Radioactive waste soon to find home in Utah

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It's not really a question whether Utah will be the disposal site for three trainloads of depleted uranium from a government atomic-weapons complex cleanup in South Carolina.

It's a matter of how soon.

Under an agreement Gov. Gary Herbert reached two weeks ago with the U.S. Energy Department, the answer appears to be about six weeks -- much sooner than the state Radiation Control Board expects to complete its review of safety issues surrounding depleted uranium.

After spending most of 2009 looking at DU, the board anticipates it will be at least another year before it is ready to say what engineering standards are needed to minimize the long-term hazard posed by DU disposal at the EnergySolutions site, located about 80 miles west of Salt Lake City.

But under the governor's oral agreement with the Department of Energy, state regulators have until mid-February to develop science-based conditions for burying the Savannah River cleanup waste at the EnergySolutions Inc. disposal site in Tooele County.

Peter Jenkins, chairman of the state board, was surprised to hear Herbert's Dec. 17 deal had a two-month deadline. He has yet to be briefed by the Governor's Office.

At the time it was announced, Jenkins praised the agreement for allowing a thorough safety review before more DU is buried in Utah.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14111447

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