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.
October 29, 2019 – Workers recently tore down a former waste storage structure, bringing EM’s total number of buildings removed at the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) Site to date to 65.
EM WVDP Director Bryan Bower commended crews from cleanup contractor CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley (CHBWV) for demolishing the structure safely.
“The CHBWV team continues to make great progress in completing the demolition of on-site structures as part of our cleanup efforts,” Bower said. Link to Update
Regarding the letter by K. Neutron, San Diego (“Nuclear waste can be dealt with safely,” Oct. 19):
Nuclear advocates always seem to come up with grand ideas to “solve” the high-level nuclear waste problem but they always result in making more waste. Originally there was no waste problem because the waste would be reprocessed and used again in breeder reactors. The only reprocessing facility was West Valley in upstate New York and it shuttered after only five years because it contaminated the land and water around it. It remains a Superfund site to this day. Without reprocessing, nuclear fuel will remain in fuel pools and dry storage at reactor sites all over the country. Link to Letter
October 24, 2019 – STATE OF NEW YORK NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION Division of Materials Management 625 Broadway, Albany, New York 12233‐7256 Phone: (518) 402‐8651 Fax: (518) 402‐9024 EPA ID No. NYD980779540 PUBLIC NOTICE OF CLOSURE PLAN
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) as operator of the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP)has notified the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (Department) of its intention to commence final closure of the LAG Storage Addition #2 (LSA #2) Hardstand at the WVDP facility in West Valley, NY 14171‐9799. Link to Notice
October 24, 2019 – NYSDEC, EPA ID No. NYD980779540 PUBLIC NOTICE OF CLOSURE PLAN The United States Department of Energy (DOE) as operator of the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) has notified the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (Department) of its intention to commence final closure of the LAG Storage Addition #2 (LSA #2) Hardstand at the WVDP facility in West Valley, NY 14171-9799. Link to Notice
October 22, 2019 – Workers helped safeguard the environment at EM’s West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) Site by safely installing interlocking concrete blocks to prevent soil erosion at an inactive disposal area closed years ago.
Known as protective armoring, the blocks were placed on a slope along the north side of the disposal area as well as a drainage channel.
“This work will continue to protect the integrity of the disposal area, and prevent any potential harm to the environment from weather-related damage,” EM WVDP Director Bryan Bower said. Link to Update
