Case Study
Nuclear waste storage presents a unique set of concerns, in addition to the ones seen in regular landfill proposals. The United States record of safely storing radioactive waste has not always been a good one. There have been leaks and contamination in the past and cover-up allegations have been common. There is an emotional concern associated with radioactive contamination, over long term exposure effects and the relation to atomic fall-out and weaponry. The public has frequently equated problems in radioactive containment with nuclear explosions. Nuclear waste can continue to be hazardous for thousands of years after deposition. Problems have been voiced, concerning how to label, for generations of the far future, an area of danger. These concerns have prevented the construction of every proposed radioactive waste site in the last 5 years, resulting in a huge backlog of waste needing deposition.
Following a serious accident at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant in 1979, the United States Congress passed a law requiring each state to construct a depository for is own low-level wastes. Facilities had been constructed in 6 states, but 3, in Kentucky, Illinois and New York, had been closed, following charges that radioactive material leaked into groundwater. Two of the 3 closed sites had been constructed by U.S. Ecology, the firm that would eventually hold the construction contract for California. Litigation over clean-ups held the distinct possibility of costing local taxpayer huge sums.
In 1991, the battle moved to California, with the proposal of a low-level radioactive waste depository in Ward Valley, an area in the southern Mojave Desert. Congress changed deadlines repeatedly. States continued to find reasons why such controversial projects could be attempted at proposed sites. Since all other plans had been derailed, the Ward Valley project was the last American nuclear depository proposal remaining active at the time. The Ward Valley site was not to receive highly-radioactive materials, but it was to get huge quantities. 135,000 tons of X-ray equipment parts, contaminated concrete, medical radioisotopes, nuclear submarine residues and so forth were to arrive per year.
As the presidency changed from Republican to Democrat, Secretary of the Interior, Manuel Lujan, approved the sale of the 1000 acres of federal land to the state of California as a dump site, before the administration changed hands. The sale was made, said Lujan, as a favor to Republican California Governor Pete Wilson. A political firestorm erupted. Dump site opponents appealed to incoming Secretary of the Interior, Bruce Babbitt, to reverse the sale. Also vocal were all the usual parties to such a controversies: environmentalists, business leaders, industry representatives, local landowners and Mojave National Park proponents.
Key concerns revolved around the spotty safety record of U.S. Ecology, the site developer, and the nearby proximity of the Colorado River, a major water source for Southern California.
The construction of hazardous waste disposal sites is always especially controversial. As you read through the events surrounding the Ward Valley proposal, you will also find interesting political dimensions in the story.
