Below are articles and other news published since the last West Valley Citizen Task Force Meeting. They relate to the West Valley Demonstration Project, nuclear waste cleanup or are otherwise relevant or of potential interest to stakeholders interested in the Project. After each Citizen Task Force Meeting, these articles are compiled into a single document and may be found with the meeting materials for that month.
December 9, 2020 – Discussions concerning the small modular nuclear reactors got me thinking about why France has progressed so much farther than the U.S. in producing electricity from nuclear power. Seventy percent of its electricity is from nuclear. It doesn’t take long to figure out why. Link to article
December 1, 2020 – On November 29, 2020, 56 local, regional and national environmental, public health and safe energy organizations blasted proposed House Bill 104, the “Advanced Nuclear Technology Helping Energize Mankind Act” (“ANTHEM Act”) pending in the Ohio General Assembly.
Calling the proposal a “radioactive taxpayer giveaway,” the groups, representing hundreds of thousands of people, filed written testimony for a December 1 Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee hearing along with a one-page overview with 10 reasons to oppose HB 104. Link to article
November 26, 2020 – As part of the federal budget, efforts of the local Department of Energy Environmental Management Team and leaders in the Town of Ashford, the receipt of funding for specific projects in the Town of Ashford was announced. The projects need to be related to the presence of the West Valley Demonstration Project, and tied to needs of the town as a result of that presence. After much consideration by the town board, funding was approved by the Department of Energy for the following projects Link to article
November 21, 2020 – The Department of Energy and its cleanup contractor CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley, LLC (CHBWV) recently conducted underwater cleaning and inspection of the site’s fire water storage tank at the West Valley Demonstration Project. The 40-foot tall tank has a capacity of more than 460,000 gallons of water as an emergency supply
for fire suppression.
Trained divers also performed repair work, which is being done in accordance with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) requirements. These repairs will increase the life expectancy and viability of the tank for several years, at which time the tank will no longer be needed and will be demolished. Link to article
November 19, 2020 – With many people in the local community in need of food this holiday season, the workforce at the West Valley Demonstration Project did their part to help the families this winter. The WVDP hosted its annual food drive, donating food to nine food pantries across the area.
During this year’s food drive, food donations were given to the WVDP’s home pantry, the West Valley Food Pantry, along with food pantries in Little Valley, Ellicottville, Cattaraugus, Dayton, Delevan, Franklinville, Concord and Springville. With the food donations, monetary donations and inkind donations the pantries received because of the food drive, WVDP Facility Manager and Food Drive Coordinator Lettie Chilson said it was equivalent to 120,000 pounds of food donated this year. Link to article
