When the federal government suggested that the easiest way to take care of tons of radioactive material at a long-closed Long Island nuclear reactor was to just leave it there and let it decay over time - the next 87,000 years - critics blanched.
So now, the Department of Energy, which owns the reactor and the research facility where it is situated, the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, is drafting a recommendation to remove and dispose of the material, a project that could take about four years and cost $97 million.
"We think it's the right thing to do," said Frank J. Crescenzo, deputy site manager for the Department of Energy.
Once the proposal is issued, the public will be invited to comment, and then a decision will be made, he said.
And the critics, who include environmentalists, elected officials and civic groups, are cheering.
"It came as somewhat of a surprise, and everybody was very pleased," said Thomas Talbot, who heard the announcement Thursday night at a meeting of the laboratory's Citizens Advisory Committee.
He represents the Longwood Alliance, a group of residents and businesses.
Richard Amper, executive director of the Pine Barrens Society, an environmental group, said, "Time they got it right."
But he cautioned that the cleanup "is not a done deal" until approved and financed by Congress. Even then, the work will take four or five years, he said, "but 5 years looks good next to 87,000."
A chorus of elected officials also praised the plan. "Local families will not have to wait 87,000 years wondering about the safety of their drinking water," said United States Representative Timothy Bishop, who represents parts of Suffolk County.
Joining in support were three fellow Democrats: Senators Charles E. Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Steve Levy, the Suffolk County executive.
The reactor, the nation's first graphite research reactor, operated throughout the 1950's and 1960's until it was eclipsed by newer reactors, closing in 1969.
It had operating problems and leaked radioactive material into the soil and groundwater on the southeastern part of the sprawling 5,300-acre laboratory campus.
The laboratory has already excavated contaminated soil around the building and shipped out contaminated fuel, cooling fans and a leaking underground sump.
Remaining inside is a radioactive cube, 25 feet on each side, made up of 75 layers of graphite blocks, each 4 inches high and 4 inches wide, of varying lengths.
To shield against the radiation, that cube was covered by a huge box, 55 feet by 37 feet and 33 feet high, with a 6-inch inner layer of steel, a 51-inch layer of high-density concrete and an outer 3-inch steel plate. Eventually, the shield absorbed some radioactivity.
A risk assessment concluded last year that one option was to simply leave the graphite and shield in place, maintain the building to prevent air and water contamination, and let the radioactivity gradually dissipate.
Mr. Crescenzo said, "You could essentially leave it there indefinitely, and it would pose no danger to humans or anything else."
But Mr. Talbot said: "That's absolutely bizarre, totally irresponsible to even consider that. We would have created a nuclear waste facility on Long Island."
In the next stage of review, federal officials went beyond the risk assessment to consider factors like cost and public acceptability.
Under the expected cleanup plan, the graphite and shield would be dismantled and shipped out of state to a regulated disposal site.
Former fuel canals and additional contaminated soil would also be removed. The building would remain for reuse.
Another cleanup project at the laboratory is also proceeding. Mr. Crescenzo said that work would soon begin on excavating, disposing of and replacing a layer of silt from the bed of the Peconic River on the laboratory grounds that is contaminated with mercury, PCB's and cesium 137. A second stage will do a similar cleanup on stretches of the river beyond the laboratory property.
source: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?tntget=2004/04/10/nyregion/10brookhaven.html&tntemail0=&pagewanted=print&position= 9apr04
|
To
send us your comments, questions, and suggestions click
here |