead of bringing in more waste for disposal, they should be dealing with what’s at the site.”….

Clements said he also is bothered by what he said appears to be a shopping mission by DOE for foreign nuclear waste. U.S. officials have announced a program to retrieve U.S.-origin highly enriched uranium from other countries that have used the materials in a variety of research projects. DOE officials could not be reached for comment.

“The concerns are in transport, adding waste to the system and also opening the door for receipt of unusual nuclear waste materials that would end up being dumped in South Carolina,” Clements said.

Catherine Templeton, director of the state Department of Health and Environmental Control, has been critical this year of DOE budget cuts to environmental cleanup activities at SRS, arguing the government is lagging behind deadlines and aging underground storage tanks of liquid nuclear waste pose the greatest environmental threat to the state. She also warned DOE in an August letter that the state can fine the federal government $154 million if it does not meet its deadline on one of the environmental issues. SRS’ waste tanks are supposed to be closed by 2022.

Mark Plowden, a DHEC spokesman, told The Greenville News the Canadian waste does cause DHEC some concern…….

The Chalk River liquid is to be reprocessed at SRS, using the uranium to make new commercial nuclear reactor fuel http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20131222/NEWS/312220009/Canadian-nuclear-waste-heading-SC .

December 23, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, wastes