-- Statement: It was stated that our company was trying to import "20
million tons of Class A, B and C low-level waste from Italy."
Response: We have a pending import license application with the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) to import up to 20,000 tons of material from
Italy. Waste is not classified until it is packaged for disposal.
Therefore it is inaccurate to say that Class A, B and C waste would be
imported. Only waste that meets the acceptance criteria of Bear Creek or
Clive will be imported. We do not take, nor would we take, Class B or C
waste at Clive.
-- Statement: Anything that has to be stored at a site with a "big fence
and lots of dogs" is not where you want your kids to play.
Response: Our disposal facility at Clive is a highly regulated facility
that does not pose a threat to human health and the environment. This type
of facility is not guarded by dogs or a fence. Tours are given each day to
Utah citizens, school children, professors and others.
-- Statement: "This bill affects Tennessee directly... One can only
wonder what the effects would be if there was an environmental spill like
the recent TVA disaster, but this time involving radioactive materials."
Response: The ash spill accident in Tennessee, and the recycling,
processing, transportation and disposal of low-level waste, whether it be
domestic or international, are not related. The attempt to tie the two
together is to play on the fears and emotions of the public. The dangerous
rhetoric that was thrown about in the press conference could have a
negative impact on the progress of the nuclear renaissance. The nuclear
industry is one of the highest regulated and safest industries in the
country.
-- Statement: "We are dealing with materials that people imagine are
glowing, but may have just been worn by a technician doing radiation
treatments... The perception about it is far greater than reality, but
we're in politics and perception is reality."
Response: It is troubling that attacks are made on a company that operates
in a safe and compliant manner pursuant to State issued licenses based on
perception, rather than fact and reality. Our company employs over 5,500
dedicated professionals in the United States and abroad and provides a
vital service to the nuclear industry.
As stated by the Nuclear Regulator Commission and the States of Tennessee
and Utah, there is no health or safety impact to any Utahan, Tennessean, or
any other citizen or the environment from the recycling, processing,
transportation or disposing of this material. This material is the same
type of material that is processed in Tennessee and disposed at Clive from
the domestic nuclear industry.
EnergySolutions, a world leader in the safe recycling, processing and
disposal of low-level radioactive waste, recycles and processes material at
its state-of-the-art facilities in Oak Ridge, Tennessee and disposes of the
residual Class A waste at its disposal site in Clive, Utah. Over 56,000
tons of metals have been recycled at the company's metal melt facility in
Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The facility, which is regulated by the State of
Tennessee, produces shield blocks from the recycled metals for reuse at
nuclear and accelerator facilities throughout the world.
The company's low-level waste landfill, which has been in operation since
1988 and is regulated by the State of Utah, has enough capacity to dispose
of all of the Class A waste from the 104 nuclear plants in the United
States, from both on-going operations and the ultimate decommissioning of
these plants, and still have approximately 50 million cubic feet of
capacity remaining. The facility has enough disposal capacity for the
existing U.S. nuclear plants, new plants as well as a small amount of
internationally generated material. EnergySolutions has committed to only
using at most 5 percent of Clive's remaining capacity for international
waste. The use of this space creates opportunities for EnergySolutions and
other American companies to play a role in the resurgence of nuclear power
around the globe. These opportunities could create an atmosphere where
additional jobs were created in the United States.
EnergySolutions offers customers a full range of integrated services and
solutions, including nuclear operations, characterization, decommissioning,
decontamination, site closure, transportation, nuclear materials
management, processing, recycling, and disposition of nuclear waste, and
research and engineering services across the nuclear fuel cycle.
Statements in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that
involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements provide
current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and
include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or
current fact. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future
performance and the Company's actual results may differ significantly from
the results discussed in the forward-looking statements.
Contact Information: For more information please contact: Mark Walker 801-649-2194