DOE WANTS TO BEGIN CEUSP SHIPMENTS TO NEVADA EARLY NEXT YEAR

The Department of Energy would like to begin early next year planned shipments of a portion of the uranium-233 inventory at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to the Nevada National Security Site for disposal, Mark Whitney, the DOE cleanup manager in Oak Ridge, said yesterday in a call with reporters. The shipment of the 403 canisters of Consolidated Edison Uranium Solidification Project (CEUSP) material to Nevada has been the subject of controversy, with state officials having come out against DOE’s plan. While DOE has stressed it has the authority to move forward with the disposal of the CEUSP material, it has also sought to alleviate concerns through the creation of a working group between Department and Nevada officials and plans to hold public meetings today and Nov. 14. “What the Secretary [of Energy] has committed to—as we have consistently in recent years and we’ll double-down on—is we will work very closely with state and local authorities to make sure that we’re listening to concerns, that we’re answering questions, we’re sharing information,” DOE Chief of Staff Kevin Knobloch said yesterday.

During yesterday’s call, DOE officials reiterated that their plans for disposing of the CEUSP material at the NNSS are safe. The material is in a “highly stable” ceramic-like solid form stored in welded stainless steel containers, Frank Marcinowski, deputy assistant secretary for waste management in the DOE Office of Environmental Management, said, noting that in its current form, the material cannot be used in a nuclear weapon nor is it “desirable” for use in a ‘dirty bomb.’ DOE’s disposal plan for the material entails burying it in a trench underneath a disposal cell currently in use at the NNSS, Marcinowski said. “We did an extensive evaluation of the disposal alternatives available for the entire inventory of the CEUSP material and we believe the direct disposal of the CEUSP part of the inventory is the most appropriate alternative that provides the most efficient way to dispose of material and provides the greatest safety of human health and the environment,” he said. “Proceeding with the disposal of CEUSP is necessary in the interest of national security. CEUSP waste will be safely packaged, transported and disposed in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. NNSS infrastructure provides long-term protection of disposed CEUSP waste.”