NRC DEIS for Holtec CISF, NM is out; demand more public comment meetings & deadline extension!

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has published the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Holtec International/Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance irradiated nuclear fuel consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) in New Mexico. See the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) press release, linked here. And see the 488-page NRC DEIS linked here. It is entitled NUREG-2237 DFC, "Environmental Impact Statement for the (sic) Holtec International's License Application for a Consolidated Interim Storage Facility for Spent Nuclear Fuel and High Level Waste." The executive summary is 40 pages long; it is linked here.

NRC has granted only 60 days for public comment, as compared to the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) 199 days for the proposed Yucca Mountain, Nevada dump-site -- targeted at Western Shoshone land -- at the same DEIS stage in 1999 to 2000. But Holtec's CISF proposal is actually 2.5 times larger than Yucca, 173,600 metric tons of irradiated nuclear fuel versus 70,000 MT. Thus, Holtec's transport volume, risks, and impacts will be 2.5 times worse than Yucca's! (See Yucca-bound routes and volumes, here.) Despite this, NRC has yet again given very short shrift to transport, complicit with Holtec in keeping routes largely secret. Remarkably, NRC seems to have provided even less information than Holtec did in its 2018 Environmental Report. Holtec provided a single transport route map (see image, above left; see a legible version, posted online here), accounting for only four (three at San Onofre, CA; one at Maine Yankee) of the around 119 atomic reactor origin points for shipments. What about the other 115?! Outrageously, Holtec and NRC are trying to keep the public in the dark about the CISF scheme's large transport impacts, including on Environmental Justice! More.

Thom Hartmann Program -- "Fukushima: Nine Years Later Still Glowing (w/Beyond Nuclear)"

Thom HartmannNine years on from Fukushima, the Japanese government is forcing people to return to their contaminated homes, despite the dangers of radioactivity.

Beyond Nuclear's radioactive waste specialist, Kevin Kamps, appeared on the Thom Hartmann Program on the 9th annual commemoration of the beginning of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear catastrophe.

Holtec clears hurdle in bid to build nuclear-waste facility in New Mexico

As reported by the Cherry Hill Courier-Post.

Cherry Hill, NJ, a suburb of Philadelphia, PA, has long been a headquarters for Holtec International's radioactive waste-focused schemes.

The article quotes Beyond Nuclear's radioactive waste specialist, Kevin Kamps:

But the NRC's stance will only stiffen opposition to Holtec's plan, said Kevin Kamps of Beyond Nuclear, a Maryland-based advocacy group that is part of an environmental coalition fighting the project.

"It's just a matter of redoubling our efforts," said Kamps, who noted the project's foes are currently appealing an earlier decision in Holtec's favor by the NRC's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board.

"I think more and more people in this country are realizing this company can't be trusted," he said of Holtec.

Critics previously have expressed concern over the possible release of radioactivity from the canisters and the risks of transporting nuclear waste to the remote facility.

Critics also contend Holtec's facility, although described as an "interim" storage site, could become a permanent fixture.

Kamps predicted the fight over the project could end up in court, because critics contend any license granted by the NRC would violate federal law.

Fukushima site still dangerous?

Beyond Nuclear's radioactive waste specialist, Kevin Kamps, interviewed on RT's "Watching the Hawks."Beyond Nuclear's radioactive waste specialist, Kevin Kamps, on RT's "Watching the Hawks":

Kevin Kamps, Radioactive Waste Watchdog from Beyond Nuclear, discusses the concerns over radiation warnings in Fukushima ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games.

Watch the video recording here.

Beyond Nuclear on RadioSputnik re: Fukushima

Wednesday’s regular segment, Beyond Nuclear, is about nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, and Sputnik news analyst and producer Nicole Roussell, join the show.

The first half of this week's show is dedicated to a discussion about Fukushima, nine years on (3/11/11 to 3/11/20). Listen to the show, here.