What Happens If HB 2692 Passes in the Texas Legislature?
If HB 2692 passes the Legislature, Waste Control Specialists will get a huge tax cut, reduce its costs by reducing safety standards and – if a provision in the bill to ban highly toxic nuclear waste is struck down in court and a federal license to store the waste is granted – a new revenue stream. That highly toxic waste will be shipped from around the country on Texas highways to Waste Control’s facility.
Why Texas Lawmakers Want To Ban Radioactive Waste
The plan faces stiff opposition from Gov. Greg Abbott, some oil companies that operate in the region and environmentalists over concerns about the risk of groundwater contamination and transportation accidents. Abbott wrote to federal regulators last year asking them to deny the license application, stating that the proposal presents a “greater radiological risk than Texas is prepared to allow.
Nuclear Waste Barrel Prompts Investigation After Sparks Fly
Flawed packing of radioactive waste caused sparks to fly from a container at Los Alamos National Laboratory, prompting evacuation of the work area and later the underground disposal site near Carlsbad where two similarly packed canisters were stored.
Why a Proposed NM Nuclear Waste Storage Facility is Illegal
The federal government has said in law that this spent fuel, this irradiated fuel from nuclear power plants, is highly toxic and highly dangerous, and its permanent disposal requires it to be disposed deep underground in stable geologic formations, so that’s the law,” he said. “This facility is none of that.
The Permian Basin Is Not a Good Area To Store Nuclear Waste
A swarm of earthquakes that appears fairly suddenly adds to the uncertainty of predicting the safety of a proposed nuclear waste storage in an oil and gas field, especially a giant field like the prolific Delaware basin in New Mexico.
DOE Nuke Chiefs: There is Lack of Urgency on Nuclear Storage
Locating a permanent repository for nuclear waste is “not a crisis” and the government should be deliberate about community engagement throughout the process, a former Department of Energy nuclear leaders said during a discussion last week.
DOE Carlsbad Stops Los Alamos NNSA Shipments to WIPP
An evacuation occurred Feb. 26 at the waste generator site around the gloveboxes at Los Alamos Technical Area-55 Plutonium Facility after sparks flew in a 55-gallon drum that was being packed for shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), according to a Los Alamos-NNSA “five-day report” dated March 12. Personnel observed sparking after a “metal waste item” was placed into the drum and contacted two high-efficiency particulate air (HIPA) filters.
U.S. Sued By New Mexico Over Nuclear Waste Storage Plan
The state cited the potential for surface and groundwater contamination, disruption of oil and gas development in one of the nation’s most productive basins and added strain on emergency response resources. The state also raised concerns about a similar project planned just across the state line in West Texas.
Craddick Views Landgraf’s Nuclear Waste Bill as Problematic
State Rep. Tom Craddick sent a letter to House Committee on Environmental Regulation members that states he has “grave concerns” about Brooks Landgraf’s radioactive waste bill – House Bill 2692.
What is Chloride-Induced Stress Corrosion Cracking?
Chloride-Induced Stress Corrosion Cracking (CISCC) is a degradation mechanism that can affect stainless steel canisters used to store spent nuclear fuel. This article explains how chloride-rich environments, material stress, and long-term exposure can contribute to cracking, and why researchers continue to study the risks and implications for nuclear waste storage systems.