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Nearly 15,000 drums of depleted uranium oxide will be shipped from South Carolina for disposal in Utah under a contract awarded by the Department of Energy. The 14,800 drums of Savannah River Site waste will be disposed of at EnergySolutions Inc.'s facility about 70 miles west of Salt Lake City. The shipments will take place over 14 months, although it was unclear Wednesday when they would start. The announcement, made by the Energy Department in mid-July, comes as EnergySolutions fights an effort to place a moratorium on the disposal of depleted uranium in Utah.

Nearly 15,000 drums of depleted uranium oxide will be shipped from South Carolina for disposal in Utah under a contract awarded by the Department of Energy. The 14,800 drums of Savannah River Site waste will be disposed of at EnergySolutions Inc.'s facility about 70 miles west of Salt Lake City. The shipments will take place over 14 months, although it was unclear Wednesday when they would start. The announcement, made by the Energy Department in mid-July, comes as EnergySolutions fights an effort to place a moratorium on the disposal of depleted uranium in Utah.

Nearly 15,000 drums of depleted uranium oxide will be shipped from South Carolina for disposal in Utah under a contract awarded by the Department of Energy. The 14,800 drums of Savannah River Site waste will be disposed of at EnergySolutions Inc.'s facility about 70 miles west of Salt Lake City. The shipments will take place over 14 months, although it was unclear Wednesday when they would start. The announcement, made by the Energy Department in mid-July, comes as EnergySolutions fights an effort to place a moratorium on the disposal of depleted uranium in Utah.

More trains filled with depleted uranium are coming to Utah. Even as state regulators consider a moratorium on new shipments of the radioactive material -- which becomes more hazardous over time -- the U.S. Department of Energy plans to ship another 14,800 barrels of it to the EnergySolutions Inc. disposal site in Tooele County. Part of the $1.6 billion in federal stimulus money for the Savannah River cleanup site in South Carolina will pay for rail cars filled with depleted uranium to be buried in Utah during the next 13 months. "This is exactly the situation we were hoping to prevent by asking the state Radiation Control Board to enact a moratorium on depleted uranium," said Christopher Thomas of the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah.

More trains filled with depleted uranium are coming to Utah. Even as state regulators consider a moratorium on new shipments of the radioactive material -- which becomes more hazardous over time -- the U.S. Department of Energy plans to ship another 14,800 barrels of it to the EnergySolutions Inc. disposal site in Tooele County. Part of the $1.6 billion in federal stimulus money for the Savannah River cleanup site in South Carolina will pay for rail cars filled with depleted uranium to be buried in Utah during the next 13 months. "This is exactly the situation we were hoping to prevent by asking the state Radiation Control Board to enact a moratorium on depleted uranium," said Christopher Thomas of the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah.

More trains filled with depleted uranium are coming to Utah. Even as state regulators consider a moratorium on new shipments of the radioactive material -- which becomes more hazardous over time -- the U.S. Department of Energy plans to ship another 14,800 barrels of it to the EnergySolutions Inc. disposal site in Tooele County. Part of the $1.6 billion in federal stimulus money for the Savannah River cleanup site in South Carolina will pay for rail cars filled with depleted uranium to be buried in Utah during the next 13 months. "This is exactly the situation we were hoping to prevent by asking the state Radiation Control Board to enact a moratorium on depleted uranium," said Christopher Thomas of the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public comment on issues associated with blending of low-level radioactive waste and is planning public meetings to discuss blending in Rockville, Md. The issue of blending low-level radioactive waste has received increased attention from the nuclear industry since the 2008 closing of the Barnwell, S.C., low-level waste disposal site. This action left waste generators in 36 states with no disposal options for Class B and Class C wastes, the two classes of low-level waste with higher radioactivity. Blending in some cases can lower the classification of the wastes to the lower-radioactivity Class A, which has available disposal capacity, by reducing the concentration of radionuclides. Blending refers to mixing low-level wastes of different concentrations, primarily Class B or C with Class A. It does not involve mixing radioactive waste with non-radioactive waste, a practice known as "dilution." And it does not imply release of radioactive material to the general environment, either to municipal non-radioactive waste disposal sites or to consumer products. Blended wastes remain low-level waste and must be disposed in a licensed low-level waste disposal facility.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public comment on issues associated with blending of low-level radioactive waste and is planning public meetings to discuss blending in Rockville, Md. The issue of blending low-level radioactive waste has received increased attention from the nuclear industry since the 2008 closing of the Barnwell, S.C., low-level waste disposal site. This action left waste generators in 36 states with no disposal options for Class B and Class C wastes, the two classes of low-level waste with higher radioactivity. Blending in some cases can lower the classification of the wastes to the lower-radioactivity Class A, which has available disposal capacity, by reducing the concentration of radionuclides. Blending refers to mixing low-level wastes of different concentrations, primarily Class B or C with Class A. It does not involve mixing radioactive waste with non-radioactive waste, a practice known as "dilution." And it does not imply release of radioactive material to the general environment, either to municipal non-radioactive waste disposal sites or to consumer products. Blended wastes remain low-level waste and must be disposed in a licensed low-level waste disposal facility.

