[ RadSafe ] DU Disposal in Utah

Mon Jul 20 11:48:46 CDT 2009

Hi, Franz.  

As has been pointed out, there is A LOT of DU-Hexafluoride being stored in sub optimal locations and situations.  I understand that there is at least one facility that is planning to convert DU to some other form (probably some oxide, though I don't know for sure) in order to recover the fluorine.  This will reduce the volume of the DU, and stabilize it chemically.  

As for "disposal" of the DU:  I view it more as long term storage.  There is nothing that can be done that will destroy DU, short of running it through a reactor.  Sending it to Utah for burial in at the disposal site places it in a secure location, surrounded by enough radioactive material to scare off the general public, and where it can sit until someone wants it.  I am confident that the records of the facility will be good enough that it can be found and recovered with very little effort.

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl [mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl] On Behalf Of Franz Schönhofer
Sent: Saturday, July 18, 2009 5:05 AM
To: radsafe at radlab.nl
Cc: 'Roger Helbig'
Subject: AW: [ RadSafe ] DU Disposal in Utah

RADSAFErs,

I have a very simple question regarding DU. Maybe I miss some point or maybe I am simply naiv. 

Why is everybody so eager to dispose of DU? Why is much work done to convert DU-Hexafluoride into a disposable compound? Wouldn't it be better to keep it for the time, when Pu-breeders will be commercially available? It might be a commercial question, that at the time being there is enough Pu-239 available from surplus weapons that no additional Pu-239 is needed? Or is there any political question like the decision long ago in the USA not to reprocess nuclear fuel? 

My personal opinion is that the worst option of disposing it of is to dispose it in form of ammunition at the battle field.....

Best regards,

Franz

Franz Schoenhofer, PhD
MinRat i.R.
Habicherg. 31/7
A-1160 Wien/Vienna
AUSTRIA

-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl [mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl] Im Auftrag von Roger Helbig
Gesendet: Donnerstag, 16. Juli 2009 08:30
An: radsafe at radlab.nl
Betreff: [ RadSafe ] DU Disposal in Utah

The Utah Radiation Control Board decided to postpone voting on banning disposal of DU at Energy Solutions in Clive, Utah.

Here is an earlier article from the Salt Lake Tribune.  The reporter Judy Fahys actually seems like someone who is interested in learning and does not have her mind made up.  Some of you might want to contact her at fahys at sltrib.com  and provide some advice if there are any glaring errors in this story.

Is depleted uranium too hot for Utah site?

Environment > State Radiation Control Board has decided to look further into the question.

<mailto:fahys at sltrib.com?subject=Salt%20Lake%20Tribune:%20Is%20depleted%20ur
anium%20too%20hot%20for%20Utah%20site?> 

<mailto:fahys at sltrib.com?subject=Salt%20Lake%20Tribune:%20Is%20depleted%20ur
anium%20too%20hot%20for%20Utah%20site?> By Judy Fahys

<mailto:fahys at sltrib.com?subject=Salt%20Lake%20Tribune:%20Is%20depleted%20ur
anium%20too%20hot%20for%20Utah%20site?> The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated: 06/10/2009 03:53:35 PM MDT

Utah's Radiation Control Board will dig deeper into the long-term risks of depleted uranium before it decides whether the unusual form of low-level radioactive waste warrants a moratorium. 

But an attorney for EnergySolutions Inc. cautioned board members about legal and technical challenges they will face if they try banning depleted uranium temporarily or permanently. 

"It's a fairly high bar" for the board to justify a moratorium, said attorney James Holtkamp. 

Board members said they would rather have waited for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to wrap up its own in-depth study of how much DU, as its called, can be safely buried in a shallow disposal site like EnergySolutions' mile-square landfill in Tooele County. 

But the that federal review could take years, and DU is already piled up at government nuclear sites and an equal amount is expected from new uranium enrichment plants coming online in the next few years. NRC estimates the total needing disposal at 1.4 million tons, with just two disposal sites available to take it: EnergySolutions and a yet-to-be-opened Texas landfill.

DU in small amounts clearly falls within Class A for low-level waste, as the NRC reaffirmed a few months ago. But, because DU transforms over time to high-radon "decay" products, it actually gets more hazardous over time and peaks in danger in 1 million years. 

EnergySolutions said it has disposed of 49,000 tons of DU in the past 20 years, but that won't top the state's Class A hazard limit for at least 35,000 years. 

That's a problem for regulators. 

Do they write a law that ensures the safety of public health and the environment for 100 years? A thousand years? A million? 

"First of all, I believe the public should be protected and the environment should be protected," said board vice chair Elizabeth Goryunova, suggesting that the board had a responsibility to consider the need for a moratorium despite hassles that might be involved in imposing one. "That's absolutely a must." 

Board members will hear presentations from Energy-Solutions, the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah and its legal advisors at its next meeting. 

"I think it behooves us in terms of our responsibility," said board member David Tripp, a University of Utah physicist. 

Vanessa Pierce of HEAL was pleased with the board's decision to take more time on the subject. HEAL requested the moratorium at the board's May meeting. 

"They're showing good due diligence," she said, "in how they are proceeding with this issue." 

fahys at sltrib.com 

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