NRC Extends Comments on Foreign Nuclear Waste Dumping

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has extended the public comment period on a proposal that would allow foreign radioactive waste into the United States.

A company called Energy Solutions wants to import 20,000 tons of waste from decommissioned nuclear power plants in Italy. The material would be processed in Tennessee at Oak Ridge then hauled to the company’s landfill in Utah.

Tennessee Congressman Bart Gordon, who opposes the proposal, says the NRC has already received 400 comments. The public comment period was scheduled to close this month, but has been extended through June 10th.

Read EnergySolutions proposal to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

A release from Congressman Gordon’s office directs those wishing to comment on the proposal to [email protected] or by mail: Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC, 20555, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications. The correspondence should reference “EnergySolutions Import License Application IW023”.

Related Story: Gordon Moves to Ban Foreign Nuclear Waste