DOE HOLDS OFF ON SALE OF SOME RADIOACTIVE NICKEL; BUT THOUSANDS OF TONS OF CONTAMINATED METAL STILL CAN ENTER CONSUMER MARKETPLACE

In the face of widespread protest and Congressional inquiries, Department of Energy Secretary Bill Richardson January 13 announced that the DOE will hold off on the sale—and subsequent recycling--of some 6,000 tons of radioactive nickel from the decommissioning of the Oak Ridge uranium enrichment plant.

But the DOE’s announcement still allows the sale and recycling of some 120,000 tons of contaminated metals from Oak Ridge.

The difference is that the 6,000 tons of nickel are volumetrically contaminated—meaning that the radioactive contamination is spread throughout the material—while the other metals are surface-contaminated, meaning that the radiation is only on the surface of the metals.

While it is considered easier to decontaminate surface-contaminated metals, it is virtually impossible to clean them entirely; some residual radiation inevitably will remain.

The DOE declined even to permanently ban the recycling of the volumetrically-contaminated nickel, saying only that it would wait to receive NRC standards on unrestricted release of contaminated materials.

The DOE already has released at least 1,300 tons of "grit-blasted" radioactive steel and copper from Oak Ridge to various facilities, despite opposition from the metals industry, which has a "zero tolerance" policy against contaminated metals.

NIRS, the Natural Resources Defense Council, two Tennessee groups and the atomic workers’ unions last year sued to stop any release of contaminated materials from Oak Ridge, which is being done by British Nuclear Fuels under a contract with DOE. While agreeing with NIRS that the decontamination process is experimental and poses unknown public health risks, the judge ruled, under a technicality, that she could not stop the process.

Meanwhile, the NRC’s proposed rulemaking for unrestricted release of radioactive materials suffered a setback when it was revealed that the agency had hired Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) to provide "technical assistance support for clearance of materials and equipment." According to a January 5, 2000 letter from Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) to the NRC, SAIC had participated in DOE’s contract with BNFL for the metals "recycling" work at Oak Ridge, had joined with BNFL to obtain similar contracts for Hanford, WA and in Idaho, had provided assistance to the NRC in a 1995 effort to promote radioactive recycling, and as far back as 1979 had promoted radioactive materials in consumer products for the NRC. The NRC did not find SAIC to be in conflict of interest until December 1999, when it was forced to issue a "stop work" order to SAIC.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Write to NRC Chairman Richard Meserve (U.S. NRC, Washington, DC 20555) and demand that NO contaminated materials ever enter the consumer marketplace. Send copies of your letter to your Senators and Representative (U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510; U.S. House, Washington, DC 20515).

Write Energy Secretary Bill Richardson and demand that he act to prevent ANY contaminated material from entering the consumer marketplace (U.S. Dept. of Energy, Washington, DC 20585). Again, send copies of your letter to your Senators and Representative, and to the White House (Washington, DC 20500).

Get copies of NIRS petition against radioactive materials in the marketplace, ask people to sign them, explain the issue, build public awareness.