Nuclear Dump Site Near Needles Picked

California’s first low-level nuclear waste dump will be developed in the Ward Valley, a desert area 25 miles west of Needles, the state Department of Health Services announced Wednesday.

Selection of the San Bernardino County site was made after nearly two years of studying various other desert locations.

“The primary deciding factor was the Ward Valley site’s overall technical superiority from a public health and safety standpoint,” said Kenneth W. Kizer, director of state health services.

Low-level radioactive waste refers to materials such as protective clothing, tools, containers, but not more dangerous materials such as spent waste from nuclear reactors. California produces about 200,000 cubic feet of low-level waste material a year.

Best of Three Sites

Assemblyman Bill Leonard (R-Redlands), who has been representing the Ward Valley area in the Assembly and now is running for a state Senate seat in the same region, said he considers the site near Needles the best of three the state was studying.

Leonard said the two other sites--one in the Silurian Valley near the town of Baker in San Bernardino County and the other in the Panamint Valley in Inyo County--were either in his district or near it. “This site was probably the best in terms of the impact on my constituents, although I would rather not have the choice be between any of them,” Leonard said.

Bob Prochaska, the newly elected mayor of Needles, said in a telephone interview that while some residents of his community oppose the dump, it also has strong supporters.

Prochaska, a city councilman, said it could mean up to 40 jobs, a significant number for Needles. “It’s an emotional issue, more than a dangerous issue,” he said. “Basically, I think it is a very safe site. It’s safer to store the kinds of materials they are talking about than pesticides.”

Federal Requirement

The search for a site began because of a federal requirement that each state find a place to dispose of its own radioactive material by Jan. 1, 1993. Currently, California’s low-level nuclear waste is being buried at sites in the states of Washington, Nevada and South Carolina.

Ron Gaynor, senior vice president of US Ecology Inc., which will be licensed by the state to operate the facility, said one of the site’s most attractive features is that ground water is 700 feet below the earth’s surface. He also said the area was considered seismically stable.

The decision on Ward Valley was delayed because of concerns about the possible adverse impact the site will have on the desert tortoise. Steve Romano, US Ecology’s project manager, said “extensive efforts” will be taken to protect the tortoise habitat, including the possible purchase of other land to create a preserve for the species.

Project officials said another attractive feature of the site is that it is within five miles of a rail line. Rail is considered the safest way to ship hazardous material.

Start Planned for 1990

Both US Ecology and the Department of Health Services will prepare separate environmental impact reports and assessments before a final decision is made. Officials hope to have the facility in operation by late 1990.

The facility will be financed by rates that will be levied against hospitals, universities, industries and utilities that use the dump.