nuclear-news

The mysterious mess of the Parks radioactive trash

Casey wants nuclear cleanup details released Trib Live, By Mary Ann Thomas Oct. 10, 2014

http://triblive.com/neighborhoods/yourallekiskivalley/yourallekiskivalleymore/6931379-74/nuclear-cleanup-casey#ixzz3Fo51dlkQ

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey is pressing the Army to publicly release an agreement on how it and three other federal agencies will clean up a waste dump with mysterious nuclear materials in Parks.

The Army Corps of Engineers shut down the cleanup three years ago, only about a month into a 10-year project that could cost up to $500 million.

A Corps contractor dug up nuclear materials that it was not prepared to deal with, according to an investigation by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Although the site received two types of uranium — U-235 and U-233 — and other radioactive materials, the initial cleanup process was developed to handle smaller amounts of nuclear contamination.

The federal investigation found that there isn’t enough documentation to know the level of nuclear contamination at the site. Other federal agencies were called in to help, including the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which deals with nuclear weapons materials.

According to the federal investigation, the original agreement didn’t account for finding more complex nuclear materials, which resulted in disagreements among the agencies on responsibilities.

So now, four agencies have reached an agreement on cleanup responsibilities: the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and NNSA.

However, they have not released the details to the public, not the least of which are the people who live in Kiskimere, the rural village that sits within feet of the waste dump.

Casey and the Corps of Engineers are calling for the agreement to be made public. Casey and residents were instrumental in bringing in the NRC Inspector General’s Office to investigate problems with the cleanup.

“Sen. Casey believes it’s critical that his constituents are appropriately informed about the proposed cleanup of the (Parks Township nuclear waste dump) site,” said John Rizzo, Casey’s press secretar

October 10, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, wastes