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February 3, 2000

Critics Challenge Government Plan to Recycle Cleaned Radioactive Metals

Mieke H. Bomann

(ANS) -- The government's plan to clean and recycle radioactive metals from the country's nuclear energy complex should be scrapped and the release of materials that contain any amount of radiation, however miniscule, prohibited, critics from the steel recycling industry and anti-nuclear groups say.

The U.S. Department of Energy in 1997 contracted with British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. to decontaminate an estimated 126,000 tons of radioactive materials at its Oak Ridge, Tenn., plant and sell it to recyclers. At energy plants being decommissioned it is the first step in a radioactive waste disposal plan that proponents say is perfectly safe but critics contend puts cost effectiveness ahead of consumer safety.

According to the Energy Department, an estimated 1.4 million tons of radioactive metals at six nuclear plants across the country need to be disposed of in the next 40 years as these federal facilities are shut down. Some of the metals are too "hot" to be reprocessed and must be placed in permanent storage, but a lot can be safely cleaned and recycled into the marketplace, the department says.

Radioactive metals have been recycled on a case-by-case basis for years, industry experts acknowledge. Most of the work is done by 12 companies that comprise the Association of Radioactive Metal Recyclers. While there currently are no federal standards for safe levels of radioactivity in recycled metals, contractors are mandated to follow safety standards developed over the years by the nuclear industry. They say their recycled product comes within 15 percent of radiation that exists naturally, or background radiation.

"Safety is paramount," said Val Loiselle, managing director of the association, which is based in Columbia, S. C. "We wouldn't do it if it was unsafe, and we're not doing it," he added. The flow of materials into member plants has trickled to a virtual halt, he said, as the government addresses the public's fears and objections.

Citing public concerns, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson recently halted the release of 6,000 tons of nickel from the Oak Ridge plant while the Nuclear Regulatory Agency writes new regulations. The nickel was contaminated volumetrically, or straight through, rather than being radioactive only on the surface, as are the other metals at issue.

"He felt that a prudent action would be for us to have national standards to give people confidence in the safety of decontaminated materials," said department spokesman Stu Nagurka.

But critics say no amount of radiation is acceptable.

"We don't know where (these metals) have ended up," said Wenonah Hauter, director of Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy Project, an anti-nuclear group in Washington, D.C. She added that there is no way for people to know the overall exposure to radiation they could be receiving from products like braces for teeth, baby strollers and frying pans that might contain these recycled metals.

The chances that a consumer buys anything containing metal from nuclear plants is pretty slim, Loiselle said. His association recycled 10,000 tons last year. The metals industry as a whole recycles 100 million tons annually.

"We don't think it's a big deal, and we certainly don't have any financial clout because we're too small," said Loiselle. Indeed, he added, until the lack of trust in the nuclear industry and the regulators by the public is restored, recycling isn't going anywhere.

"I think the whole ruling process is premature," Loiselle said. "It has not been properly presented to the public." He said the case needs to be made that nuclear waste exists and needs to be disposed of, and that decisions and choices have to be made. Loiselle said in his opinion cleaning and recycling some contaminated metals is a prudent and safe choice.

Not to mention economically sound. Rather than spending an estimated $800 million to decontaminate three buildings in Tennessee and bury the waste, the government paid British Nuclear Fuels, Ltd. $238 million to clean, remove and sell the metal.

Still, the plan has received low marks from the steel industry. Thomas Danjczek, president of the Steel Manufacturers Association of America, said his members don't want to risk marring consumer perception of recycled U.S. steel or have to pay for cleaning up contamination that may occur after radioactive scrap is delivered.

"We're on exactly the same side as the environmentalists, which is unusual," said the association head, whose 59 members are scrap-based producers responsible for almost 60 percent of steel in this country. "The word we choose to use is 'contaminated.' We have almost a zero tolerance for this material."

Association members have already spent $18 million cleaning up manufacturing sites contaminated with radioactive materials from private sources, like hospitals and universities, he added.

Hauter says her group is working to persuade the government to forbid any releases of any kind of metals from nuclear plants. "The accepted theory has always been that a lot of radiation is really bad, and a little is bad for you too. Now the nuclear industry has launched a successful attack and wants to re-do all of the science."

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Mieke H. Bomann is a staff writer for The American News Service.

Contacts:

Wenonah Hauter, director, Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy Project, Washington, D.C., 202-546-4996.

Stu Nagurka, spokesman, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, D.C., 202-586-494; web site: <www.oakridge.doe.gov>.

Thomas Danjczek, president, Steel Manufacturer's Association, Washington, D.C., 202-296-1515.

Val Loiselle, managing director, Association of Radioactive Metals Recyclers, Columbia, S.C., 803-736-5588; e-mail: <vloiselle@aol.com>.

Background:

Diane D'Arrigo, staff, Michael Mariotte, executive director, Nuclear Information and Resources Service, Washington, D.C., 202-328-0002; web site: <www.nirs.org>.

Steve Schwartz, executive director, Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science, Chicago, Ill., 773-702-2555.

World Information Service on Energy web site: <www.antenna.nl/wise/>.