THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 28, 1995 TAG: 9503280299
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT HARPER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
The U.S. Department of Energy came to town Monday to try to quell fears over a plan to temporarily store 183,000 gallons of radioactive nitric acid here.
The material, containing 16,300 pounds of uranium and a trace of plutonium, was once used to help make nuclear weapons at the troubled Hanford plant in Washington state.
The plant was closed in 1990, and the government has since been looking for a safe and economical way to get rid of its leftover nitric acid.
George G. Smith, a Newport News environmentalist, was among a handful of citizens who were uneasy with the proposed solution: Truck the acid to an East Coast port and ship it to Great Britain for recycling. Portsmouth is one of three finalists to be that port, along with Baltimore and Port Elizabeth, N.J.
``I'd think this would be highly desirable material for any terrorist organization,'' Smith said at a public meeting Monday. ``And then there's the question of it getting into the (Chesapeake) Bay. So really, my position is, isn't there a better way to handle this stuff?''
Not really, say federal officials and scientists.
By selling the material to British Nuclear Fuels Ltd., a company that intends to use the nitric acid to reprocess commercial nuclear fuel rods, the U.S. government avoids calling the acid ``hazardous waste.'' Instead, it is considered ``a product.''
The distinction is important. As a product, the material is immune from a notebook full of laws and regulations governing hazardous waste. Those rules would mandate that the acid be stored or buried in expensive holding facilities.
Rick Gonzalez, a waste-minimization specialist with the Department of Energy, said the distinction could save taxpayers about $40 million while also aiding the British in their nuclear energy program.
To avoid violating international agreements against the spread of nuclear weapons, Britain cannot use the acid for military purposes, federal officials stressed.
But some environmentalists question whether the U.S. government is cutting corners and inviting lax handling of a highly dangerous material.
``It's absolutely preposterous to call this a product,'' said Robert Deegan, a Virginia Beach resident and nuclear-issues specialist with the Sierra Club. ``As such, this proposal has not been adequately analyzed or publicized.''
Under the proposal, the government will truck the material to an East Coast port in special steel casks. Drivers will not be allowed to stop their vehicles for an extended period, and the trucks will be monitored by a radio tracking device, said Ray Penn, a transportation specialist.
Once in port, the material will be held ``for only a matter of days'' before being loaded onto a ship for transport overseas. Fifty such transports are expected, each bringing the port about $6,500, said Kevin Ryan, a project coordinator.
The Energy Department must gain approval for its plan by the end of this year or the material will be declared ``hazardous waste,'' Ryan said. It hopes to begin shipping by May.
No Portsmouth or regional environmental agency is opposing the plan. by CNB