Matheson Demands Removal Of Depleted Uranium Barrels From Utah Site

Press Release

Congressman Jim Matheson says an independent, outside review of last year's depleted uranium shipment reveals that the radioactive waste exceeds both state and federal standards for disposal at Utah 's low-level radioactive waste site and should be removed. Matheson has opposed any depleted uranium (DU) shipments to Utah because of the uncertainty over what safety standard is required to protect health and safety as the waste decays.

The report was prepared by nuclear physicists with the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research and includes an analysis of the Energy Departments paperwork accompanying the shipped waste.

Depleted uranium is a form of enrichment waste that becomes increasingly hazardous for at least 1 million years. Scientists have questioned whether it should be stored in what is essentially a shallow landfill in Utah 's west desert.

"The agreement reached between Utah and the Department of Energy provides that the December shipment of DU would be retrieved, pending the outcome of this verification process. If the waste contains fission byproducts that aren't permitted to be buried in a Class A facility-- under both federal and state rules--then it needs to go," said Matheson.

Matheson said he has long raised concerns about DU being shipped to the Clive, Utah site, which is licensed to dispose of the least dangerous type of radioactive waste. Matheson has asked that DOE not send the waste to Utah , until the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has finalized its rules for long-term disposal of large amounts of depleted uranium.

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