Update from West Valley

It is shaping up to be a crucial year for the effort to clean up the West Valley nuclear waste site.  The Radioactive Waste Cleanup Campaign—a collaborative between CEC, the Coalition on West Valley Nuclear Waste (CWVNW), Nuclear Information and Research Service (NIRS), and the Center for Health, Environment and Justice (CHEJ)—will use the results of our Full-Cost Accounting (FCA) study to build strong public and political support for a safe cleanup method involving the exhumation and above ground storage of the waste.

The release of the long-awaited Department of Energy draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), originally slated for early 2007, has been pushed back until later this year.  The Radioactive Waste Campaign, however, has recently been granted access to the draft EIS under the Freedom of Information Law.  At the same time, our consultants are preparing the FCA study, a precautionary economic approach that comprehensively assesses all the costs of different cleanup options. This is a key part of our strategic campaign for a safe, permanent cleanup at West Valley, as the FCA study will provide critically important economic and environmental information on the various remedial options.

Armed with a comprehensive independent assessment of the site cleanup options, and presented with the opportunity to comment on the Department of Energy’s upcoming draft EIS, the campaign sees this as a perfect time to activate the public.  To that end, we have reinvigorated the West Valley Action Network—a coalition of organizations in support of a responsible and safe cleanup of the West Valley site—and expanded our media outreach efforts.  It is crucial to have such a broad support-base as we approach the decision-making period for the final cleanup of the West Valley site.

 
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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