I have been asked to talk to you today about the Chem Nuclear low level radioactive Waste site in Barnwell County.

Barnwell is a shallow land burial site, not state of the art, located in an area of often heavy rainfall and subject to tropical storms, too close to ground water ...
South Carolina is unique among all states in the nation in being the home of the only low level radioactive waste site in the nation licensed to accept all levels of low level radioactive waste -  A, B, and C  -  that takes waste from all comers.  C waste is the most dangerous.  If you are a utility with an old nuclear power reactor that you need to decommission or parts of machinery that need disposal and you aren't a member of the Northwest or Rocky Mt. Compacts, this is where you would send it. However, you need to get it here before the cut off date of 2008.  Incredibly, it was only a year or so ago that we came with in a hair's breadth of having the San Onofre reactor shipped by sea from California around Cape Horn to South Carolina.

And if the new generation of nuclear reactors being touted by the Department of Energy and the big time energy interests is ever to come to pass, low level radioactive waste disposal sites will be essential. 

Quick facts:

Low Level Radioactive Waste: Low level waste is defined by what it is not:  it is not spent fuel rods or reprocessing waste such as is in the high level waste tanks at SRS.  It is classified as A, B and C level waste with C being the most dangerous. 

Location: Chem Nuclear is just east of the Savannah River Site in the town of Snelling in Barnwell County, not on the Savannah River but close. 

Description: It is a shallow land burial site, not state of the art, located in an area of often heavy rainfall and subject to tropical storms, too close to ground water, established as was SRS before the National Environmental Policy Act was passed.  It never had the kind of site evaluation that would be done today.

Ownership: The site is owned by the state of South Carolina and leased to the operator. It will revert to the state for long term care. There is a fund set aside for closure, remediation and long term care.

Operator: It was initially operated by Chem Nuclear and the lease later bought by Waste Management, Inc. in the 80's.  It is currently operated by Duratek, Inc. a big nuclear services company that does a lot of work for DOE and the nuclear utilities. Each new operator has retained the name Chem Nuclear.

Regulatory regime:  The Nuclear Regulatory Commission which has delegated the authority to the SC Dept. of Health and Environmental Control. The South Carolina Public Service Commission sets the rates.

License:  Currently pending.  It is being challenged by the Sierra Club, LWVSC, Carolina Peace Resources Center and Environmentalists Inc. However, the site keeps operating under the old license.

Economics: The site charges by the cubic foot rather than by the curie.  There are businesses that compact this waste.

Political Climate:  Local residents are strong, almost rabid supporters.  Polls have shown that the majority of other SC citizens want it closed. In the past closure deadlines have been extended time and again.  The power of the operator, local residents, the utilities, and their hired lobbyists is strong. The income from Chem Nuclear is too attractive to resist.

Other LLRW disposal sites: Richland, WA and Envirocare in Utah. Envirocare is privately owned and licensed for A and B waste only. It is cheaper than Chem Nuclear and has been cutting into their revenue, and the income derived by the state. . The Washington site takes A, B and C but disposal is restricted to members of the Northwest and Rocky Mt. Compacts.

South Carolina was once host state for the SE Compact.  That compact fell apart when NC failed to provide the next host site. SC withdrew from the compact and then opened the site to all customers, something that did not go down well with the public or the legislature.   The Atlantic Compact was then formed with CT and NJ.  In 2008 the site will be restricted to Compact members only.  After a period of years it will be restricted to SC only. 

Note: The SE Compact has been reconstituted with NC as a member.  It is still working on establishing a host state site.

Problems: Initially there was very little oversight and an inadequate regulatory framework.  Packaging was poor - flimsy card board boxes weren't unusual.  There was very little control over what went in. There is fear that some of those isotopes will find there way back into the environment.

In the past tritium has leaked into the Savannah River from this site. The state of Georgia, concerned about both the Barnwell site and SRS has had an ongoing monitoring program for a number of years paid for by DOE. Many of the communities along that river use it for drinking water, including the Beaufort Jasper area in SC.  Local areas consequently monitor it very carefully.

It is interesting to note that in South Carolina the average citizen seems to understand and to react very negatively to the Barnwell issue and much less so to Savannah River Site issues.  I think there are a number of reasons.  One has to do with the secrecy that surrounded the "bomb" plant as it was referred to.  Until the mid seventies it was treated as a black box. Even state regulators couldn't go on site. Another reason is that the Governor and SC General Assembly have had so much say over this site.  We have has legislative battle after battle concerning closure dates.  The site was to have closed in 1986, then in 1992, then in 1994.  Still another is the resentment at taking "out of state waste".

Add your comment

Your name:
Your email:
Subject:
Comment:	Image Pagebreak Read more
Word verification:
	Post Preview

yvComment v.1.19.3