Report Debunks Myth of Texas Nuclear Waste Crisis

AUSTIN¾ A new report finds there is no crisis in the storage of low-level radioactive waste in Texas. Far from it, there are actually very few sites where any appreciable amount of low-level waste is found, other than at Texas' two nuclear power plants, and current storage methods are more environmentally sound than proposals to bury the waste in unlined earthen trenches in West Texas.

"The supposed nuclear waste storage crisis in Texas has a lot in common with Y2K," said Erin Rogers of the Lone Star Chapter. "The situation has been over-hyped by interests that stand to make a lot of money by whipping up public hysteria. There is no nuclear waste storage crisis in Texas."

The report will be presented by Rogers to the House Environmental Regulation Committee at a hearing on Monday, April 29. Numerous advocates of creating a for-profit radioactive waste dump in West Texas will also testify. It is expected that many of these waste dump proponents will argue that Texas is bursting at the seams with radioactive waste, and that the waste could be exploited by terrorists.

During debates on radioactive waste disposal in the 2001 session of the Texas legislature, proponents of a for-profit dump often stated that there are 1200 sites in Texas that generate or store radioactive waste. This figure was reported in news articles, and has even been posted on the Texas Senate's web page. The Sierra Club's report, Mountain or Molehill?, found there are only 53 sites, or 4.4 percent of the figure often claimed by dump advocates, that generate or store low-level radioactive waste in Texas.

"Our top priority for nuclear security in Texas should be shutting down our two nuclear power plants, which are highly vulnerable to terrorist attacks," said Rogers. "Ninety-six percent of the radioactive waste produced in Texas comes from the two nuclear power plants. The most effective way to counter the risk from terrorists is to shut those plants down and secure the radioactive waste on-site. The very small amount of waste produced elsewhere should also be stored at a nuclear power plant site."

Other findings of the report include:

· Medical waste constitutes just 1.4 percent of the annual waste generated in Texas;

· Industrial, medical and academic sources in Texas combined account for just 3.9 percent of the annual low-level radioactive waste generated (4067.49 cubic feet of waste);

· In total, the annual waste generated in Texas would fit into a storage unit the size of a typical garage (18' x 25' x 10');

· Most of this waste decays very quickly and is eventually safe for disposal in ordinary landfills;

· 96.1 percent of all the radioactive waste generated in Texas is produced by the South Texas Nuclear Project and Comanche Peak nuclear power plant;

Click here to view a PDF of the report.