47°F
weather icon Mostly Clear

Radioactive waste shipments to former test site pending

WASHINGTON – After 18 months of delay to address the worries of state officials, the Department of Energy said Monday night it will ship potent uranium waste from a federal laboratory in Tennessee for disposal in Nevada.

Officials did not give a time-line for when the shipments will begin from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to the Area 5 landfill at the Nevada National Security Site, 57 miles northeast of Pahrump.

It’s unlikely the Department of Energy office that transports nuclear weapons and special nuclear material will make the shipping schedule public.

Representatives of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Gov. Brian Sandoval have for 18 months discussed DOE plans to dispose of 403 canisters of potent uranium-233 mixed with uranium-235, atom-splitting material containing byproducts that can be used to make a bomb. Experts in nuclear nonproliferation expressed concern that the waste would remain potentially dangerous for hundreds or thousands of years.

The DOE program to ship the radioactive waste as part of environmental cleanup of an aging warehouse at Oak Ridge was put on hold in 2013 after Sandoval objected. Besides environmental and security concerns associated with such hazardous material, Nevada officials raised questions about how exotic forms of radioactive waste were being characterized for disposal.

The Oak Ridge waste was classified as “low level” but would be as much as 1,500 times more radioactive than contaminated debris usually buried at the Area 5 landfill. The heavily shielded waste canisters must be handled by remote-control cranes.

An empty 20-foot cask in a shipping container carried by a modified tractor-trailer departed Oak Ridge on Monday and was expected to arrive at the Nevada site on Wednesday. The dry run will give NNSS contractor National Securities Technology (NSTec) practice in lifting the cask by crane, removing its lid and then removing and placing the waste-filled inner sleeve in the landfill.

The test shipment also allows DOE to go through the exercise of obtaining overweight shipping permits from Nevada and other states along the route. The truck, trailer and cask total about 90,000 pounds.

Attorneys for the state researched the issue but Sandoval has conceded that Nevada lacks authority to block waste burial at the Nevada Nuclear Security Site if the material is properly classified.

At the same time, Moniz expressed reluctance to strong-arm Nevada, saying the state has long supported nuclear programs at what used to be called the Nevada Test Site.

Moniz and Sandoval made progress toward breaking the impasse when they signed a memorandum of understanding last December giving the state a larger consultation role over waste disposal at the site.

In a statement late Monday, Sandoval’s chief counsel, Michon Martin, said Nevada obtained “many significant accommodations related to the security, transportation, disposal and public outreach related to this effort.”

Besides insisting that the shipments be handled by the Office of Secure Transportation, the state also obtained a promise that DOE will bury the uranium material in specially configured trenches deeper than the usual 40 feet for radioactive waste.

In the end, Martin said, the state’s experts determined the materials “meet the criteria for disposal at the NNSS.”

DOE officials did not comment when asked how they concluded the time is right to move forward.

Aides to Moniz said in a written statement that in the wake of “productive discussions” with Nevada, “The Department of Energy is moving forward with the shipments of the Consolidated Edison Solidification Program materials from the Oak Ridge site to the Nevada National Security Site.

Known by its acronym CEUSP, the once-liquid waste from a 1960s reprocessing plant in Upstate New York was solidified and baked in steel canisters at the Oak Ridge lab, where it has been stored in a Manhattan Project-era building since the mid-1980s.

DOE officials said the ceramic mixture, in individual canisters 2 feet long and 4 inches wide, was embedded with neutron-absorbing metals and salts to reduce the risk of an accidental nuclear reaction.

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
Beatty Clinic gets tons of help with new a/c

BEATTY — The Beatty Foundation, an affiliate of AngloGold-Ashanti (AGA), did tons of good at the Beatty Clinic on March 22. Nine tons, exactly.

11th Annual Chili Cook-Off brings tempting tastings and festival fun

The 11th Annual International Chili Society and Silver State Chili Cook-Off took over Petrack Park this past weekend for three days filled with savory tastings, fun and activities and of course, some intense culinary competition.

Pahrump homeschoolers dance the night away

Pahrump Valley’s homeschool youth were whisked away into the Enchanted Forest this month, with local Moose Lodge #808 hosting a night of dancing and revelry in honor of an age-old adolescent right-of-passage, prom.

Looking for some family fun for Easter? Hop over to Simkins Park

Anyone looking for a fun, family-friendly festivity to enjoy this holiday can hop on over to Simkins Park to join the Mills family as they celebrate Easter Sunday with worship music, free food and an enormous 14,000-egg hunt that is sure to bring a smile to hundreds of faces.

Campground fees to increase at Death Valley National Park

DEATH VALLEY, Calif. — Visitors to Death Valley National Park can expect a slight increase in entrance fees for various campgrounds beginning on May 1.

Clerk staffer Cori Freidhof appointed interim leader

Nye County Clerk Mark Kampf’s time in office officially comes to a close on March 31 and deputy clerk Cori Freidhof has now been selected to assume that vacated seat. Freidhof will take over the office as of Monday, April 1 and fulfill the unexpired term ending Jan. 1, 2027.

Gaming can have impact on us

When does gaming cross the line from recreational relaxation to problematic behavior? How do video games and gambling relate? What resources are available for those who find themselves struggling to control their relationship with video games and gambling?

County eyeing impact fee increases

The cost to develop in Pahrump could go up, with a public hearing on a proposal to raise local impact fees set for next month.

Here’s who filed as political candidates in Nye County

Locals have filed their political candidacy as of March 15 and this year two major offices in Nye County will be up for grabs in the general election. Nye County residents have to first narrow down their preferred party candidate on June 11 in the primary and then vote in November to support their preferred candidates.