Valhi, Inc. (NYSE: VHI) announced that the Executive Director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has signed and declared effective a license for the near-surface disposal of Class A, B and C low-level radioactive waste ("LLRW") to Waste Control Specialists LLC ("WCS"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Valhi, following WCS completing its last administrative requirement of acquiring 100% of the mineral rights at its west-Texas facility. "Since the final LLRW license was granted in January of this year, we have worked diligently to complete all of the necessary requirements so the license could be signed and declared effective," said William J. Lindquist, Chief Executive Officer of WCS. "The process is now complete and we are ready to begin constructing the LLRW disposal facility, after recently completing construction of the byproduct material disposal facility. Following the anticipated opening of our LLRW disposal facility in late 2010, WCS will provide the industry with a 'one-stop shop' for its waste needs by having the broadest range of capabilities of any commercial enterprise in the U.S. for the storage, treatment and permanent disposal of hazardous, toxic, low-level and mixed LLRW and radioactive byproduct material. We believe our Texas-based solution will provide WCS with a significant competitive advantage in this multi-billion dollar industry since the only U.S. commercial facility currently authorized to accept low-level and mixed LLRW is limited to disposing of Class A waste, while WCS will be able to permanently dispose of Class A, B and C LLRW."

t appears Vermont Yankee is getting an out-of-state site to store its low-level nuclear waste. The nuclear power plant has been storing its low-level waste at the Vernon reactor since its long-time disposal site in South Carolina closed last year. But now a facility owned by Waste Control Specialists LLC in Andrews County, TX, has won final approval from regulators to build a disposal site. Construction documents still need approval and then the site will take about a year to build. Yankee's owner, Entergy Nuclear, says once the Texas site is built disposal costs will shrink. WCAX News

t appears Vermont Yankee is getting an out-of-state site to store its low-level nuclear waste. The nuclear power plant has been storing its low-level waste at the Vernon reactor since its long-time disposal site in South Carolina closed last year. But now a facility owned by Waste Control Specialists LLC in Andrews County, TX, has won final approval from regulators to build a disposal site. Construction documents still need approval and then the site will take about a year to build. Yankee's owner, Entergy Nuclear, says once the Texas site is built disposal costs will shrink. WCAX News

t appears Vermont Yankee is getting an out-of-state site to store its low-level nuclear waste. The nuclear power plant has been storing its low-level waste at the Vernon reactor since its long-time disposal site in South Carolina closed last year. But now a facility owned by Waste Control Specialists LLC in Andrews County, TX, has won final approval from regulators to build a disposal site. Construction documents still need approval and then the site will take about a year to build. Yankee's owner, Entergy Nuclear, says once the Texas site is built disposal costs will shrink. WCAX News

