christic@labrea.Stanford.EDU (06/12/91)
/* Written 12:21 am Jun 11, 1991 by gn:nenig in cdp:pn.alerts */ /* ---------- "New US Nuclear Shipments" ---------- */ The US Department of Energy wants to allow 481 shipments of Highly-Enriched Uranium spent fuel into the US - and there's only a few days left to object. --------------- On 23rd May 1991 the US Department of Energy published a proposed Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) following an Environmental Assessment(EA) on importing up to 481 shipments (over 10 years) of Highly-Enriched Uranium spent fuel from research reactors worldwide and transporting similar fuel from US research reactors. The spent fuel would be shipped to both east and west coast ports and transported by truck to either Savannah River Site or INEL Idaho. The Environmental Assessment, surprise, surprise, finds that importing and transporting HEU fuel will have no significant impact - hence the proposed FONSI. This will effectively renew the reprocessing/plutonium production business the US stopped in 1988. There is only 30 (THIRTY) DAYS FROM 23rd MAY to comment/object to the FONSI after which the DOE "will make its final determination". The proposed FONSI was in Federal Register/Vol 56, No 100, Thursday May 23. Copies from, and enquiries to: Ms Lynne Wade DP-143 U.S. Department of Energy 19901 Germantown Road Germantown, Maryland, 20874 Tel: (301) 353 5193/6828 In 1988 the US imposed a moratorium on importing HEU spent fuel from research reactors, pending the EA just published, after court action. This left many research reactors with storage problems - just when the Dounreay reprocessing plant in Caithness, northern Scotland, (the UK's second and smaller repro plant after the notorious Sellafield) was desperate for business after Government cutbacks. Dounreay has been marketing itself worldwide to at least 50 operators to take over the former US HEU trade - INCLUDING supplying new HEU fuel - and has signed contracts with two Germany reactor operators. First shipment was stopped when dockers at Rotterdam refused to load the spent fuel into an ordinary cargo vessel, not a Purpose-Built Vessel designed for nuke shipments. There has been considerable campaigning on the HEU shipments, particularly from Scotland and Scandinavia and the European Parliament last year called for the shipments to stop. --------------------------------------------------------- * NENIG, the Northern European Nuclear Information Group, works on reprocessing, radioactive waste and the transportation of radioactive materials. We have two staff and work mainly with Scandinavian governments, MPs, and fishing, trades union and environmental organisations. NENIG, Bain's Beach, Commercial Street, Lerwick, Shetland, UK, ZE1 OAN. Telephone: +44 (0)595 4099. Fax: +44 (0)595 4082. Greennet: nenig