A decision by the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board last week
rekindled hope for those opposed to an above-ground nuclear waste storage
facility on the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Reservation.
The board, composed of three members of the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC), granted Utah another chance to argue that the dangers of
an airplane crash at the site are significant enough to prevent its construction.
Private Fuel Storage (the company seeking to place 4,000 180-ton
casks filled with spent nuclear fuel rods at the reservation) will also get
the opportunity to re-argue its position that an airplane crash wouldn't
cause any significant harm.
Arguments between three of Utah's assistant state attorneys
general and PFS's attorneys will take place April 6 at 1 p.m. in Rockville,
Md., according to an NRC memorandum.
Meantime, the NRC and the National Academy of Sciences (a
group of scholars that consults the federal government on scientific and
technical matters) are disputing the actual safety of such a proposed facility
as well as existing storage sites.
A letter written by NRC chairman Nils Diaz notes that while
the NRC agrees with some points in a study done by the NAS, "the NRC also
identified a number of areas of disagreement with the NAS Committee's conclusions."
"In summary, the NRC believes based on information developed
in NRC vulnerability assessments, that the Committee has identified some
scenarios that are unreasonable.
The letter continued, "The NRC also disagrees with some NAS
recommendations and its conclusion lacks a sound technical basis. The NAS
finding that earlier movement of spent fuel from pools into dry storage would
be prudent is one such example."
It is unknown exactly what the NAS study notes as it has yet
to be made public.
Background
On Feb. 24 the ASLB board rejected (2-1) the state's assertions
that the site is too risky due to thousands of overflights by armed F-16
jets traveling to and from Hill Air Force Base to the Utah Test and Training
Range. Thus the board sided with PFS and submitted its recommendation of
full license approval to the entire NRC. The NRC was then to decide the final
outcome of the license.
However, on March 7, Utah submitted an appeal to the board
concerning the plane crash matter and the board decided to proceed with a
hearing. So now the final NRC vote has been delayed until the airplane crash
issue can again be discussed.
If the board still favors PFS on the issue, then the state
can make an appeal directly to the NRC. But if the board favors the state,
PFS has the same right to appeal to the full NRC.
If a license were granted, PFS would be allowed to construct
and operate a spent nuclear fuel storage facility consisting of a cluster
of 500 concrete pads, each 67-feet by 30-feet, on which the cylindrical storage
casks would sit. Each carbonsteel-encased concrete cask would be 19-feet
tall and 11-feet in diameter and would hold a stainless steel canister, which
houses the high-level radiation spent nuclear fuel rods.
If the site became operational, PFS has a land lease contract
with the Goshutes for 25 years with a 25-year renewal clause written into
the contract. PFS insists that the casks will only be in Skull Valley temporarily,
but due to problems surrounding the permanent repository at Yucca Mountain,
Nev., many believe otherwise.
e-mail: kscott@tooeletranscript.com
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