Letter: Lawmakers and industrialists would make southeast Ohio "Nuclear Waste USA"

In light of recent news, legislators are now teaming up with private-interest groups to turn southeast Ohio into what may be the nation's next "Nuclear Waste U.S.A." The Southern Ohio Nuclear Integration Committee, better known as SONIC, in hand with Gov. Strickland, several state legislators and the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (a proposal by the Bush administration to jumpstart the nation's nuclear industry), are proposing to designate Pike County, Ohio as a "temporary" repository for all high-level nuclear waste in the country, including nuclear waste from abroad. The local atomic plant there would act as a storage facility where spent nuclear fuel rods could be "recycled" and put back into use in plants across the country.

To the Editor:
In light of recent news, legislators are now teaming up with private-interest groups to turn southeast Ohio into what may be the nation's next "Nuclear Waste U.S.A." The Southern Ohio Nuclear Integration Committee, better known as SONIC, in hand with Gov. Strickland, several state legislators and the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (a proposal by the Bush administration to jumpstart the nation's nuclear industry), are proposing to designate Pike County, Ohio as a "temporary" repository for all high-level nuclear waste in the country, including nuclear waste from abroad. The local atomic plant there would act as a storage facility where spent nuclear fuel rods could be "recycled" and put back into use in plants across the country.

The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, as it is formerly known, has had a long history of enriching uranium. It also has a long history of slip-shod safety practices, accidental toxic releases, and routine mishandling of chemical and radioactive material, according to various sources (see Dayton Daily News article "Piketon: A Troubled Past"). Operators of the government-owned plant have been known to spray PCBs and uranium-contaminated oils onto nearby roads, bury hazardous waste in unlined landfills, pour toxins into waterways, allow radioactive incinerator ash to scatter in the wind, and even till radioactive material into the soil. Today, the Piketon plant stands as one of the most contaminated sites in the country.

The risks posed to the region, and state as a whole, are great. To date, 38 workers have been diagnosed with chronic beryllium disease, countless others have developed mysterious cases of cancer, and tons of toxic waste has been released into the environment - all without a solid plan of remediation. Many Ohioans will be put at risk from the proposal, considering that spent fuel rods from all parts of the country will be traveling through our transportation systems, putting many of us at risk of accidental radiation releases while the wastes are en route. And that's just the beginning.
With these considerations at hand, one may begin to wonder if the state government really has the interests of the people in mind.

Tonight at 7, a panel discussion and open forum will be held at Athens City Hall to discuss these issues. Topics will include details of the project proposal, the history of the Piketon facility, how nuclear waste is "recycled," and some of the moral implications surrounding nuclear issues. It is free and open to the public. All who are concerned and want to voice an opinion, or just want to learn more, are encouraged to attend.
Speakers will include representatives from organizations such as Ohioans for Health, Environment and Justice, and the Southern Ohio Neighbors Group (a coalition of community members from Pike County who oppose the project). Spokespersons in favor of the SONIC proposal have also been invited to attend. For more information, please call 592-2608.

Drew Pierson, OU senior
Athens

Editor's note: Piketon is one of 11 sites across the country being considered for a nuclear-waste recycling facility. While critics charge that the actual intent of the project is to place a nuclear-waste storage facility at the Piketon facility, partners in the project deny this is the case. Gov. Strickland and congressional supporters of the project say their backing is contingent on the site not being used as a radioactive dump site. Critics suspect that this must be the intent of the project's partners, however, since they must know that Piketon won't qualify for the nuclear recycling facility. In any case, the critics doubt whether working technology for recycling spent nuclear fuel rods actually exists. TS