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Re: Article: Report targets nuclear dump (SRS)
Ruth ?
Primarily, the report looks at DOE waste high-level waste management practices, but it iscusses a variety of issues, including:
- Defense Waste Processing Facility: SRS has made over 30% of the planned number of waste glass containers, but only incorporated ~3% of the activity in stored high-level waste. Needless to say, if they don't "pick up the pace", they're not going to have all the HLW immobilized.
- Tank closure: in effect, leaving residual activity in "closed" high-level waste tanks and "sealing" it in with grout is in-situ disposal of high-level radioactive waste. FYI ... Georgia has been, since Jimmy Carter was Governor, opposed to high-level radioactive waste disposal onsite at SRS, and remains so to this day. We view both current tank storage practices and the proposed onsite disposal of 20,000,000 Ci (and perhaps 200,000,000 Ci) of Cs-137 in saltstone and/or closed tanks (plus 1,500,000 Ci of Sr-90, 98,000 Ci of actinides, 20,000 Ci of Tc-99 and 15 Ci of I-129) as high-level radioactive waste disposal, notwithstanding DOE's practice (now determined to be illegal) of reclassifying this stuff as "waste incidental to reprocessing".
- Contaminated groundwater: Georgia has already experienced elevated concentrations of tritium in groundwater, presumably from deposition of contaminated rainfall ... but USGS, based on previous research in the area, feels confident that groundwater can and does flow under the Savannah River. USGS is currently working on a detailed groundwater flow model, but IMHO, more research is needed ? and they're having to fight tooth and toenail to maintain the funding necessary to complete the work.
- Environmental monitoring: after funding Georgia's environmental monitoring effort around SRS since 1993, DOE advised us last October that at the end of the current grant period (January 2004 ... extended under a no-cost extension through April 2004) they would not be renewing our grant. We haven't been able to afford laboratory analyses on what few samples we can still collect since the end of December 2003, and I have four (4) staff members who will walk out the door if funding if not restored, and soon. Seems that Georgia's offsite monitoring around SRS, according to DOE, is "redundant", since SC also does offsite environmental monitoring ... in SC. Oh, and DOE has such a vigorous and comprehensive environmental monitoring program that no external oversight is needed (isn't that what everybody says, that we don't need any oversight?). I will not characterize here, on in any other public forum, what I think about DOE's argument ... our elected officials are doing a fine j
!
ob!
of expressing their feelings to DOE at all levels.
I normally don't find myself agreeing with Dr. Makhajani, but from a factual standpoint, I think he and his staff did a pretty good job with this report. You can take a look at the report at www.ieer.org ... and I urge you to read it with an open mind. I don't agree with EVERYTHING that's in the report, and there are certain things that I would have said differently if I had written the report ...
Jim Hardeman, Manager
Environmental Radiation Program
Environmental Protection Division
Georgia Department of Natural Resources
4244 International Parkway, Suite 114
Atlanta, GA 30354
(404) 362-2675
Fax: (404) 362-2653
E-mail: Jim_Hardeman@dnr.state.ga.us
>>> <RuthWeiner@AOL.COM> 3/14/2004 17:41:28 >>>
In a message dated 3/14/04 5:48:37 AM Mountain Standard Time,
obbugg@dmvs.ga.gov writes:
> So Makhijani is quick to point out that Savannah river water is well within
> current drinking water standards for tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen
> produced on the site.
>
>
So what was the purpose of the report?
Ruth
Ruth Weiner, Ph. D.
ruthweiner@aol.com
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