N.C. Environmentalists Want Governor to Oppose HEU Shipments to SRS

A handful of North Carolina environmental groups are denouncing the expected shipments of 6,000 gallons of liquid highly enriched uranium (HEU) from Chalk River Laboratories in Ontario, Canada, to the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C. – a route of about 1,200 miles that would pass through their state.

The organizations – Clean Water for N.C., Environmentalists Inc., Dogwood Alliance, MountainTrue, NC WARN, Nuclear Information and Resource Service, WNC Physicians for Social Responsibility and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom – sent a letter Wednesday to Gov. Roy Cooper, asking him to support their mission of stopping the HEU from coming through North Carolina.

The truck route to send the material to SRS begins at the Atomic Energy of Canada facility in Ontario, then goes over the Peace Bridge and through western New York on its way south to SRS. The environmentalist groups said in the letter they are concerned because “North Carolina communities along I-77, I-40 and I-26 are likely to see trucks.”

The groups added that a truck accident, while en route to SRS, could threaten the safety and economy of the Asheville area. “The [western North Carolina] economy is heavily tied to our local food and beverage production, and the status of the mountains as a place for health,” they wrote. “A nuclear accident in this area could decimate the economy based on health and visitors seeking outdoor recreation.”

Other efforts to stop the shipments have been well documented – and in one case, has been partially successful by at least delaying the start of shipments.

SRS was supposed to begin receiving shipments in September. But on Aug. 12, multiple anti-nuclear groups sued DOE and other parties because they believe the necessary steps were not taken before the department authorized up to 150 shipments of the nuclear weapon-usable material. A Sept. 20 joint motion in the case states that the two sides have agreed to postpone the HEU shipments – at least until Feb. 17, 2017 – so the court has sufficient time to “issue a decision prior to the date Defendants have determined the Canadian shipments must commence.”

Other advocates for stopping the shipments include U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.). For roughly three years, Higgins has been seeking an environmental impact statement (EIS) on the uranium transfer, to determine the risks of shipping the material.

In 2015, DOE prepared a supplemental analysis and concluded that an EIS was not necessary. The analysis concluded that the transport constitutes low risk because the HEU will be shipped in containers specifically designed and fabricated for holding liquid material. The containers meet standards established by the International Atomic Energy Agency and were certified by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. Testing of the containers included free-drop testing from 9 meters onto an unyielding surface and thermal testing to assure they remain leak-tight.

Once at the Savannah River Site, the HEU would be processed at the H Canyon facility along with spent nuclear fuel that is being processed from L Basin. The recovered uranium would be purified and then blended with natural uranium to produce low-enriched uranium (LEU). That material will then be transferred to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) where it will be converted into fuel for use in TVA reactors.

Receipt and processing of the material at SRS is expected to take up to three years.