Local Papers Oppose Shipment of HEU from Germany to SRS

Coming out against the proposed shipment of highly enriched uranium from Germany to the Savannah River Site for processing, the newspapers the Aiken Standard and The Augusta Chronicle penned editorials Sunday opposing the plan. The Department of Energy has launched an environmental assessment on the potential processing of 900 kilograms of U.S.-origin HEU from the Juelich Research Center in Germany at Savannah River’s H-Canyon facility, with public comments open until July 21. “This plan essentially turns SRS, which has 713,000 people living within a 50-mile radius, into a nuclear Roach Motel. Highly radioactive material checks in, but it doesn’t check out,” states the Augusta Chronicle editorial.

 

The papers focused on the lack of a disposal pathway given the shutdown of Yucca Mountain. “The German deal would add as many as 100 canisters of high-level vitrified waste to the 3,800 already sitting at SRS with nowhere to go, and it could open the door for disposal agreements with other nations as well,” the Chronicle stated. The Aiken Standard editorial voiced similar concerns. “Our state is continually threatened with becoming the dumping ground for waste. While it may have its economic benefits, the environmental and health risks of any kind of mishap far outweigh any financial profit,” it said.