The Castor Transport protests that took place in November 2008 were not only about the transport of nuclear waste to the Gorleben temporary disposal site - they were also meant to highlight the still unsolved problem regarding the final disposal of Germany's, and the world's, nuclear wastes. In Gorleben itself there are several nuclear facilities: a temporary disposal site for low- and medium-level radioactive waste, a temporary disposal site for high level radioactive waste, an experimental conditioning facility, and a salt mine currently referred to as a "research" final disposal site for radioactive waste - however this site is almost certainly going to become one of the German government's official final disposal sites.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert sent Energy Secretary Steven Chu a letter Tuesday asking him to halt the shipment of nearly 15,000 drums of low-level radioactive waste from South Carolina for disposal in Utah. The Department of Energy is circumventing state regulators' efforts to ensure that a private disposal facility in Utah's west desert can safely dispose of the depleted uranium, said Herbert, a Republican. Depleted uranium is different from other waste EnergySolutions Inc. disposes of at its site because it becomes more radioactive over time for up to one million years. The South Carolina waste from the Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C., is a byproduct of the uranium enrichment process used to make nuclear weapons during the Cold War era.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert sent Energy Secretary Steven Chu a letter Tuesday asking him to halt the shipment of nearly 15,000 drums of low-level radioactive waste from South Carolina for disposal in Utah. The Department of Energy is circumventing state regulators' efforts to ensure that a private disposal facility in Utah's west desert can safely dispose of the depleted uranium, said Herbert, a Republican. Depleted uranium is different from other waste EnergySolutions Inc. disposes of at its site because it becomes more radioactive over time for up to one million years. The South Carolina waste from the Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C., is a byproduct of the uranium enrichment process used to make nuclear weapons during the Cold War era.

EnergySolutions, Inc. (NYSE: ES) announced today that $22.9 million of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding has been allocated to the Moab UMTRA project. The total amount of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding for the Moab project is $108 million. The funding is being used to accelerate removal of uranium mill tailings away from the banks of the Colorado River. Thus far 160 jobs have been created this year as a result of Recovery Act funding. "We are thrilled that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has allocated sufficient funding to the Moab project to accelerate the cleanup of the site. This is great news for the community and for all who use the Colorado River and Lake Powell," said Steve Creamer, CEO and Chairman of EnergySolutions. The Recovery Act funding is being used to excavate, transport and dispose of additional mill tailings from the Moab site to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission-approved disposal cell at Crescent Junction. This additional work began in June and will continue through September 2011. Additionally, this additional funding supports increasing the size of the disposal cell as well as crushing, transporting, and placing final rock cover on the disposal cell. This portion of the work began in August and continues through September 2011. Sixteen million tons of uranium mill tailings will eventually be relocated 30 miles north of Moab to a location designated by the DOE.

EnergySolutions, Inc. (NYSE: ES) announced today that $22.9 million of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding has been allocated to the Moab UMTRA project. The total amount of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding for the Moab project is $108 million. The funding is being used to accelerate removal of uranium mill tailings away from the banks of the Colorado River. Thus far 160 jobs have been created this year as a result of Recovery Act funding. "We are thrilled that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has allocated sufficient funding to the Moab project to accelerate the cleanup of the site. This is great news for the community and for all who use the Colorado River and Lake Powell," said Steve Creamer, CEO and Chairman of EnergySolutions. The Recovery Act funding is being used to excavate, transport and dispose of additional mill tailings from the Moab site to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission-approved disposal cell at Crescent Junction. This additional work began in June and will continue through September 2011. Additionally, this additional funding supports increasing the size of the disposal cell as well as crushing, transporting, and placing final rock cover on the disposal cell. This portion of the work began in August and continues through September 2011. Sixteen million tons of uranium mill tailings will eventually be relocated 30 miles north of Moab to a location designated by the DOE.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has cited Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., with four violations concerning improper disposal and transfer of tritium exit signs at its stores throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. The violations, issued Oct. 28, concerned the improper transfer or disposal of 2,462 signs from Wal-Mart stores in states under NRC jurisdiction between 2000 and 2008, and the improper transfer of an additional 517 signs between various Wal-Mart facilities. The company also failed to appoint an official responsible for complying with regulatory requirements and failed to report broken or damaged signs as required. Exit signs containing tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, pose little threat to public health and safety and do not constitute a security risk. However, the NRC requires proper recordkeeping and disposal of the signs because a damaged or broken sign could cause minor radioactive contamination of the immediate vicinity, requiring environmental clean up. The improper transfer or disposal of the 2,979 signs and failure to appoint a responsible official were determined to be a Severity Level III problem under NRC's enforcement policy, and the failure to report damaged signs is a Severity Level IV violation, the lowest on the NRC's enforcement scale.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has cited Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., with four violations concerning improper disposal and transfer of tritium exit signs at its stores throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. The violations, issued Oct. 28, concerned the improper transfer or disposal of 2,462 signs from Wal-Mart stores in states under NRC jurisdiction between 2000 and 2008, and the improper transfer of an additional 517 signs between various Wal-Mart facilities. The company also failed to appoint an official responsible for complying with regulatory requirements and failed to report broken or damaged signs as required. Exit signs containing tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, pose little threat to public health and safety and do not constitute a security risk. However, the NRC requires proper recordkeeping and disposal of the signs because a damaged or broken sign could cause minor radioactive contamination of the immediate vicinity, requiring environmental clean up. The improper transfer or disposal of the 2,979 signs and failure to appoint a responsible official were determined to be a Severity Level III problem under NRC's enforcement policy, and the failure to report damaged signs is a Severity Level IV violation, the lowest on the NRC's enforcement scale.

