EPA Sets Tough Ground-Water Standard for Nuclear Waste Site

The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday set a stringent ground-water protection standard for the proposed repository for spent nuclear fuel at Nevada’s Yucca Mountain.

The announcement of public health and safety standards for the site was a key step in the process that must be completed before President Bush announces his decision on whether to start a licensing process for Yucca Mountain.

“As a nation, we must address our nuclear waste disposal problem, but we must do so in a way that protects public health and the environment,” said EPA administrator Christie Whitman in announcing the standards, which closely track a Clinton administration proposal on the topic.

On the same day, an international panel of scientists and nuclear industry representatives reported that underground repositories like the one proposed for Yucca Mountain represent the only practical solution to long-term nuclear waste storage.

The advisory group urged governments to undertake campaigns to convince their wary public of what technical communities have believed for 40 years.

The two developments were timely, given that, after a 20-year process of planning and preparing for possible long-term storage of nuclear wastes at Yucca Mountain, the administration will likely make pivotal decisions on the site’s future over the next several months. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham plans to give Bush his recommendation by the end of this year, according to Joe Davis, his spokesman. The president’s decision may come soon after that.

Congress may also have a say because, if Bush approves of the project, Nevada is expected to veto it. Then, by law, Congress could overturn that veto and push the project ahead.

The EPA standards, which are designed to protect residents closest to the repository, limit radiation exposure to 4 millirem per year for ground water, which is consistent with the Safe Drinking Water Act. The average person receives about 450 millirems a year from natural radiation sources.

The standards addressed all potential sources of radiation, including ground water, air and soil. For all potential pathways of exposure, the standards set the limit of no more than 15 millirem per year. Naturally occurring radioactive materials are found everywhere. This standard is about twice the exposure a person gets from simply living in a brick house.

Abraham said that the new standards are “tough and challenging” but that his agency can “meet the requirements.”

But the nuclear energy industry immediately blasted the ground-water standard as too costly and not beneficial for health.

“The nuclear energy industry is examining its options, including a possible legal challenge,” said Marvin Fertel, vice president of the Nuclear Energy Institute.

Some environmentalists, however, stressed that the standard did not go far enough to protect Nevadans from radioactive contamination from ground water.

“We see this as legalizing the leakage of radiation into the environment,” said Kevin Kamps of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, a watchdog group. “It’s dooming future generations to radioactive contamination by law.”

The waste would be stored in a facility built at Yucca Mountain, about 240 miles northeast of Los Angeles. Cost of the project has been estimated at $35 billion.

Members of Congress from Nevada applauded Whitman for maintaining the separate ground-water standard but remained dead set against the project.

“Far too many questions remain about the future of Yucca Mountain for anyone to declare that the site is safe or acceptable to the people of the Silver State,” said Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), a staunch opponent of storing nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain.

Reid fought to ensure that EPA weighed in on the safety provisions and promises to continue to put every roadblock he can in the way of the project. As chairman of the appropriation subcommittee with control of the Energy Department’s purse, Reid plans to starve the project for funds, according to David Cherry, his spokesman. He also intends to use the new heft he has as a member of the Democratic leadership of the Senate--now in the majority--to aid his fight.

The state’s Republican senator, Sen. John Ensign, is an ally in this battle.

“I will never be satisfied if these regulations lead to nuclear waste being shipped to Nevada,” Ensign said.

Cherry said he fears that the new National Research Council report will be used by politicians to make the case that the nation needs to move forward and store wastes at Yucca Mountain, since the country has not developed other long-term deep geological repositories.

The report, however, stressed that the public should be given alternatives so people do not feel backed into irreversible decisions. In 1987, Congress limited considerations for deep geological repositories for high-level waste and spent nuclear fuel to one site:Yucca Mountain.

“After four decades of study, geological disposal remains the only scientifically and technically credible long-term solution available to meet the need for safety without reliance on active management,” the report stated. “It also offers security benefits because it would place fissile materials out of reach of all but the most sophisticated weapons builders.”

However, the 157-page report fleshed out ways that government leaders can encourage public participation in decision making on permanent repositories, to deal with the strong societal resistance to the facilities.

“Difficulties in garnering public support have been seriously underestimated, and opportunities to increase public involvement and to gain public trust have been missed,” said D. Warner North, president of NorthWorks Inc., chairman of the committee that produced the report.

The report was compiled by an international committee of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering. It was sponsored by the Energy Department, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and organizations responsible for nuclear waste management in eight other countries.