Closing of Brookhaven Reactor

[Susan Gawarecki <loc@icx.net>]

New York Times
November 17, 1999
Closing of Brookhaven Reactor Dismays Scientists, Pleases
Environmentalists 

GREAT NECK, N.Y.-Scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory were
dismayed Tuesday at the Department of Energy's decision to permanently
close an aging nuclear reactor that has been shut since 1996, but
environmentalists praised the move. 

"There's a bunch of very unhappy people, a lot of very disappointed
people," said Thomas R. Sheridan, deputy director for operations at
Brookhaven. "We thought we had an understanding about what the process
was going to be. We feel like we got the rug pulled out from under us." 

The announcement Tuesday by Energy Secretary Bill Richardson came as a
surprise because discussions with the department had been going on for
two years about the lab's High Flux Beam Reactor, Sheridan said.  "The
part where everybody got to comment was yet to come," he said, referring
to an ongoing environmental impact study. The secretary, who had a
preliminary draft of the report, said in October that he saw no major
hurdles to its reopening, but he also requested further study. 

Environmentalists said they would like to see the results of the draft
study. Ever since a tritium leak was discovered in 1997 and the reactor
put on standby, the STAR Foundation, an anti-radiation group based in
East Hampton, had been working to make sure the reactor would never be
allowed to start back up. 

"We're delighted," said Scott Cullen, the organization's counsel. "I
think it's a good decision for the environment on Long Island. It will
allow the people at Brookhaven to now focus on the cleanup that is
sorely needed." 

Geri Barish, president of 1 in 9: The Long Island Breast Cancer Action
Coalition, agreed, but added that she was concerned the draft
environmental study would not be released now that a decision had been
made.  "I hope they do release it," Ms. Barish said. "I think the public
has a right to know. Too many secrets have been hidden from us already.
I think it's time that they face up to what is going on and see what we
can do about it." 

The scientists at the laboratory described the decision as an
irreparable blow to research, describing it as the best reactor of its
kind in the northern hemisphere. But Sheridan said he did not think the
decision to permanently shut down the reactor would have much effect on
the laboratory as a whole. The reactor represented about 5 percent of
its $400 million total budget, he said. 

Brookhaven will need money to close the reactor. "This is a pretty
substantial undertaking even though it's a pretty puny reactor," he
said.  "There will be a couple of years of planning of what we are going
to do with it. Most important, where is that money going to come from?
That's going to cost a lot more than starting it would have."   Sheridan
said it was unclear whether Brookhaven would dismantle the reactor or
"just shut it down and stand guard in front of it for the next 30
years." 

Bill Reeside, the reactor division manager, said more staff may be
needed over the next two to three years for the cleanup. The division
has 90 permanent employees and eventually jobs will be lost, he said. 

Funding for research of the type done at the reactor would continue, but
not necessarily on Long Island, said Michael Holland, the director of
the project management division for the Department of Energy. New
instruments would continue to be developed and some work would be
transferred to other national laboratories.   The laboratory's mission
would continue, Holland said. "It's a vibrant facility." 

Steve Shapiro, a scientist who had used the reactor for 30 years to
study properties of various materials, was angry.   "I can't tell you
what discoveries won't be made," he said. "The amount of work has been
reduced. There are just not enough facilities to support the demand for
all of the users. Most of the scientists here have been using other
facilities but producing less science. It is a national shame."

-- 
==================================================
Susan L. Gawarecki, Ph.D., Executive Director
Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee, Inc.
136 S Illinois Ave, Ste 208, Oak Ridge, TN 37830
Please note new area code:
Phone (865) 483-1333; Fax (865) 482-6572; E-mail loc@icx.net
OCTOBER INSIGHTS CAN BE FOUND AT: http://www.local-oversight.org
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