EnergySolutions has a good thing going, a virtual monopoly on the disposal of Class A low-level radioactive waste in the United States. The company's waste disposal facility at Clive in Tooele County serves as the sole repository for low-level waste generated in 36 states. And that waste stream produces a steady stream of revenue. But, the publicly traded, profit-motivated nuclear waste disposal firm is not content. Like a Girl Scout troop with a truckload of cookies, EnergySolutions is knocking on doors in a bid for new business and higher earnings. It's determined to expand its territory, to go global, by importing radioactive waste. Over the years, the company has accepted trifling amounts of radioactive waste from our friends in Britain and Taiwan, Germany and France, Canada and Mexico, without attracting too much attention. But now, it's trying to pump up the volume and acquire a license to import 20,000 tons of low-level waste from Italy. Its international aspirations are evident. And, if the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission sets a precedent by issuing the license, nations will be lining up to sign contracts and avoid disposing of these dangerous materials in their own backyards.

EnergySolutions has a good thing going, a virtual monopoly on the disposal of Class A low-level radioactive waste in the United States. The company's waste disposal facility at Clive in Tooele County serves as the sole repository for low-level waste generated in 36 states. And that waste stream produces a steady stream of revenue. But, the publicly traded, profit-motivated nuclear waste disposal firm is not content. Like a Girl Scout troop with a truckload of cookies, EnergySolutions is knocking on doors in a bid for new business and higher earnings. It's determined to expand its territory, to go global, by importing radioactive waste. Over the years, the company has accepted trifling amounts of radioactive waste from our friends in Britain and Taiwan, Germany and France, Canada and Mexico, without attracting too much attention. But now, it's trying to pump up the volume and acquire a license to import 20,000 tons of low-level waste from Italy. Its international aspirations are evident. And, if the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission sets a precedent by issuing the license, nations will be lining up to sign contracts and avoid disposing of these dangerous materials in their own backyards.

In the context of disposal of radioactive waste, a performance assessment is a quantitative evaluation of potential releases of radioactivity from a disposal facility into the environment, and assessment of the resultant radiological doses. The term performance assessment can refer to the process, model, or collection of models used to estimate future doses to human receptors. Typically, a performance assessment is conducted to demonstrate whether a disposal facility has met its performance objectives. In general, a performance assessment considers the following factors: * Selected scenario (specific features and processes at the disposal facility and in the surrounding area, such as the location of the potential release, location and general characteristics of the receptors, and applicable transport pathways through which radionuclides might reach the environment and pose a threat to the selected receptor groups) * Performance of the cask or other engineered barrier system used to store low-level waste, limit the influx of water, and reduce the release of radionuclides * Release and migration of radionuclides through the engineered barrier system and geosphere (those deep-underground portions of the disposal facility where human contact is generally not assumed to occur) * Radiological dose(s) to the selected receptor group(s)

"High levels of radioactive cesium have been detected in incinerated ashes at waste disposal facilities in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, in apparent effects from the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, the local municipal office said Monday. At one waste disposal center in Kashiwa, up to 70,800 becquerels of radioactive cesium per kilogram were detected from ashes collected on June 24 and more than 60,000 becquerels were observed from ashes collected on July 1 and 2, the city office said. Up to 48,900 becquerels of radioactive cesium were also detected at a facility for burying the ashes from waste disposal centers in the city, while a maximum of 9,780 becquerels were observed at another waste disposal center, the office said. The figures far exceed the 8,000-becquerel per kilogram cap set by the state for waste disposal facilities to temporarily store such ashes. "

Texas environmental regulators approved a plan Wednesday to dispose of low-level radioactive waste from around the country at a remote site near the New Mexico border. Commissioners with the state's environmental agency voted 2-0 to grant two licenses that will allow Dallas-based Waste Control Specialists to dispose of waste from Texas and Vermont and from sites run by the federal government. One commissioner on the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Larry R. Soward, abstained. The license will be issued and disposal of the waste can begin after the company completes condemnation of land and obtains mineral rights at the West Texas disposal site about 370 miles from Dallas.

