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All things not considered for West Valley nuclear waste (Opinion)

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by Joanne Hameister on January 04, 2011
Terms:Coalition on West Valley Nuclear Wastes, Coalition on West Valley Nuclear Wastes, Energy & Climate, Environment & Region, Joanne Hameister, Joanne Hameister, Nuclear Energy, Opinion, Technology, Waste & Pollution, Water

OPINION / COMMENTARY

The Coalition on West Valley Nuclear Wastes has been a watchdog at the West Valley nuclear facility since 1972, a decade before the Department of Energy and New York Energy Research and Development Agency became involved.  The Coalition is also a major stakeholder as a result of a successful lawsuit in Federal Court, one outcome being a Stipulation of Compromise in 1987 .

On one hand, the West Valley nuclear waste site got some much needed attention with a recent report by Daniel Robison: Nuclear Waste Cleanup at N.Y. Site Nears Completion, which aired nationally on NPR.

On the other hand, considering all things, the report was biased, did not offer a balance of comments and contained significant conflicting statements.  The result, therefore, presented false optimism, rather than the reality of risks and problems that will have to be taken care of and for which there are no plans.

The title claimed the site was nearing completion and yet the introductory paragraph ended with the statement that “there’s no end in sight”.  John Chamberlain, Public Relations for West Valley Environmental Services (major contractor to the Department of Energy), said “there’s no way to get rid of all the radiation, some will take millennia to fully decay.”   These statements do not speak to a cleanup.

Sharon Seneca, University of Buffalo doctoral candidate, designed a permeable treatment wall to intercept water-borne Strontium that has been leaking for decades, said that the "wall will stop working in 30 years".  Strontium’s hazardous life of 10 half-lives is 280 years or 10 generations.  Presently, there are no plans for the ensuing centuries and that does not speak to a near completion.

The people of Western New York and downstream in the Great Lakes basin should not be lulled by this report.  The threats, particularly to municipal water supplies, are there and very real and will need our constant heeding and vigilance.

The fight for good decision-making and stewardship at West Valley nuclear facility is far from over.

 
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9 Comments

  1. lynda Schneekloth  ¦ 

    Thursday 6 January, 2011

    Thank you, Joanne. Why does the government persist in pretending that waste, especially nuclear waste, is ever 'taken care of' while we know it persists for thousands of years. A continued thank you to the citizens who are there to keep them honest.

  2. Rebekah Williams  ¦ 

    Friday 7 January, 2011

    So we know this waste persists for thousands of years, yet people and companies continue to turn to energy solutions that create lasting waste. So now that we've got it, what do we do with it? Should the nuclear waste at West Valley be moved? Can it be moved in a safe and secure manner?

  3. R Bates  ¦ 

    Saturday 8 January, 2011

    Why do most of the replies re nuclear waste persist in such a negative way. I keep hearing of the thousands of years that it will persist and yet if you look at Hiroshima (bombed in 1945 with a nuke) and compare that site with Detroit any sane person can see Hrroshima beats the hell out of Detroit and in fact MANY US cities.

    Also, one more item to be considered and that is the Earth is predicted to be destroyed within 17500 years by the eruption of Yellowstone. Can you stop that!!!!

  4. gloria elmer  ¦ 

    Saturday 8 January, 2011

    the enormous money spent, over such a long period of time, tells a tale to be told to the residents of western ny and beyond; affecting this, and subesquent generations and voting populations. the newspapers/media should have a spotlight on this remedial effort regularly...local and national.....as to the progress w/charts of remediation; plus current dollars spent producing a report card of accomplishments. plain english w/o bureaucratic jargon needs to be publicly disseminated before trust in clean up is understood. right now, all government agencies, including local, appear to be profiting from delays. watchdog efforts like joanne hammiester need bolstering like never before. short cuts are everywhere now in this economic milleau, and west valley could again go below public radar.

  5. Joanne Hameister  ¦ 

    Monday 10 January, 2011

    Nuclear waste, just like chemical waste, is pervasive and persistent. The most common ‘final resting place’ for both kinds of waste was and is a land-fill. Our experience has shown that this practice does not protect current and future generations from breaching and leaching. Old land-fills are failing and distributing the hazards into soil and waterways and is difficult to retrieve the hazardous results of this kind of failure.

    The Coalition had some long, painful discussions about moving the West Valley wastes out of our backyard into someone else’s. Without technology or process for neutralizing the waste, decided that West Valley’s nuclear waste should be stored in retrievable containers that could be monitored indefinitely for integrity, repackaged if necessary. In essence, that is what they are doing now with spent fuel rods – storing them in high integrity casks at the power plants.
    (more in next comment)

  6. Joanne Hameister  ¦ 

    Monday 10 January, 2011

    The two burial grounds (one NYS, the other federal) comprise over 15 acres of plain dug trenches, unlined, unengineered, containing boxes, cartons and drums of nuclear wastes. The other special and unique feature of West Valley’s wastes is that it is a witch’s brew of strong chemicals used to dissolve the fuel rods and radioactive elements.

    Progress in any form comes with a complete set of benefits and risks and, therefore, there are inherent responsibilities that should be attached to both the protagonists and the antagonists. The hoped-for progress of reprocessing nuclear fuel has created a large and unproductive problem. In 1986 the Coalition challenged an early suggestion of the Department of Energy (DOE). DOE wanted to create a tumulus -- pile the waste in one place, cover it with dirt, plant some grass and walk away. Better answers to solving nuclear wastes are coming out of West Valley now, but the road ahead is long, will be frustrating and expensive.

  7. Judy Bradshaw  ¦ 

    Saturday 15 January, 2011

    Good job, Joanne, in pointing out things that be can easily forget in our need to deny the dark side of this situation. In many cases, we pay a price for our optimism. With the reality of the situation...and the facts..we can still continue to hope that all these issues will be noted and addressed. Thanks.

  8. Robert L. Crocker  ¦ 

    Sunday 22 May, 2011

    Windmill construction activities have killed a lot more humans than nuclear waste. Get a grip man.

  9. Robert L. Crocker  ¦ 

    Monday 23 May, 2011

    R. Bates seems to be figuring out what's going on at West Valley. Yes R. This whole Nuclear Waste thing is a scam. A huge scam that hits you in the pocket book every time you pay your taxes.

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