Radio Active Waste To Be Moved Near Boise

In general Boise and Idaho have always been a place to get away from all the big city issues. One of those issues is pollution, we love our fresh air and clean water. Most people love the thought that up here in our corner of the world we're isolated from all that "junk" if you will. Apparently times are changing and just like the Californian's, Arizonian's and Texans, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has discovered Idaho.

According to a ktvb report: "The Nuclear Regulatory in a notice published Friday signed off on sending the material from Westinghouse Electric Company's Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina to US Ecology Idaho's waste storage facility near Grandview, about 60 miles south of Boise."

I'm not sure about you but 60 miles south of Boise seems really close to home. Don't get me wrong US Ecology should be equipped to handle this radio active waste but nevertheless do we want that stuff that close to home, our water supply and our kids?

Here are some important things to note from the ktvb report:

"In all, the waste includes an estimated 5,200 cubic yards of sludge and debris generated from uranium recovery and is contaminated with low enriched uranium."

"The amount of sludge would fill about 430 dump trucks. The sludge would be mixed with cement and sent to Idaho by truck and rail car."

The waste also will include about 525 obsolete steel cylinders used to transport nuclear fuel. The cylinders would be compacted."

How safe is this? What kind of impact can this have on our state? We know that the "Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the waste transfer following an environmental study." What exactly does this mean ? In my opinion it means we should do more research especially because according to the ktvb report " the commission has not licensed the company's waste storage facility, so the federal agency signed off on an exemption to allow US Ecology to take the material."

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