nuclear-news

Renewed anxiety over Barnsworth nuclear waste plume

Controversy remains over Barnsworth Nuclear Plume Barnwell, SC (WLTX) – A plume of a low level radioactive substance is traveling through the ground and has bubbled up in a creek in Barnwell, about an hour and a half from Columbia.

The plume has been there for some time, but new concern over how nuclear waste at a disposal site nearby has sparked debate and a court battle………

The 235 acre site has accepted low level nuclear waste for the past 43 years.

For the past 20 years, Energy Solutions and DHEC have monitored the plume of radioactive Tritium. The nuclear byproduct has traveled through groundwater and reached Mary’s Branch Creek near the disposal site.

“You have to keep in mind that low level does not mean low risk,” said Susan Corbett, Chairwoman of the South Carolina Sierra Club.

Court documents from a claim filed by the Sierra Club say nuclear waste was sometimes transported in paper and cardboard to the site years ago……..http://www.wltx.com/story/news/local/2014/03/31/tritium-plume-barnwell-site/7050761/

April 2, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general