Mr. Clements please understand that folks in this area don't care what you and your tree hugging friends think.
An environmental group wants the U.S. Energy Department to rethink a plan to lease 2,700 acres to an economic development board working to bring new missions and jobs to Savannah River Site.
In a letter dated Sunday to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Friends of the Earth asked that the department halt development of an environmental assessment that could lead to the land's lease to the SRS Community Reuse Organization for an energy park.
The group's primary concern is that the energy park could become another place that handles or processes nuclear waste, rather than a research center for alternative energy fuels, said Tom Clements, the group's Southeastern nuclear campaign coordinator.
In his letter, he writes that he has "documentation which reflects the final type of 'energy park' which has been envisaged" by SRS and the Office of Environmental Management. He writes it "could consist of new reactors, spent fuel storage or reprocessing."
Rick McLeod, the executive director of the Community Reuse Organization, said no decisions have been made on any specific projects at the energy park.
"We haven't even gotten the lease yet," he said. "But we do have a complete mix in what we envision for the energy park, from renewables, education and research, potential medical, everything you could think of."
Nuclear activities, he said, are by no means ruled out, but creating a landfill or permanent disposal site for nuclear waste is unlikely.
"Anything we would bring in for some kind of processing would be sent back out," he said.
Mr. McLeod noted that future projects would include opportunities for public involvement. The Community Reuse Organization's main objective, he said, is to bring jobs and economic development to the area.
Reach Rob Pavey at 868-1222, ext. 119, or rob.pavey@augustachronicle.com.
Comments
Mr. Clements please understand that folks in this area don't care what you and your tree hugging friends think.
It's encouraging to see a public interest organization working to stop more nuclear waste dumping in South Carolina, such as via reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel at SRS. You can let Secretary Chu know that you do not support future use of SRS which will lead to more radiation at the site: The.Secretary@hq.doe.gov
uncle bs, speak for yourself.
People need to understand that SRS supports our local community. Anything that brings workers to the area is a great thing. Don't try to stop it! Why is everyone so scared of a nuclear facility? I'm an environmentalist, have a nuclear degree, and am more scared of the chemical plant down the road then SRS anyday.
Friends of the Earth think we can conserv enough energy to get by on much less than we use now. They are the clowns that think increasing the supply of clean energy is bad.
SCEagleEye: reprocessing spent fuel is the only real method to eliminate the massive storage problem for the government and utilities companies (ie, Yucca Mountain). The US is the ONLY major country that uses nuclear energy but DOES NOT reprocess the spent fuel. South Carolina gets about 68% of its energy needs from nuclear power; more than any other state. BTW, the only place with a greater use of nucler power is another country: France gets about 72+% of its electricity from nuclear power. I just used your link to send Secretary Chu an email congratulating the agency and our country for this collaboration and encouraging more of the same.
"Reprocessing" is the terminology from the 60s. The new, politically-acceptable term is "recycling." Doesn't that sound much better. Let us recycle commercial nuclear spent fuel to "recover" potential energy residing in those rods. There is a lot of fissile material in there that could be used for tomorrow's electricity generation with less CO2.
It's great that there is a semblance of a discussion here about issues concerning the future of SRS. The big question is why won't DOE, which is supposed to be part of OUR government, formalize this discussion so the public can be involved in the future use of SRS. So far, decisions are being made behind closed doors & I understand the legal risks that DOE is running by choosing that route.
And now a pop quiz for reprocessing supporters! How much of the plutonium from reprocessing from commercial spent fuel has been reused in the UK, Russia and Japan? That the UK reprocessing plant is on a shut-down track due to chronic operational problems and that the Japanese plant can't start due to problems is irrelevant for the purposes of this question. I'll post the answer later but let's see who is well-informed about how nasty and costly reprocessing is doing in other countries.
SCEaleeye, how about you showing us the amount of radiation that SRS does not contain that comtaminates the area around SRS. Hmmmmmm, didn't think so.
Jack-Do you know how much monitoring is done in and around SRS to the groundwater and air sampling? I do. It's really nothing to worry about. Learn the facts before you make assumptions.
OK, time for the answer to the reprocessing pop quiz above. The question was: How much of the plutonium from reprocessing from commercial spent fuel has been reused (for energy production) in the UK, Russia and Japan? Apart from a huge volume of nuclear waste that can't be reused, the answer is....0. That's zero, as in none. Did you get the right answer?!
After the billions & billions spent those countries still haven't come up with a plan to use the plutonium from reprocessing they have bursting their storage vaults. And, they don't know how to deal with the waste, with the UK & Japan having trouble with their vitrification facilities. This on-going reprocessing disaster is not something we want to repeat in the US.
But there has been some plutonium from reprocessing commercial fuel used in France, EagleEye. Just because Russia, Japan and Britain cannot get their chemcal act together does not mean that the U.S. should not get 'er done!
If reprocessing is "recycling," apart from the 200 hundred tons of stored weapons-usable plutonium, please explain how the huge volume of high-level waste, the vast amount of dirty reprocessed uranium, the noble gases released into the air and the low- and intermediate-waste streams are recycled.
No wonder all the European countries except France are getting out of this dirty and expensive reprocessing business. Having failed in Europe, Areva's trick is to now suck the US in but it won't work.
It is better to recycle the usable energy and bury the reduced volume of radioactive salts than to bury the whole kit and kaboodle of spent fuel assemblies, EaglePie.
If you like big government, socialist projects you will absolutely love reprocessing. The ONLY WAY it survives in France or anywhere is because the government either pays for it or forces rate payers to pay for it. It would not last a day in a free market. As SRS projects tilt towards socialism reprocessing is a perfect fit for the narrow interests that profit from big government programs. Trouble is the rest of us pay & pay and the waste volumes are enormous, which is going to make South Carolinians ripping mad when they find out about the ripoff that others are trying to put over on them.
Good news on the reprocessing front & good news for the Aiken/Augusta area -- the Environmental Impact Statement being prepared on reprocessing (Global Nuclear Energy Partnership) is to be officially halted by DOE (on June 29). The over-reach to build a reprocessing plant at SRS has been stopped. The effort by narrow special interests to dump spent fuel at SRS for reprocessing and stiff the tax payers with the huge costs of that has hit the wall. We in South Carolina don't want anymore nuclear waste dumped at SRS so this decision is celebrated!
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