Category Archives: nuclear

by

New Mexico May Become Temporary Storage Site For Nuclear Waste : NPR

https://www.npr.org/2019/04/11/709600915/new-mexico-is-divided-over-the-perfect-site-to-store-nation-s-nuclear-waste

“In 1982 Congress got involved, passing the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, which called for the development of repositories for the nation’s high-level nuclear waste and spent nuclear fuel.

Five years later, it narrowed those efforts, focusing on a single area 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas: Yucca Mountain.

The federal government has spent billions of dollars assessing the viability of a deep underground storage facility there. For decades, Yucca looked like the destination for nuclear waste.”

Call for Congress to act on this urgent issue.

by

2 gallons of radioactive nuclear waste done; 56M gallons to go | The Columbian

http://www.columbian.com/news/2018/may/16/2-gallons-of-radioactive-nuclear-waste-done-56m-gallons-to-go/

“It’s a big deal,” said Dawn Wellman, sector manager for environmental health and remediation at the national lab in Richland. “At a scaled version we have done what they will do at full scale at Hanford.”

The vitrification plant — or Waste Treatment Plant — at the Hanford nuclear reservation has been under construction since 2002, with a court-ordered deadline of 2023 to start treating some of the 56 million gallons of radioactive waste in underground tanks.

Much of the waste, which is left from the past production of plutonium for the nation’s nuclear weapons program, is planned to be vitrified, or turned into a solid glass form for disposal.”

by

EPA orders extensive cleanup of radioactive waste site near St. Louis

https://www.washingtonpost.com/energy-environment/2018/09/27/epa-orders-extensive-cleanup-radioactive-waste-site-near-st-louis/

“The West Lake Landfill contains thousands of tons of radioactive material from the World War II-era Manhattan Project that was dumped at the site in the 1970s, where it has languished ever since amid other waste. The latest plan calls for excavating 70 percent of the radioactive waste from the site — a far cry from a 2008 solution proposed by the George W. Bush administration to cover and monitor the waste.“

by

Hanford waste, 9 year wait worth it

https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/article213801829.html

The first shipment of highly radioactive sludge left an annex at the Hanford nuclear reservation’s K West Reactor Basin, which is near the Columbia River, at about 10:30 a.m. Monday. It was taken to central Hanford for storage away from the river.
Courtesy Department of Energy
by

From stltoday.com

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/parson-signs-law-setting-up-funds-for-radioactive-waste-probe/article_5962ba0a-6ac9-5d82-941a-fdad2212d872.html

Republican Gov. Mike Parson, who was sworn in on June 1 after the resignation of Gov. Eric Greitens, approved the proposal championed by Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City.

The measure will allocate $150,000 annually to the Department of Natural Resources to probe sites like the West Lake Landfill in north St. Louis County, where radioactive material was dumped more than 40 years ago.

by

What to do with nuclear waste-From forbes.com

https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelshellenberger/2018/06/19/stop-letting-your-ridiculous-fears-of-nuclear-waste-kill-the-planet/

“What is usually referred to as nuclear waste is used nuclear fuel in the shape of rods about 12 feet long. For four and a half years, the uranium atoms that comprise the fuel rods are split apart to give off the heat that turns water into steam to spin turbines to make electricity. After that, nuclear plant workers move the used fuel rods into pools of water to cool.”

Congress wants to ‘bury’ Nevada in nuclear waste?

by

Floating “Titanic” nuclear plant launched for St Petersberg

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/floating-nuclear-power-plant-russia-floating-chernobyl-nuclear-titanic-akademik-lomonosov-launch-a8327316.html
The floating plant, the first of its kind in the world, will then be loaded with nuclear fuel before being towed to the Arctic port of Pevek in the summer of 2019, where it will be put into service.

by

Residents voice support for plan to remove all radioactive waste from West Lake Landfill – FOX2now.com

http://fox2now.com/2018/03/06/residents-voice-support-for-plan-to-remove-all-radioactive-waste-from-west-lake-landfill/amp/

”

The EPA thinks the best choice is alternative 4. The plan calls for about 70% of the waste would be removed from the site by digging down 16 feet deep. Then a permanent cap would be placed on the area. It would cost about $246 million and take 5-years to implement.

Many residents said a partial removal is only a partial solution and when over 1,000 residents were asked during the meeting who would like alternative 4 not one person raised their hand.”

Yet another Superfund site….

by

Conversations

What topics are dominating conversations this new year? Last night, late into the night, I was having a serious conversation on what to do with high level nuclear waste. Maybe not the most popular subject when there are shooting attacks at the Fort Lauderdale airport and extreme cold weather and snow blanketing the nation this week but topical nonetheless.