Energy Solutions Files Lawsuit to Import Italian Nuclear Waste
May 06, 2008 by Eric Ray
(KCPW News) Despite the objection of Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, Energy Solutions wants to move forward with its plan to import 1,600 tons of Italian nuclear waste to Utah. The company wants to know if the Northwest Interstate Compact can legally stop them says Energy Solutions spokesman John Ward."The facility in Clive, Utah was not created by the Northwest Compact, and it is not owned by them, it is a private commercial facility," says Ward. "So the amount of authority the compact has over the landfill in Tooele County is up to interpretation by the court."
Energy Solutions has filed suit with the U.S. District Court of Utah. Ward says the company believes the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has the expertise, and the legal authority, to decide issues pertaining to international nuclear waste.
Energy Solutions has been criticized for its willingness to accept foreign waste when many believe storage space should be saved for domestic projects. Ward says the company has heard that criticism and has offered a compromise:
"The company has offered to self-impose a limit of 5% of our remaining capacity that could be used for international projects. With a 5% limitation, that would leave ample capacity at the facility to handle all of the low-level material coming from all 104 active nuclear plants in the country through their lives and through their decommissioning."
The eight members of the Northwest Interstate Compact meet Thursday in Boise where they are expected to discuss approval of Energy Solutions' request. However Governor Huntsman has already pledged to block the proposal by directing Utah's representative to vote against it.
Email to a friendPosted in KCPW Newsroom. Copyright 2008 KCPW
1. Anonymous said:
Huntsman should get out of the compact and should get rid of this anti-nuclear fetish. Nuclear energy can be safe and environmentally friendly.
On a similar note, does anyone know whether the Huntsman Cancer Institute generates any nuclear waste that needs to be disposed of?
2. Anonymous said:
Huntsman should stop this now. Kudos to him for voicing opposition. What a crappy legacy to leave the next generation. We live on a fault line, and future problems could be horrible. Utah doesn't need to be the nuclear toilet....Italy can get rid of it somewhere else. This is ESA's greed coming to light.