IN OUR VIEW: Keep imported nuke waste out

Provo Daily Herald   

Gov. Jon Huntsman deserves a smattering of applause for his most recent move to keep low-level radioactive waste from Italy out of Utah. A full standing ovation, however, will be due to him and other officials only if they ensure that Utah won't become the world's nuclear dumping ground.

EnergySolutions wants to import 1,600 tons of the stuff from Italy and stash it forever at the company's dump west of Salt Lake City. Although the material is low-level radioactive waste it still presents dangers. When the company makes claims to the contrary, it's good to remember that goes to great lengths to shield its employees and others from something, not nothing. Why do you suppose they do that?

A year ago a stolen car crashed through the dump's fence and the two Utah Highway Patrol troopers who responded had to be run through a gauntlet of tests to see whether their respective gooses had been cooked.

Thousands of tons of exceedingly unromantic Italian waste could be on its way here soon if Utah's leader don't throw up an impregnable barrier. It will come by train or truck through Utah communities, then deposited on Utah soil. It will be a risk to the people of Utah for a very long time.

"Utah should not be the world's dumping ground," Huntsman proclaimed recently, but the more international waste is foisted off on Utah, the more Utah will be viewed as just that. Each shipment makes it a bit harder to resist more shipments. If Utah accepts waste from Italy, on what grounds can it reject waste from France, Japan or anywhere else?

Italian waste is not America's problem. The United States has enough to do in handling its existing environmental problems. Other nations should take care of their own dangerous substances.

This wouldn't be the first time some other country's waste has been dumped in Utah, but it may be the tipping point that raises government to action. Let's hope so, because what today might be a minor annoyance could become a huge problem before anybody realizes it.

Until recently, Huntsman said that this was a federal issue and that he could not block the planned shipments. Then, with a November election not far off, he suddenly discovered another option. According to news reports, the eight-state Northwest Interstate Compact on Low-level Radioactive Waste can block the Italian waste, and Huntsman has asked Utah's representative on the compact's board, Bill Sinclair, a state environment official, to vote against the EnergySolutions plan at the board's meeting Thursday. Sinclair has reportedly agreed. And since the law authorizing the compact requires votes to be unanimous, Utah seems to have the power to veto the shipment.

Hold the applause. Energy Solutions has said it will continue to pursue the project. It's not clear how the company might proceed, but it has clout in Utah, and some observers have speculated about ways to get around the compact.

What can Utahns do to ensure that 1,800 tons of Italian waste is kept out now, and that other shipments are barred in the future?

First, by June 10 they can register their opinions on the EnergySolutions plan and demand public hearings by e-mailing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission at \n hearingdocket@nrc.gov. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Second, Utahns can contact their state lawmakers to make sure they understand how important this is. Go to www.le.state.ut.us and click on "House" and "Senate" to find out how to contact them.

What about those future shipments? You can pressure your congressman to back U.S. House Resolution 5632 to ban the importation of foreign low-level radioactive waste. It was introduced in March by Rep. Jim Matheson, and is being studied in committee.

Most of our readers are represented by Rep. Chris Cannon. You can register your opinion with him at 2436 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515. Phone: (202) 225-7751. Fax: (202) 225-5629. E-mail cannon. .house.gov.

Let state and federal officials know you don't want the Beehive State to become the "Glow in the Dark State."