Is The Company Poised To Dismantle Indian Point Too Radioactive?

As reported by WNYC.

For additional background information about Holtec International and SNC-Lavalin, see Beyond Nuclear's respective "skeletons in the closet" annotated bibliographies, provided at the hot links.

Holtec has applied to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a license to construct and operate a consolidated interim storage facility for 173,600 metric tons of irradiated nuclear fuel in southeastern New Mexico.

This would involve thousands of road, rail, and/or waterway shipments of high risk, high-level radioactive waste, through most states, over the course of decades.

Enviro Close-Up with Karl Grossman: The Threat of Nuclear Waste

Beyond Nuclear board of directors member Karl Grossman is the host of Enviro Close-Up, a television show produced by EnviroVideo for decades. The latest episode, "The Threat of Nuclear Waste," is an interview between Karl and Beyond Nuclear's radioactive waste specialist, Kevin Kamps. The interview focuses on the resistance to proposed high-level radioactive waste dumps targeted at New Mexico, Texas, Nevada, and Ontario's Great Lakes shoreline. The related transport of irradiated nuclear fuel, by truck, train, and/or barge, is also briefly discussed.

Watch the 30 minute program, here.

(Please note a couple of needed corrections. At the 9 minute 58 second mark, Kevin misspoke -- the Ontario Power Generation radioactive waste dumps are targeted at the Lake Huron shoreline, not the Lake Michigan shoreline. And the full name of the Democratic New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands is Stephanie Garcia Richard. Also, the interview was recorded in September 2019, hence the discussion of Trump's Energy Secretary, Rick Perry. Perry resigned December 1st.)

U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee passes H.R. 2699 by voice vote

H.R. 2699, the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2019, was passed by the U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee on Wed., Nov. 20, by voice vote. That is, there is no roll call record as to how each U.S. Representative voted. Voice votes are usually applied only to non-controversial matters, such as naming a post office.

This dangerously bad high-level radioactive waste legislation should be among the most controversial bills Congress addresses. H.R. 2699 aims to open one or more dumps in the Southwest -- so-called consolidated interim storage facilities (CISFs), targeted at New Mexico and/or Texas, as well as a permanent burial dump at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, on Western Shoshone Indian land. If any one of these dumps open, large-scale shipments of high-risk irradiated nuclear fuel, by road, rail, and/or waterway, would travel through most states, past the homes of millions of Americans.

Considering their targeting for the nuke waste dumps, this bill could be called the Screw Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas bill. (The 1987 amendments to the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act, which singled out Nevada for the country's nuke waste dump, was most commonly dubbed the Screw Nevada bill.) But when it comes to the high-risk transportation impacts, we all live in Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas!

See the self-congratulatory press release by the U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee chairman, Frank Pallone Jr. (Democrat-New Jersey), here.

H.R. 2699 is sponsored by CA Democrat Jerry McNerney. A co-sponsor is John Shimkus (Republican-IL), who sponsored very similar legislation, H.R. 3053, the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2018, in the last congressional session. (H.R. 3053 passed the U.S. House on May 10, 2018, but was never taken up by the U.S. Senate.) There are currently 25 co-sponsors of H.R. 2699. See them listed here.

Note that an amendment was also passed by voice vote, that "conveys the Sense of Congress that neither the United States nor Canada should allow permanent or long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel or other radioactive waste near the Great Lakes." The amendment was introduced by two Michigan U.S. Representatives, Debbie Dingell (Democrat) and Fred Upton (Republican).

While this amendment appears reasonable on its face, it is also hypocritical. It only addresses the permanent or long term storage of irradiated nuclear fuel near the Great Lakes, but makes no mention of its generation there in the first place. In fact, both Dingell and Upton are long time proponents of atomic reactors on the Great Lakes shoreline. Upton has not had his constituents' backs regarding high-risk dry cask storage at Palisades in southwest Michigan, which began 26 years ago.

Beyond Nuclear, and 25 allied organizations from the U.S. and Canada, called out Dingell's and Upton's hypocrisy in an open letter sent to Great Lakes members of the U.S. Congress, during earlier consideration of very similar legislation (H.R. 3053, the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2017 and 2018, during the last congressional session). See the Dec. 20, 2017 coalition letter here; see the Jan. 4, 2018 press release here.

What can you do? Contact your U.S. Representative, and urge opposition to this dangerously bad bill, H.R. 2699!

You can also contact both your U.S. Senators. Urge them to oppose H.R. 2699, and its Senate companion bill. Unlike the last congressional session, the U.S. Senate has already taken up H.R. 2699. The Senate has not assigned a bill number for the legislation, but on May 1, 2019, S._______, a Discussion Draft of the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2019, was taken up by the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee's chairman, John Barrasso (Republican-WY).

(See Senate side update, posted below.)

