The mayor of the village of Piketon wants the Energy Department to fund an independent assessment of the nuclear landfill the agency wants to build at the former uranium enrichment site near the small town in southeast Ohio.
DOE formally decided to build the proposed 100-acre on-site disposal cell in 2015, saying it was the least expensive option for dealing with about 1.5 million cubic yards of waste expected to be generated by decontamination and decommissioning of the Portsmouth campus’ Cold War-era uranium enrichment facilities. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency agreed with the decision.
But now, Piketon Mayor Billy Spencer says the village’s 2,000 or so residents need more information about the proposed landfill.
“So far, we have not received enough information and the information we have received has come only from DOE and its contractors,” Spender stated in a Friday press release. “The Department is motivated because it’s a cheaper remedy than disposing it elsewhere, but we cannot in good faith tell people we’ve done our job without any independent assessment of this decision.”
Spencer said it is “unclear what materials will go into the landfill and procedures and safeguards would be put in place to ensure unwanted material would not be included,” according to the press release.
The release follows resolutions by the village council and a letter writing campaign to DOE and Ohio’s congressional delegation last year, in which the Portsmouth site’s host town said it did not wish to be known as a “nuclear waste community.”
The on-site disposal cell would be located in the northeast corner of the nearly 4,000-acre Portsmouth site, about 5 miles south by road of Piketon.
DOE opted for on-site disposal after a standard federal environmental analysis of alternatives. The facility would cost about $340 million to build and would open by 2020, DOE and Portsmouth prime contractor Fluor-BWXT have said.
