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NIRS NEWS BULLETIN

February 15, 2006                                          Contact: Kevin Kamps, NIRS, 202.328.0002 ext. 14

Statement of Kevin Kamps, Nuclear Waste Specialist at Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS), on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Licensing of a Radioactive Waste Dump Next to a Military Bombing Range

(For more information or interviews, please contact Kevin Kamps, Nuclear Waste Specialist, Nuclear Information and Resource Service, Washington , D.C. at 202.328.0002 ext. 14.)

“The NRC commissioners' decision to grant final approval for a private high-level radioactive waste parking lot dump on the Skull Valley Goshute Indian Reservation in Utah disregards the risks posed by one of this country's biggest and busiest Air Force bombing ranges located right next door. It also completely ignores the giant radioactive bull's eye created by concentrating 75% of America 's irradiated nuclear fuel in one location.”

Background

In December 2002, just over a year after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington D.C. , the NRC commissioners ruled that terrorist attacks against nuclear facilities are too speculative to consider during any NRC licensing proceedings. This effectively silenced challenges raised by NIRS, the State of Utah , and others regarding the unacceptable vulnerability to catastrophic radiation releases caused by terrorist attacks against such facilities as Private Fuel Storage (PFS).

PFS – just 45 miles directly upwind from the millions of residents of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area -- would concentrate in one spot a full 75% of the highly radioactive commercial nuclear waste that currently exists in the U.S. This highly visible, open air facility would be wide open to intentional aerial attack as occurred on 9/11. But it would also be vulnerable to remotely fired anti-tank missiles, shaped charges, and other high explosives, all designed to penetrate much thicker armor than the atomic waste containers will have. The National Academy of Sciences reported in the summer of 2005 that stored radioactive wastes are vulnerable to terrorist attack, and this vulnerability certainly extends to the unprecedented PFS facility. Despite this, NRC has granted a construction and operating license without addressing the terrorist threat. Apparently the NRC missed the revelation by the 9/11 Commission  that Al Qaeda has considered targeting nuclear facilities in the past, and will almost certainly continue to do so in the future.

PFS would also be at risk of accidental military jet crashes and stray missiles. The Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR) is immediately adjacent to the proposed dump site. Approximately 7,000 F-16 fighters from Hill Air Force Base fly over Skull Valley every year on their way to the bombing range. Cruise missiles are also tested at the UTTR. A stray missile blew up a weather station in Skull Valley in recent years. When Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was briefed about the proposal to locate an atomic waste dump next to a bombing range, he told the Salt Lake Tribune on March 11, 2003:  “Who would be stupid enough to do that?” It is startling that NRC has actually approved this dangerous proposal.

The Holtec atomic waste containers to be used at PFS are especially vulnerable to accident and attack. Industry whistleblower Oscar Shirani and NRC cask inspector Dr. Ross Landsman have publicly testified that the Holtec Company has grossly violated quality assurance regulations, and that the casks are of questionable structural integrity.