Pocatello Idaho State Journal: Critics question DOE honesty on plutonium project at INL
Pocatello Idaho State Journal: Critics question DOE honesty on plutonium project at INL: "Critics question DOE honesty on plutonium project at INL
By Dan Boyd - Journal Writer
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ARCO - The decision to resume production of radioisotope power systems and to center such activities at the Idaho National Laboratory could mean new jobs and could also put Idaho at the forefront of the country's space program.
But some say it could also increase security risks at the sprawling site west of Idaho Falls and critics maintain they're not getting complete answers from officials from the Department of Energy.
At a public hearing last week in Idaho Falls, several concerned citizens repeatedly countered claims that the production of plutonium-238 wouldn't be a general health hazard.
"I've caught them lying on the draft impact statements," said Twin Falls podiatrist Peter Rickards, who said a 1964 satellite crash over the West Indian Ocean contaminated large swaths of the world with plutonium-238.
DOE Program Director Tim Frazier has maintained that the revived program would support national security as well as the space mission, saying, "We value the public safety, the worker safety and protection of the environment very highly."
In a recently released Environmental Impact Statement, the events of Sept. 11, 2001 and the nation's security were identified as reasons to produce plutonium, although the document also said the material wouldn't be used in weapons.
DOE spokesman Tim Jackson said that while national security aspects of the project are classified, plutonium production for those uses would be intended to create heat and electricity, the same uses as intended for the space program.
Plutonium has been described by some as the most toxic substance known and according to some reports plutonium-238 is 280 times more radioactive than the isotope plutonium-239, which is used to make atomic bombs.
But in a recent guest view to the Journal, Snake River Alliance's Pocatello Program Director Beatrice Brailsford said a cloud of secrecy is shrouding that, and other, facts.
"We are being asked to bear a risk without ever being able to weigh whether it is economically, environmentally or ethically 'worth it'," she wrote.
At the INL, a new facility was dedicated last October that will provide radioisotope power systems to NASA in the form of Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators, or RTGs, that help heat and propel spacecrafts.
That facility, known as the Space and Security Power Systems Facility, will provide radioisotope power systems to NASA in preparation for a space mission to Pluto.
With this infrastructure already in place, the production of plutonium-238 on site could streamline the entire process and remove the environmental danger of shipping materials between three different DOE sites.
"It would be perfectly safe to perform this work as we currently perform it ... but it's much more economical to consolidate it at one site," Jackson said.
But Rickards said it could also put the INL on the map as a terrorist target - a possibility he said was largely ignored at last week's meeting.
"Why did you not talk at this meeting about safety?" asked Rickards, who said he was eventually told by other audience members to sit down and be quiet.
Rickards said he suspects some present at the meeting were current or former site workers who were there to try and quash any criticism of the plan.
But Jackson said the DOE is performing a vital mission mandated by the Legislature and said much of the process will be open to scrutiny from state and federal regulators.
When asked if he had full confidence in the project's safety, Jackson responded by saying simply, "absolutely."
Public meetings
Public hearings on the proposed consolidation of nuclear operations tied to the production of plutonium-238 will take place in Idaho Falls on July 25 and in Fort Hall on July 26.
Dan Boyd covers politics, higher education and natural resource issues for the Journal. He can be reached at 239-3168 or by e-mail at dboyd@journalnet.com."
By Dan Boyd - Journal Writer
Advertisement
what's this?
ARCO - The decision to resume production of radioisotope power systems and to center such activities at the Idaho National Laboratory could mean new jobs and could also put Idaho at the forefront of the country's space program.
But some say it could also increase security risks at the sprawling site west of Idaho Falls and critics maintain they're not getting complete answers from officials from the Department of Energy.
At a public hearing last week in Idaho Falls, several concerned citizens repeatedly countered claims that the production of plutonium-238 wouldn't be a general health hazard.
"I've caught them lying on the draft impact statements," said Twin Falls podiatrist Peter Rickards, who said a 1964 satellite crash over the West Indian Ocean contaminated large swaths of the world with plutonium-238.
DOE Program Director Tim Frazier has maintained that the revived program would support national security as well as the space mission, saying, "We value the public safety, the worker safety and protection of the environment very highly."
In a recently released Environmental Impact Statement, the events of Sept. 11, 2001 and the nation's security were identified as reasons to produce plutonium, although the document also said the material wouldn't be used in weapons.
DOE spokesman Tim Jackson said that while national security aspects of the project are classified, plutonium production for those uses would be intended to create heat and electricity, the same uses as intended for the space program.
Plutonium has been described by some as the most toxic substance known and according to some reports plutonium-238 is 280 times more radioactive than the isotope plutonium-239, which is used to make atomic bombs.
But in a recent guest view to the Journal, Snake River Alliance's Pocatello Program Director Beatrice Brailsford said a cloud of secrecy is shrouding that, and other, facts.
"We are being asked to bear a risk without ever being able to weigh whether it is economically, environmentally or ethically 'worth it'," she wrote.
At the INL, a new facility was dedicated last October that will provide radioisotope power systems to NASA in the form of Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators, or RTGs, that help heat and propel spacecrafts.
That facility, known as the Space and Security Power Systems Facility, will provide radioisotope power systems to NASA in preparation for a space mission to Pluto.
With this infrastructure already in place, the production of plutonium-238 on site could streamline the entire process and remove the environmental danger of shipping materials between three different DOE sites.
"It would be perfectly safe to perform this work as we currently perform it ... but it's much more economical to consolidate it at one site," Jackson said.
But Rickards said it could also put the INL on the map as a terrorist target - a possibility he said was largely ignored at last week's meeting.
"Why did you not talk at this meeting about safety?" asked Rickards, who said he was eventually told by other audience members to sit down and be quiet.
Rickards said he suspects some present at the meeting were current or former site workers who were there to try and quash any criticism of the plan.
But Jackson said the DOE is performing a vital mission mandated by the Legislature and said much of the process will be open to scrutiny from state and federal regulators.
When asked if he had full confidence in the project's safety, Jackson responded by saying simply, "absolutely."
Public meetings
Public hearings on the proposed consolidation of nuclear operations tied to the production of plutonium-238 will take place in Idaho Falls on July 25 and in Fort Hall on July 26.
Dan Boyd covers politics, higher education and natural resource issues for the Journal. He can be reached at 239-3168 or by e-mail at dboyd@journalnet.com."
posted by Greta Jane at Friday, July 08, 2005
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