Pact Ratified on Radioactive Wastes Dump

Gov. George Deukmejian on Thursday signed legislation ratifying a pact with Arizona that allows both states to dump low-level radioactive wastes in the desert of eastern California for a minimum of 30 years.

The agreement, once ratified by Arizona, would be the first of its kind in the nation since a 1980 federal law required states to find a solution to the mounting radioactive waste problem.

It took four years for California to reach final agreement on the pact, which requires the state to provide a dump site for at least 30 years. After that, California can decide whether to continue disposing of the wastes or to turn the job over to Arizona.

In return for accepting Arizona’s low-level radioactive waste, California avoids having waste from other states imposed upon it by the federal government.

Arizona Expects Quick OK

Officials in Arizona said they expect the pact to be quickly approved when that state’s Legislature convenes in a special session later this month. However, one source close to the Arizona Legislature predicted that the dump would remain in California well beyond the 30 years stipulated in the agreement.

“If this turns out to be economically viable, California will never give it up,” said the source, who asked to remain anonymous.

There are now only three sites in the nation for disposal of the low-level waste, which typically includes such items as clothing, gloves and tools used in hospitals and in the nuclear industry. The waste can take up to 100 years to decompose. It does not include the most dangerous types of wastes, such as fuel from nuclear reactors.

Those states that do not form regional pacts could be forced to accept wastes from other states under a federal law enacted in 1980. The legislation signed by Deukmejian would also allow South Dakota and North Dakota to join the California-Arizona pact. Neither state, however, produces an appreciable amount of radioactive waste.

3 Potential Sites

California plans to issue a permit for the radioactive dump by March, 1989, after U.S. Ecology, a firm under contract with the state, decides among the three potential sites. All three are in largely uninhabited areas in Inyo and San Bernardino counties, 13 miles southeast of Panamint Springs, 15 miles north of Baker and 25 miles west of Needles.

The question of where to put the dump became embroiled in partisan bickering for a time after Assembly Democrats moved to put it in a Republican district. Deukmejian, however, refused to approve that version of the agreement.

To help soften future opposition to the dump, the pact allows the host community to add a surcharge to dumping fees that can be spent as the community sees fit.

Ultimately, it will be up to the Legislature to decide whether or not to extend the life of the dump beyond the 30 years called for in the agreement.