You can also reach your Congress Members' D.C. offices by calling the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

Update on November 21, 2019 by admin

Shortly after the bill advanced out of the E&C panel, Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman John Barrasso introduced similar legislation in the upper chamber.

Yucca bill advanced by panel not likely to see House floor

As reported by the Nevada Independent.

Risk of Transporting High-Level Radioactive Waste is a Real Halloween Nightmare: SEED Coalition Files New Legal Contention to Halt Dangerous, Unnecessary Transport

NEWS FROM BEYOND NUCLEAR For immediate release: October 31, 2019 Contact:  Tom “Smitty” Smith, Former Director of Public Citizen’s Texas office, 512-797-8468

Risk of Transporting High-Level Radioactive Waste is a Real Halloween Nightmare

SEED Coalition Files New Legal Contention to Halt Dangerous, Unnecessary Transport AUSTIN, TX -- An alarming recent federal report has prompted a new legal challenge to the licensing of a high-level radioactive waste dump in Texas. [Beyond Nuclear is forwarding this press release on to the media as a courtesy to the SEED Coalition.] The U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board’s “Preparing for Nuclear Waste Transportation” report released in September details thirty safety challenges related to transporting spent nuclear fuel across the country, including travel through major U.S. cities. Private companies have applied for licenses to store the nation’s deadly high-level radioactive waste for decades at sites in Texas and New Mexico. Texas and New Mexico residents have raised concerns about the transport risks of this radioactive waste in public forums and in legal opposition to the proposed consolidated interim storage applications.  “The potential for disaster in transporting and storing the nation’s radioactive waste is worse than any Halloween nightmare,” said Karen Hadden, Executive Director of the SEED Coalition. “The SEED Coalition filed a new legal challenge based on a recent report to Congress that lays out significant issues that need to be resolved. Transport of high-level radioactive waste is too risky and current plans to haul thousands of tons of deadly waste across the country must be halted.”  The new report to Congress by the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board confirms that stored spent nuclear fuel can go critical.   “The report confirms that the massive transport of thousands of tons of dangerous spent nuclear fuel across the country is unprecedented,” Hadden said. “The nuclear industry wants us to believe that such transport is routine, but never has so much dangerous nuclear waste been moved on the vast scale proposed, an undertaking that would involve thousands of shipments over many decades. In fact, the report indicates that transport could require 80 years or more, double the time that WCS has suggested in their license application.” “Significant infrastructure improvements would be needed, and technological challenges are numerous,” Hadden added. Concerns about the radioactive transport include: - Some existing radioactive waste can’t be shipped without being put into new containers, and new container designs are needed that haven’t been developed yet.  - There is no technology in place to fully inspect existing spent nuclear fuel containers and the impacts of shaking and bumping of radioactive materials on railways are not yet fully known. - Cracked or leaking containers would have to be repackaged but the report points out that cost for even one repackaging facility would be a whopping $1-2 billion. “The NRC is considering licensing sites in Texas and New Mexico to store the nation’s high-level radioactive waste for decades, which could lead to unsafe de-facto permanent dumps,” said Tom “Smitty” Smith, former Director of Public Citizen’s Texas office. “The need for extensive research and the technical hurdles are among many reasons that licensing of centralized storage sites should be halted.” Current plans would move tons of deadly waste to Texas and/or New Mexico, just to store it in a in a different location, needlessly creating risks from transportation accidents, leaks and potential sabotage. No progress would be made toward permanent waste isolation with this band-aid approach.  In fact, spending billions of dollars this way could stall the development of more robust storage systems and progress toward viable permanent disposal.  “The focus should be on isolating this waste for the long-term in order to protect all living things, our planet and our economy,” Smith said. The U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board report, the SEED Coalition legal filing and expert witness testimony by Bob Alvarez are available at www.NoNuclearWaste.org Another resource - https://www.nirs.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Cities_Affected.pdf - has maps of 20 of the many major cities that high-level radioactive waste could travel through if this plan is approved [Attorney Wally Taylor, on behalf of Sierra Club's Rio Grand Chapter, has filed a similar motion in opposition to the Holtec International/Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance, targeted at southeastern New Mexico, 39 miles from the Waste Control Specialists site in western Texas. See the contention posted here.] Karen Hadden Sustainable Energy & Economic Development (SEED) Coalition  605 Carismatic Lane, Austin, TX 78748 karendhadden@gmail.com 512-797-8481 -30- Beyond Nuclear is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization. Beyond Nuclear aims to educate and activate the public about the connections between nuclear power and nuclear weapons and the need to abolish both to safeguard our future. Beyond Nuclear advocates for an energy future that is sustainable, benign and democratic. The Beyond Nuclear team works with diverse partners and allies to provide the public, government officials, and the media with the critical information necessary to move humanity toward a world beyond nuclear. Beyond Nuclear: 7304 Carroll Avenue, #182, Takoma Park, MD 20912. Info@beyondnuclear.org. www.beyondnuclear.org.