'Hot spot' in nuclear waste shipment underscores Yucca Mountain concern
A radioactive “hot spot” discovered in a nuclear waste shipment in South Carolina is being cited by Nevada’s top nuclear safety official as fresh evidence of the folly of plans to transport thousands of tons of even-more-dangerous material to Yucca Mountain if a repository is built there.
The incident in April, first publicized this week by anti-nuclear groups, involved highly enriched uranium liquid waste trucked from Canada to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site near Aiken, South Carolina. The “hot spot” — an area of unexpectedly high radiation levels — was blamed on a defective, lead “pig” container that shields workers when waste is moved from inside transportation casks.
The Department of Energy said that when the “pig” was positioned for emptying at the Savannah site, radiation rates were slightly higher than expected but did not pose an increased safety concern to the public or workers.
But Bob Halstead, executive director of Nevada’s Agency for Nuclear Projects and the state’s point man in the battle to block the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, said the incident illustrates the risks of shipping potentially deadly radioactive waste by rail or truck.
Read more: https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-nevada/hot-spot-in-nuclear-waste-shipment-underscores-yucca-mountain-concern/