Fort Worth is on proposed route if U.S. nuclear waste is sent to West Texas
September 28,2018
Dallas News article by Jeff Moster
Used nuclear fuel could pass by downtown Fort Worth on its way to a high-level radioactive waste dump in West Texas, according to a proposal from Dallas-based Waste Control Specialists.
That's according to a map of the proposed route recently made public by environmental activists opposing the plan by a joint venture that includes Waste Control Specialists and Orano USA.
The joint venture known as Interim Storage Partners is seeking a permit from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to store high-level radioactive waste, from nuclear power plants across the country, at its Andrews County facility. The permit is pending and would need the approval of federal regulators.
Although the proposed route would miss Dallas, opponents said the Union Pacific rail line running through downtown Dallas would be the most straightforward way to transport the used nuclear fuel from dozens of other plants to the east. The routes are only proposed and would need the approval of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
"The shipments would take over 20 years to move across the country and come to Texas," said Karen Hadden, executive director of the Austin-based Sustainable Energy & Economic Development (SEED) Coalition, referring to the nuclear waste currently stored in different parts of the country. "And we're afraid that once it got here, it would never leave."
Spent nuclear fuel is currently stored at each plant, awaiting a permanent home. The West Texas site is proposed for interim storage — potentially for decades — while the federal government figures out a longer-term solution.
Thomas Graham, a spokesman for Interim Storage Partners, said this type of transportation has been used for more than 50 years with no accidents leading to a release of radiation. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has calculated that there is a 1-in-a-billion chance of radiation release from a transportation accident, said Curtis Roberts, a spokesman for Orano USA.
Opponents acknowledge that the risk of a radiation release is small, but the consequences could be devastating. They point to concerns about accidents and terrorist attacks.
Documents from Interim Storage Partners argue that it's more dangerous to have nuclear material stored at more than 70 locations around the nation.
Representatives of environmental groups — including the Nuclear Information Resource Service — are touring Texas and trying to rally opposition to the Andrews County proposal. A large part of their argument is that the nuclear material traveling through Texas via rail is too risky.
The proposed route publicized this week shows nuclear waste from the Maine Yankee nuclear power plant, which closed more than 20 years ago, going through the Midwest, down to Fort Worth and then west to Andrews County.
The Dallas County Commissioners Court in April adopted a resolution opposing the transportation of nuclear waste through the region. Similar resolutions have been approved by San Antonio and Bexar and Nueces counties.
At a Thursday news conference, adjacent to a rail line in downtown Dallas, the chief of staff for Dallas County Commissioner Theresa Daniel read a statement saying: "Our lives, land and aquifers must be protected from radioactive contamination which could result from accidents, radiation releases or leaks, or potential terrorist actions."
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins planned to attend to lend his support but a scheduling conflict interfered. Officials with Fort Worth and Tarrant County did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Roberts said the "casks" that would transport the nuclear waste go through extensive testing sequences. They are dropped 30 feet onto hard ground. Then they go through a puncture test. They are burned at high temperatures. And they are finally submerged in water.
Interim Storage Partners documents acknowledge that some routes might have risks that could exceed the tolerances — such as higher falls. In those cases, a different route is chosen.
This effort to find a temporary storage site started in 2015 and is expected to continue for several years. Waste Control Specialists' 14,900-acre facility near the Texas-New Mexico border is already permitted to store low-level radioactive waste.
The deadline for submitting public comments to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is Oct. 19. Email comments should go to WCS_CISF_EIS@nrc.gov. By mail, comments should be addressed to May Ma, Office of Administration, Mail Stop: TWFN-7-A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.