Nuclear Energy Information Service
Illinois' Nuclear Power Watchdog for 25 Years

Letter to Editor 11-19-01: Haste Makes Waste

Letter to Editor

November 19, 2001

HASTE MAKES WASTE

Nuclear cheerleaders exude the same cheery optimism about transporting "high-level radioactive wastes (HLRW) as the man in the joke who fell off a skyscraper. Passing each floor people would yell, "How's it going?" and he'd optimistically reply, "By my calculations, so far, so good."

This optimism borders on smug complacency — the very thing Soviet scientists warned us about after the 1986 Chernobyl accident.

The 20-year history of this issue is littered with bad political decisions, questionable science, and irresponsible public officials putting the profits of the nuclear industry ahead of the welfare of the people and the environment, while telling us, "So far, so good!"

Several serious concerns must be resolved before moving any HLRW in the U.S.:

Yucca Mt.'s suitability: Many well-intentioned people call for sending HLRW ASAP to the proposed Yucca Mt., Nevada, perpetual storage site. This action is premature. The site may not be suitable for storing HLRW safely for the required 10,000 year period.

Politics drove selecting this site. Congress "selected" Nevada -- the least politically powerful of 6 states under consideration -- in the 1980's; then prohibited DOE from considering other sites. Nevada was "it", unless proven unsuitable. So much for finding the best site.
The lengthy, costly Yucca Mt. examination process has revealed significant problems. Each time these emerged, DOE would change the guidelines so the site could continue to be viable.
Five major issues question Yucca's viability:

Finding chlorine-36 — produced during nuclear weapons tests — inside the mountain. Nuclear tests have only occurred the past 60 years. A pathway exists for Cl-36 to enter, suggesting a pathway also exists for radioactive materials to escape.

Yucca Mt. is in a geologically active area. Evidence of earthquakes and volcanism within the past 10,000 years exists. A 5.0+ earthquake did extensive damage to DOE's site office in the early 1990's.

Evidence suggests that hot water once welled up from beneath the mountain into the strata under consideration for the HLRW. If this happens again while wastes are present, they will be easily released.

Scientists recently discovered that plutonium in HLRW migrates far faster than previously thought, and could actually reach aquifers at Yucca within 70 years once released.

Moisture destroyed almost 80% of measuring equipment in a test chamber within one year, suggesting the mountain may not be as dry as thought.
So much for sound science.

Transport cask problems: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) states that HLRW can safely remain at reactor sites -- under guard and watchful monitoring -- for 100 years. Why rush shipping? We currently lack enough properly designed, adequately tested shipping casks.

Nuclear cheerleaders show dramatic films of older casks getting dropped, burned, and rammed by locomotives, claiming in each case the containers did not break.
Casks did rupture twice during those simulations. They did NOT withstand hits by 1980's vintage military projectiles. It's highly doubtful that even today's casks could withstand shoulder-held weapons currently available to terrorists; or Gulf War-type depleted uranium or tungsten-tipped ordinance.
The cask filmed in the fire DID rupture after 100 minutes, in two places, squirting molten lead shielding -- used to protect people from radiation -- out the cracks. Loss of shielding puts emergency responders at risk. Further testing regarding shipping cask safety is warranted.
The number and frequency of shipments to date are far less than expected once a repository opens. DOE states that as many as 36,300 truck shipments could travel through Illinois over a 24 year period. Four per day, every day for 24 years. Twelve times more waste in about half the time than all we've transported in the entire U.S. to date. DOE's probability analysis suggests that at this rate and volume, they expect 300+ accidents, 4-6 releasing radioactive materials.
Even ignoring accidents, getting stuck in traffic for 40 minutes next to a shipping cask can give one the equivalent of a chest x-ray, something sensitive populations (pregnant women, children, immune deficiency patients) should avoid.
Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety commendably pledges providing escort services for all shipments; these will cost $93 million for Illinois' IDNS alone. But each shipment involves seven other state and federal agencies; and 42 other states that waste will traverse. No funding is yet provided for these.

DOE/NRC lack credibility: DOE has constantly ignored its own standards to keep Yucca Mt. in contention. NRC violates its own regulations, giving utilities permits for constructing onsite HLRW storage casks before having licensed their design. This same NRC told us post-Sept. 11th that it hadn't viewed terrorist attacks at reactors as a "credible threat," and couldn't be sure if reactors they licensed could withstand hits from commercial aircraft. In abdicating their responsibility to protect the public and the environment, these agencies have lost all credibility; yet, they make the final decisions about HLRW perpetual storage and shipping.

So, forgive us environmentalists if we're skeptical about HLRW shipments.

[Dave Kraft is director of Nuclear Energy Information Service, for 20 years, and Illinois nuclear power watchdog organization.]

[800 words]

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