WEST VALLEY REPORT RELEASED

"The Real Costs of Cleaning up Nuclear Waste: 

A Full Cost Accounting of Clean Up Options for the West Valley Nuclear Waste Site"

Press Release

Economists and scientists released a first-ever study today on the long-term cleanup costs for the West Valley nuclear waste site, located 30 miles south of Buffalo, NY. The Real Costs of Cleaning Up Nuclear Waste: A Full Cost Accounting of Cleanup Options for the West Valley Nuclear Waste Site, investigated the costs of digging up radioactive waste versus leaving waste buried onsite for the first 1,000 years. (The wastes will be dangerously radioactive for tens of thousands of years). The study revealed leaving buried waste at the site is both high risk and expensive while a waste excavation cleanup presents the least risk to a large population and the lowest cost.

Read Statement from Barbara Warren, Executive Director of Citizens’ Environmental Coalition at National Press Teleconference 12/2/08

Download

Full Report                    Fact Sheet 1: Summary of Report Findings

Appendix A                    Fact Sheet 2: History of West Valley

Appendix B                   Fact Sheet 3: Severe Erosion Problems at West Valley

Appendix C                   Fact Sheet 4: Drinking Water Costs and Public Health Impacts

                                        Fact Sheet 5: Valuing the Future: The Viability of Institutional Controls

                                        Fact Sheet 6: List of Proposed Nuclear Reprocessing Facilities

West Valley

Advocating Safe Radioactive Waste Cleanups

CEC is working with a coalition of groups to advocate for the permanent cleanup of the West Valley federal nuclear waste site, located approximately 30 miles south of Buffalo.  Our partner groups include the local Coalition on West Valley Nuclear Wastes (CWVNW), Center for Health, Environment & Justice (CHEJ), and the Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS).

CEC and its partner groups were successful in obtaining funds from the NYS Legislature to conduct an independent economic and environmental study on the site, thanks to the sponsorship of Senator Catharine Young (R-Olean). CEC coordinates this innovative Full Cost Accounting study which is being conducted by economists and scientific experts from Tufts University, Synapse Energy Economics and SUNY Fredonia.

The Full Cost Accounting Study will investigate the costs of excavating and storing radioactive waste vs. monitoring leaking, buried waste which is hazardous for over tens of thousand years. The study can positively impact the Department of Energy's final cleanup decision making process which is starting later this year. CEC and our partner groups will release the study on December 2, 2008.

For information on West Valley Go To>

A key goal of our campaign is to obtain a full and permanent cleanup of the West Valley site to protect drinking water and the Great Lakes Basin area of Western New York.

Join the West Valley Action Network and show your support for a full cleanup.

For more information, contact CEC Executive Director Barbara Warren at 518-462-5527 X13 or warrenba@msn.com

Coalition on West Valley Nuclear Waste & Nuclear Information & Resource Service Mission Statement:

In the 1960's, Nuclear Fuel Services began dumping radioactive waste and reprocessing nuclear fuel in West Valley, New York, a small farming community 50 miles south of Buffalo. Following personal accounts of accidents, mishandling of high-level wastes and bad planning, the Coalition on West Valley Nuclear Waste was formed as a citizen's watchdog group. Thirty years and numerous radioactive leaks later, the Coalition is still demanding the long-term safety of the site.


West Valley Coalition History and Accomplishments:

    The formation of the CWVNW began in the 1960's, when then commercial reprocessing corporation, Nuclear Fuel Services, began dumping radioactive waste and reprocessing nuclear fuel in West Valley, New York, a small farming community 50 miles south of Buffalo. Following personal accounts of accidents, mishandling of high-level wastes and bad planning, the CWVNW was formed as a citizen's watchdog group. Thirty years and numerous radioactive leaks later, the group is still demanding the long-term safety of the site through waste exhumation and above ground storage. The CWVNW took legal action against the Department of Energy (DOE), which resulted in a requirement, that DOE provide ongoing technical information on cleanup plans and involve the public in waste management decisions at the site.   CWVNW is the on-the-ground grassroots organization watch-dogging activities affecting the site, doing public education and building momentum for a full exhumation and cleanup.

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Links to news articles and more infromation:
Coalition on West Valley Nuclear Wastes
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
Center for Health, Environment and Justice
West Valley coalition not thrilled over federal ownership