The findings of a recent report questioning the cohesion of the bedrock on which a nuclear waste disposal facility is to be built in Ohio has not deterred the Energy Department from moving forward with the project.
“Based on the intensive review of all the information provided in the Ferguson Group Report, DOE does not see any basis for reopening the Waste Disposition Record of Decision (WD ROD),” a spokesperson for DOE’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office said by email last week. “DOE’s review has determined that the technical evaluation in the [waste disposal remedial investigation and feasibility study report], the public involvement process, and the decision reached in the WD ROD constitute a legally compliant and technically sound remedial action.”
The department in 2022 plans to open the $900 million On-Site Waste Disposal Facility (OSWDF) at its Portsmouth site in Ohio, which is expected to store material from ongoing cleanup of long-closed uranium enrichment operations there.
The disposal facility is a key component of DOE’s 2015 record of decision setting out the preferred plan for dealing with over 2 million cubic yards of waste produced through decontamination and decommissioning of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant. The mix of on-site and off-site disposal was found to be far more protective of human health and the environment than one alternative considered in the report: taking no action; it would also cut at least $200 million from the cost of the other alternative: shipping all the waste off-site.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency concurred with DOE’s findings, but a number of local bodies have opposed keeping radioactive waste near their communities. The nearby village of Piketon commissioned an evaluation from the Washington, D.C.-based Ferguson Group consulting firm, which said DOE has known for years that the planned disposal site is on fractured bedrock that could allow radioactive waste to spread if fluid made it through the facility’s liner and foundation.
The Energy Department has responded to Piketon officials regarding the issues raised in the Ferguson Group report, the spokesperson said.
Piketon Mayor Billy Spencer made it clear by email last week he remains opposed to the on-site facility: “What needs to be said is that the Village of Piketon … and the citizens of Pike County will never give up on fighting to keep this out of the ground.”
