Texas Advisory Board Supports SNF Consolidated Storage Facility

The Texas Radiation Advisory Board supports Texas’ role in hosting a potential pilot interim storage facility for commercial spent nuclear fuel, according to a advisory statement passed by the TRAB late last week. Texas, with site likes Waste Control Specialists in Andrews County and Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiatives in Loving County, has expressed an interest in hosting an interim storage facility. Gov. Rick Perry (R) and Speaker of the House Joe Straus (R) both have voiced their support for looking at the opportunity further. The TRAB argued in its statement that Texas would already be exposed to the waste through transportation and that community willingness exists. “Since the US is going to establish consolidated SNF storage facilities in the United States, transportation through Texas will occur whether a site is located in Texas or not,” the TRAB said. “Other states, including New Mexico, have already requested to be designated for these storage sites. Therefore, establishing SNF storage in Texas will not increase transportation of SNF through Texas. There is likely public support for sites in Texas, in locations where the public is already educated on radioactive waste storage and understands how safety is ensured, and where the citizens understand the financial benefits of having a storage site in their communities.”

 

The TRAB concluded, “The TRAB believes that it is in the state’s best interest to request that Texas be considered by the Federal Government as a consolidated SNF storage site.”