A small victory.....
NUCLEONICS WEEK - November 21, 2002
FFTF SHUTDOWN WORK HALTED
FOR 120 DAYS UNDER AGREEMENT
Decommissioning work on the Fast Flux Test Facility
(FFTF) on DOE's Hanford site in Washington was halted for
a four-month period under an agreement reached Nov. 15 by Benton County and DOE.
Benton County opposes DOE's decision to shut the fast
breeder reactor and is fighting to keep it open by turning over
operations to the private sector. The reactor has been in standby condition since 1992.
Earlier this month, Benton County filed a suit claiming
that DOE had not followed environmental regulations and
requesting a temporary restraining order from all decommissioning activities.
The reactor's secondary cooling system was
to have been drained on Nov. 11, but the Nov. 8 court filing
resulted in an agreement between the parties for a two-week
cessation of work (NW, 14 Nov., 11).
Under last week's agreement, all work will stop for 120
days, until at least March 12. The reprieve will allow both
sides to file legal briefs. One of Benton County's arguments
in its suit is that DOE was proceeding with decommissioning
without a complete decommissioning plan.
"These regulations are in place to prevent federal agencies
from going out and making decisions with environmental
consequences without informing its stakeholders, such as
other government agencies and the public of the true impacts
and costs," John Bolliger, the attorney representing Benton
County, said in a statement.
Benton County and FFTF supporters want to restart the
reactor and use it to produce medical isotopes.
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