Earlier this week Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) sent a letter to Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Granholm concerning several matters. One of the most notable concerns outlined by Rep. Newhouse was a signed letter by the Washington Attorney General, Washington State Director of Ecology, the Yakama Nation, and several interest groups asking to repeal DOE's current high-level waste (HLW) interpretation.
As noted by Rep. Newhouse, the Hanford site in Washington represents one of the most complex cleanup challenges for DOE. Not only is the cleanup challenge complex due to the size of cleanup to be done, but the federal government is subject to legally-enforceable milestones on tank waste retrieval and treatment through the Tri-Party Agreement. The best avenue for reaching cleanup milestones is a science based approach. ECA has urged previous administrations and
now the current administration to continue pursuing the high-level radioactive waste interpretation to allow nuclear waste disposal decisions to be made based on actual radiological characteristics and risk to human health arising from the waste, rather than existing artificial policy standards that base waste classification on origin.
A science based approach to cleanup will reduce risk to human health and the environment for communities across the nuclear complex, including the Hanford site.
This safety consideration for the communities was noted by Rep. Newhouse in his letter:
"As the leaders of Hanford Communities have subsequently written you, the position taken in this letter does not speak for nor represent the best interests of the Tri-Cities. These communities – who have the most at stake and are the most directly impacted by decisions at the Site – must be heard by both the state and federal government. They and others believe the HLW interpretation has the potential to make their community safer by treating tank waste sooner.
The interpretation could also significantly reduce tank waste treatment costs, which would allow those savings to be reinvested in other important cleanup activities at Hanford."
You can read Rep. Newhouse's full letter here.
You can read ECA's recent HLW position paper here.
