The battle over the importation and disposal of foreign nuclear waste continues in Utah. On one side: EnergySolutions, owner and operator of a low-level nuclear waste disposal facility in Tooele County. On the other: Gov. Jon Huntsman, Rep. Jim Matheson, and thousands of American citizens that don’t want to see our landscape become an international dumping ground.

While part of the battle is being fought in the federal courts, another part is being prepared in Washington, D.C., where Matheson is pushing legislation to ban all foreign nuclear waste imports into the country.

EnergySolutions would have us believe there is no safety or environmental risk to this waste being transported across the country and then permanently deposited in their Clive facility. Granted, I’m not a nuclear physicist, but it’s obvious that these are dangerous materials, or else a secured disposal facility such as the one operated by EnergySolutions would not be necessary. How then can one say that there is no environmental or safety risk in transport? No transportation system is perfect, and accidents do happen.

While it may be true that the amount of foreign waste currently being discussed is relatively small, this situation represents a potentially dangerous precedent. At what point do we draw the line and tell the world that they need to be responsible for the disposal of their own waste? How much of our environment are we willing to sacrifice in the name of EnergySolutions’ bottom line?

Our line should be drawn right here and right now. Huntsman took a bold step when he used an interstate compact to block the importation of waste — a step that is currently being challenged in federal court by EnergySolutions. And Matheson is working on a more permanent solution through legislation in Congress. But every resident of Tooele County, Utah, and the United States should be standing firm with the governor and congressman in support of these measures.

This is an issue that transcends political party and impacts the lives of not only ourselves, but our children and grandchildren for generations to come. Tooele County should not become the world’s dumping ground for nuclear waste, nor should any other location in America.

 

Bob Henline is a Tooele resident and political activist. He can be reached at bob@nonpart.org.