Nebraska Governor Ben Nelson's
LLRW Summit

GOVERNOR NELSON'S SUMMIT SUMMARY

The Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act of 1980, as amended, was intended to create an effective, efficient, and economical policy for managing the low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) produced in the United States. Ten years ago, some folks were questioning whether that policy was economically sound. At that time those questioning the sanity of the policy were pretty much dismissed out of hand. This year, however, a widespread debate has developed across the nation with regard to the effectiveness and economic viability of the LLRW Policy Act. Those currently questioning the policy include some representatives of nuclear power utilities, some representatives of the nuclear waste disposal industry, and representatives of various compacts, as well as the state officials and the LLRW policy critics of ten years ago. Discussions of options and alternatives to the 1980 Policy Act now abound.

Governor Ben Nelson held a LLRW Summit August 28, 1997, to discuss options and alternatives to the current LLRW policy. Following are links to presentations by a number of very knowledgeable people at that LLRW Summit. [All of the presentations have been slightly edited fromm the transcript of the Summit for ease of reading.] As you read these presentations, one caveat should be kept in mind: The LLRW Policy Act is the current law of the land, and until that law is changed it sets the rules of the game.

Charles Jones, former alternate Commissioner for Kansas, Central
Compact and Creator of the Kansas Environmental Almanac website

Thor Strong, Associate Commissioner of Michigan's LLRW Authority

Professor Clark Bullard, Illinois Commissioner, Central Midwest LLRW
Compact and Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign

Dr. Arjun Makhijani, President Institute for Energy and Environmental Research

Gary Thompson, Esq., Member Board of Directors, Nebraska Public Power District

Professor Dennis Coates, University of Maryland-Baltimore County
Department of Economics

Gene Crump, Executive Director, Central Interstate LLRW Compact

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Informative Web Sites

The State of Nevada's Nuclear Waste Project Office will provide the most reliable information on irradiated fuel rod disposal and transportation. Nevada's Nuclear Waste Project Office has a comprehensive report on spent fuel and high-level waste transportation:
"The Transportation of Spent Fuel and High Level Radioactive Waste"

The Ohio LLRW Authority Office closed as of September 30, 1997. The Midwest Compact passed a resolution ceasing development of a LLRW disposal site in Ohio. That resolution states, in pertinent part: "Resolved, The Commission determines that development activities for a regional disposal facility for low-level radioactive waste should immediately and indefinitely cease." Here's a link to the full text of the Resolution. For background on the Midwest Compact/Ohio situation, read the Midwest Compact Executive Director Gregg Larson's Memo.

Here's a link to News Articles about the Pennsylvania LLRW Project.

ACURI National Siting is a nuclear industry web site. However, it does have a good overview of what's happening with the various LLRW siting processes across the nation.

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Here is a paper well worth reading, Managing The Risks of Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal. The focus of the paper, as descirbed in its abstract is, "The disposal of low-level radioactive waste entails risks not common to most commodities. This manifests several problems in the potential market for waste disposal services. This paper identifies two specific risks, waste volume reduction and technology performance uncertainty, and suggests how they can be accounted for within an economic model of the disposal problem."

Sociological Issues

Rocky Mountain Social Science [senior scientists: Richard S. Krannich and Ronald L. Little] prepared a Sociocultural Assessment for the Boyd County Local Monitoring Committee. That assessment was issued in July, 1992.

US Ecology conducted an expedited cursory reviewof that Sociocultural Assessment at the request of the Central Interstate LLRW Compact Commission (CIC). That cursory document is dated September 3, 1992.
It is of noted that the extent of attention given to the Boyd County Sociocultural Assessment by the CIC and US Ecology was limited to the "expedited cursory review."

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If you are interested in socioeconomic/sociocultural aspects of LLRW siting, you may want to read Sociocultural Analysis and the Nebraska LLRW Project

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There are two papers [ The Nebraska Experience: Could It Have Been Successful? and Pulp Fiction -- the Volunteer Concept], presented at Department of Energy LLRW Conferences, which you may find of interest.

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Louisiana Energy Service * Uranium Enrichment

For those of you with an interest in Environmental Justice, on May 1, 1997, the NRC's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board issued its Final Initial Decision in regard to the Louisiana Energy Service's uranium enrichment center planned to be located between the communities of Forest Grove and Center Springs in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, on April 3, 1998, reversed some of the decisions of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, here's the Press Release on that, here's the actual NRC Decision. The end of April, 1998, Then on April 30, 1998, the NRC issued an Order granting LES's motion to withdraw its pending license application.

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Here's a very interesting paper Interstate Compacts Can't Solve Collective Bads Problems: The Case of LLRW. While I am informed that it is under revision, it's a thought provoking work well worthy of a read now.

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Central Interstate LLRW Compact

For an example of a web site that does little more than take up space, providing very little information, take a look at the Central Interstate Compact's Homepage.

For further information about the Central Interstate Compact (CIC) try LLRW Compact. There you will find the Commission's By-Laws -- something that you will not find on the CIC Homepage.

This is the link to Legal Opinions by the CIC's legal counsel in regard to the Host State's veto power over wastes imported or exported from the compact region. [For some reason, you will not find these legal opinions on the CIC's Homepage.] Click here for a Discussion of the those legal opinions.
Here are links to get fact based overviews of a couple of pieces of litigation concerning LLRW issues. Concerned Citizens v. Grams, is a Nebraska district court case.
New York v. United States, et al, is a Federal court case. Here are links for those of you who would like to read the actual Supreme Court Decision or Syllabus in the New York v. United States case.

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Try this for a web site that is rich in information about the health effects of low-level ionizing radiation, and tons of other information.

The above web site is not unbaised. Whenever one deals with controversial or complex issues it is difficult, if not impossible, to find any source of information which is wholly unbaised. For a link to another source for information on radiological health issues, try Validity of Internet Information. I would caution you to be as skeptical of information found at that site as you would be of information found at the previously noted site, or any other site for that matter.

Links to other sites of interest on the Web

Boyd County Nuclear Waste Dump?
NRC Radioactive Waste Information
Maine LLRW Program
DOE Low-Level Rad Waste Program
Lots More Waste Links
Nuclear Information Resource Service
Low-Level Waste Forum

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