An Idaho environmental group said Wednesday it has significant concerns about an Energy Department plan to move 7,000 cubic meters of transuranic waste from the Hanford Site Washington state to the Idaho National Laboratory for repackaging.
The idea has been kicking around DOE for a couple years but seems to be “ripening” in recent months amid mounting concerns about the future of INL’s Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project (AMWTP), Snake River Alliance Nuclear Program Director Beatrice Brailsford said by telephone.
The AMWTP’s chief mission, to repackage radioactive 65,000 cubic meters of waste and ship it out of Idaho as TRU waste, is scheduled to conclude at the end of this year. The state, however, has said all the TRU waste, which came into Idaho decades ago from sites such as Rocky Flats in Colorado, might not be moved out by year’s end. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management and the Idaho Cleanup Project Citizens Advisory Board have discussed using AMWTP to process waste from sites, such as Hanford.
“This on-going evaluation considers potential benefits and costs to treat the waste at AMWTP versus at the generator site, including various shipping and packaging options (and the associated costs) to send the waste to AMWTP. No decisions have been made,” a DOE spokesperson said by email.
While the Idaho Site has previously been used to repackage “small quantities” of such material, 7,000 cubic meters would be a major project, Brailsford said. Also, the watchdog group is concerned the proposed Hanford shipment would be “uncharacterized” – or not yet inspected for banned items such as aerosol cans, which could pose a safety risk.
In 1995 Idaho entered into a settlement with DOE and the U.S. Navy to resolve a state lawsuit over storage of out-of-state waste at INL. The agreement says any radioactive waste imported into Idaho must be removed within a year. The alliance worries the large Hanford waste shipment might not meet that timeline, and “we would be left holding the barrels,” Brailsford said.
It also represents an erosion of the settlement agreement, Brailsford said.
