An informal online survey indicates gasoline prices through the Department of Energy nuclear cleanup complex range from $3.50 to $5.59 per gallon.
Exchange Monitor used tools such as Gas Buddy and AAA (the American Automobile Association) to gauge gasoline prices at DOE cleanup sites run by the Office of Environmental Management as of Thursday afternoon. Prices at the pump have risen since the Iran war commenced Feb. 28 although prices have leveled off in recent weeks, according to public sources.
AAA reported Thursday that the average cost for a gallon of regular has over the past three weeks dropped from $4.56 to $4.12 per gallon thanks to crude oil prices remaining below $100 per barrel.
Gasoline prices across virtually all regions of the country are up compared to one year ago and two years ago, the Energy Information Administration reported this month.
The Thursday figures come a day after Secretary of Energy Chris Wright acknowledged before a Congressional panel Wednesday that average U.S. gasoline prices nationwide have climbed about $1 per gallon since the start of the War with Iran.
Nevertheless, he told the House Science, Space and Technology Committee that the elevated prices are temporary and should return to normal once the armed conflict is over.
“As you know gasoline prices in inflation-adjusted terms were about as low as they had been before this conflict,” Wright said in response to a committee question. “It was under $3 a gallon in today’s nominal dollars.”
“I have not met anyone who is comfortable with a nuclear-armed Iran,” Wright said. “Yes, it’s moved gasoline prices up by a little more than $1 per gallon from just under $3 a gallon to a little over $4.”
The following roundup used the Gas Buddy online tool to find regular gas prices available Thursday at localities closest to Environmental Management sites.
Richland, Wash., (Hanford Site), many stations listed gasoline for around $4.99 per gallon.
Ventura County, Calif. (Energy Technology Engineering Center) prices listed around $5.45.
Berkeley, Calif. (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) $5.59.
Livermore, Calif., (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory) listed around $5.59.
Moab, Utah (Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project) $4.48.
Indian Springs, Nev. (Nevada National Security Site) $5.49.
Idaho Falls, Idaho (Idaho National Laboratory) $4.29.
Los Alamos, N.M. (Los Alamos National Laboratory) $3.95.
Albuquerque, N.M. (Sandia National Laboratories) $3.50.
Carlsbad, N.M. (Waste Isolation Pilot Plant) $3.79.
Paducah, Ky. (Paducah Site) $3.69.
Piketon, Ohio (Portsmouth Site) $4.19.
Oak Ridge, Tenn. (Oak Ridge Site) $3.89.
Aiken, S.C. (Savannah River Site) $3.79.
Ashford, N.Y. (West Valley Demonstration Project) $3.95.
Two commercial sites that serve the DOE cleanup complex are:
Clive, Utah (EnergySolutions disposal site) $4.15.
Andrews, Texas (Waste Control Specialists disposal site) $3.49.
High fuel prices have the potential to affect the DOE Office of Environmental Management and its sites. For example, the Idaho National Laboratory is the leading shipper of transuranic waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant or WIPP. The distance between the two sites is roughly 1,100 miles, according to an Internet search.
The Hanford Site is making plans to ship some of its low-activity radioactive tank waste to either EnergySolutions or Waste Control Specialists for disposal as a solid grout, according to a Government Accountability Office report. The trip to EnergySolutions is 690 miles while the Waste Control Specialists distance is 1,600 miles, according to the report.