Gov. Rick Perry has named seven members to the Texas Low Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission, including Andrews County Judge Richard Dolgener. Andrews County is home to Waste Control Specialists, which currently stores low-level radioactive waste. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has issued a draft license to dispose of the waste and is considering a final license. "The Texas Compact Commission was created by the Texas Legislature to oversee the disposal of low-level radioactive waste was authorized under the Texas-Vermont Compact. It is critically important that the residents of Andrews County has a voice on this commission in light of the fact that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is considering granting Waste Control Specialists a final license to dispose of this waste at the company's Andrews County facility," Dolgener said in a news release.

The Town of Vian and the Cherokee Nation are asking the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to overturn a decision that re- commends approval of a commercial disposal well in the city limits. I-MAC Petroleum Services of Muskogee is seeking to construct the well for disposal of salt water that comes from the natural gas drilling process at wells in Arkansas. Greg Riepl, a geologist for I-MAC, said that Arkansas doesn't have a lot of underground rock formations that are conducive for water disposal. "Arkansas put a moratorium (on salt water injection wells) until they can gin up some regulations," because some of the gas companies were not following the existing rules, Riepl said. Ideal sites for injecting salt water are thick formations that are porous and permeable so that fluids can move through them, Riepl said.

The Town of Vian and the Cherokee Nation are asking the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to overturn a decision that re- commends approval of a commercial disposal well in the city limits. I-MAC Petroleum Services of Muskogee is seeking to construct the well for disposal of salt water that comes from the natural gas drilling process at wells in Arkansas. Greg Riepl, a geologist for I-MAC, said that Arkansas doesn't have a lot of underground rock formations that are conducive for water disposal. "Arkansas put a moratorium (on salt water injection wells) until they can gin up some regulations," because some of the gas companies were not following the existing rules, Riepl said. Ideal sites for injecting salt water are thick formations that are porous and permeable so that fluids can move through them, Riepl said.

The Energy Department's Carlsbad Field Office has reached an agreement to sell salt from the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad, N.M., to a Hereford company that will use it as a livestock feed supplement. In 2008, Washington TRU Solutions issued a request for interest in salt tailings that have accumulated on the surface at the WIPP site since mining began in the 1970s. Through the years, uncontaminated salt has been mined from the WIPP Plant, which stores radioactive waste in rooms mined from ancient salt formations 2,150 feet below the surface, according to information from the Department of Energy. WIPP, which began waste-disposal operations in 1999, is 26 miles outside Carlsbad. Hereford-based Magnum Minerals, which is owned and operated by Tim and Keith Ann Gearn and sons Jason and Dustin Gearn, specializes in providing minerals for the livestock industry. DOE officials said the project will save taxpayers money and benefit private industry. The salt tailings normally would be disposed of in a landfill. Magnum Minerals will pay the government about $600,00 for the contract, which could have cost the government $4.5 million in disposal costs, said Tim Gearn, president of Magnum Minerals.

The Energy Department's Carlsbad Field Office has reached an agreement to sell salt from the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad, N.M., to a Hereford company that will use it as a livestock feed supplement. In 2008, Washington TRU Solutions issued a request for interest in salt tailings that have accumulated on the surface at the WIPP site since mining began in the 1970s. Through the years, uncontaminated salt has been mined from the WIPP Plant, which stores radioactive waste in rooms mined from ancient salt formations 2,150 feet below the surface, according to information from the Department of Energy. WIPP, which began waste-disposal operations in 1999, is 26 miles outside Carlsbad. Hereford-based Magnum Minerals, which is owned and operated by Tim and Keith Ann Gearn and sons Jason and Dustin Gearn, specializes in providing minerals for the livestock industry. DOE officials said the project will save taxpayers money and benefit private industry. The salt tailings normally would be disposed of in a landfill. Magnum Minerals will pay the government about $600,00 for the contract, which could have cost the government $4.5 million in disposal costs, said Tim Gearn, president of Magnum Minerals.

