December 19, 2020 – One of the most radioactive buildings in the United States is slated for open-air demolition 35 miles southeast, upwind and upstream of Buffalo and the Seneca Nation Cattaraugus Territory.
The U.S. Department of Energy plans to demolish the above-ground part of the Main Plant Process Building at the West Valley nuclear site this spring. The building, between 1966 and 1972, housed Nuclear Fuel Services’ chemical extraction of plutonium and uranium from intensely radioactive nuclear power and weapons fuel, leaving behind immense amounts of radioactivity. Some ended up on and in the walls, floors and ceilings inside the building.
The question is: Can the demolition be done without spreading radioactivity throughout Western and Central New York, Canada, the Seneca Nation and communities downwind and downstream? Link to article
