[ RadSafe ] Say 'no' to waste - Salt Lake Tribune

[Roger Helbig]

http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_13473707

This kind of comment needs to be refuted - since it misuses the decay cycle
of uranium to scare the general public 

Say 'no' to waste
Public Forum Letter

Updated: 10/02/2009 06:51:52 PM MDT


As a Utah citizen concerned with our short- and long-term quality of life, I
am extremely disappointed with the Utah Radiation Control Board's vote to
allow the storage of depleted uranium in Utah ("Ban on hot waste rejected,"
Tribune , Sept. 23). The sluice gates are opened, and tens of thousands of
tons of this material will flow here. 

At the RCB meeting with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, while the
latter's language was measured, it clearly indicated that shallow waste
storage may not be appropriate for waste that gets hotter over time. Since
depleted uranium becomes more poisonous over time, it should be treated as
high-level radioactive waste and buried deep, a la Yucca Mountain. This is
material that will be twice as radioactive in 1,000 years and continue to
increase its lethality for more than a million years. 

The EnergySolutions site assessment only goes out 500 years! Most companies
don't last 50 years, so who will be left holding the glowing bag? The RCB
has done a disservice to the people of Utah, present and future. Gov. Gary
Herbert should follow Rep. Jim Matheson and Gov. Jon Huntsman and say "no!"
to radioactive waste in Utah. 

Jeff Clay 

Salt Lake City