EnergySolutions Inc. has started airing commercials critical of a U.S. congressman who wants to prevent the company from importing Italian nuclear waste for disposal in Utah's west desert. The company is fighting a bill in Congress sponsored by U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, that would ban the importation of foreign low-level radioactive waste unless it originated in the U.S. or served a strategic national purpose. EnergySolutions contends jobs will be put at risk if it isn't allowed to dispose of the waste at its facility, about miles west of Salt Lake City. Meanwhile, Matheson said that any country that creates nuclear waste should dispose of it itself.

EnergySolutions Inc. has started airing commercials critical of a U.S. congressman who wants to prevent the company from importing Italian nuclear waste for disposal in Utah's west desert. The company is fighting a bill in Congress sponsored by U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, that would ban the importation of foreign low-level radioactive waste unless it originated in the U.S. or served a strategic national purpose. EnergySolutions contends jobs will be put at risk if it isn't allowed to dispose of the waste at its facility, about miles west of Salt Lake City. Meanwhile, Matheson said that any country that creates nuclear waste should dispose of it itself.

It's not really a question whether Utah will be the disposal site for three trainloads of depleted uranium from a government atomic-weapons complex cleanup in South Carolina. It's a matter of how soon. Under an agreement Gov. Gary Herbert reached two weeks ago with the U.S. Energy Department, the answer appears to be about six weeks -- much sooner than the state Radiation Control Board expects to complete its review of safety issues surrounding depleted uranium. After spending most of 2009 looking at DU, the board anticipates it will be at least another year before it is ready to say what engineering standards are needed to minimize the long-term hazard posed by DU disposal at the EnergySolutions site, located about 80 miles west of Salt Lake City. But under the governor's oral agreement with the Department of Energy, state regulators have until mid-February to develop science-based conditions for burying the Savannah River cleanup waste at the EnergySolutions Inc. disposal site in Tooele County.

It's not really a question whether Utah will be the disposal site for three trainloads of depleted uranium from a government atomic-weapons complex cleanup in South Carolina. It's a matter of how soon. Under an agreement Gov. Gary Herbert reached two weeks ago with the U.S. Energy Department, the answer appears to be about six weeks -- much sooner than the state Radiation Control Board expects to complete its review of safety issues surrounding depleted uranium. After spending most of 2009 looking at DU, the board anticipates it will be at least another year before it is ready to say what engineering standards are needed to minimize the long-term hazard posed by DU disposal at the EnergySolutions site, located about 80 miles west of Salt Lake City. But under the governor's oral agreement with the Department of Energy, state regulators have until mid-February to develop science-based conditions for burying the Savannah River cleanup waste at the EnergySolutions Inc. disposal site in Tooele County.

A spokeswoman for Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson of Utah says the Department of Energy has decided it will begin shipping thousands of drums of low-level radioactive waste from South Carolina for disposal in Utah. Alyson Heyrend says the department informed Matheson's office of its decision Thursday. Matheson had asked the agency to halt shipments of depleted uranium from the Savannah River Site until the Nuclear Regulatory Commission finalizes rules for how the material should be disposed of. Depleted uranium is different from other low-level radioactive waste disposed of in Utah because it becomes more radioactive over time. The regulatory commission isn't expected to finalize its rules until 2012 at the earliest.

A spokeswoman for Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson of Utah says the Department of Energy has decided it will begin shipping thousands of drums of low-level radioactive waste from South Carolina for disposal in Utah. Alyson Heyrend says the department informed Matheson's office of its decision Thursday. Matheson had asked the agency to halt shipments of depleted uranium from the Savannah River Site until the Nuclear Regulatory Commission finalizes rules for how the material should be disposed of. Depleted uranium is different from other low-level radioactive waste disposed of in Utah because it becomes more radioactive over time. The regulatory commission isn't expected to finalize its rules until 2012 at the earliest.

"Russia's nuclear chief Sergei Kiriyenko has estimated the country's program on the disposal of weapons-grade plutonium at between $2.5 billion and $3 billion. At the nuclear summit in Washington on April 12-13, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed the Plutonium Disposition Protocol, which stipulates that Russia and the United States would each dispose of 34 metric tons of excess weapons-grade plutonium. "The final cost of the [disposal] program will become known only when it is completed...We estimate it at between $2.5 billion and $3 billion," Kiriyenko said, adding that the United States will contribute $400 million to the Russian program. Kiriyenko, who heads the Russian state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, said the protocol meets Russia's interests as it retains the goals of a framework agreement on disposing plutonium, which was signed in 2000."