Clive Disposal Site

The Clive Disposal Site is the site of a radioactive waste storage facility[1] currently operated by EnergySolutions in Clive, Utah, an unincorporated community of Tooele County.[2] It is located in the western portion of the state, close to the Dugway Proving Grounds. The site accepts depleted uranium, a material that takes millions of years to decay, and therefore requires special precautions and regulations.[3]

Clive Disposal Site
Class A Radioactive Waste disposal at Clive Disposal Site
Coordinates40°42′31″N 113°07′03″W

History

The facility was built and operated by Envirocare from 1988 until its merger into EnergySolutions in 2007.[4][5] Most of the radioactive waste from the decommissioning of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station is going to the Energy Solutions facility in Clive, Utah, and is being transported by rail.[6][7]

In 2020, major pieces of the San Onofre plant were transferred from rail to be moved by platform trailer trucks along 400 miles of highway. The 670-ton load was the heaviest ever hauled by road in the state of Nevada.[8][9]

Operation

EnergySolutions sought permission in 2011 from the State of Utah for its "Semprasafe" process to blend, or dilute, the currently allowed Class A low-level radioactive waste with more radioactive Class B and Class C wastes until it just meets the Class A waste levels its license allows per container at its Clive disposal site.[10] Some estimates projected that this could increase Energy Solutions' Utah site total of 7,450 curies of radiation per annum (2010), to an additional 19,184 to 28,470 curies each year.[10] The Division of Radiation Control of Utah considered, but rejected blending to allow Class B and Class C waste into Utah.[11] This would have made Utah, after Texas, the second state in the US to allow the importation of Class B and C radioactive wastes.[11]

In 2015, the State of Utah started making plans to bring the site closer to taking 250,000 tons of radioactive waste.[3] A compromise bill was reached that allowed depleted uranium to be accepted into the state as a Class A material, despite it eventually growing in radioactivity to exceed Class C standards.[12][13] In 2019, despite some calls for a veto,[14] it was passed by Utah Governor Gary Herbert.[15]

References
  1. Clive Radioactive Waste Site, Utah. Center for Land Use Interpretation
  2. "Low Level Radioactive Waste: EnergySolutions". Utah Department of Environmental Quality. 2019-07-10. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  3. "Utah stepping closer to taking 250,000 tons of radioactive waste — forever". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  4. Remote Yet Accessible: Inside the Clive Facility.
  5. Nissley, Paul; Berry, Joanne (2013-07-01). "EnergySolution's Clive Disposal Facility Operational Research Model - 13475". OSTI 22221438. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. SONGS. "SONGS Railcar Shipments". SONGS. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
  7. Nikolewski, Rob (3 December 2021). "7 things to know about the demolition of the San Onofre nuclear power plant". San Diego Union Tribune.
  8. Decommissioned nuclear reactor heavy haul for Nevada roads. Salt Lake City Tribune, May 30, 2020.
  9. "The Road to Utah". Nuclear Newswire, American Nuclear Society. 28 September 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  10. Utah environmental group says 'downblended' waste means double radioactivity in landfill, Salt Lake Tribune, October 5, 2011.
  11. Opinion: Stick to rules on importing blended waste Salt Lake Tribune, October 8, 2011.
  12. "Radioactive Waste Bill Moves Fast Through The Utah Legislature". KUER. 2019-02-14. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  13. Ledoux, M.R. and Cade, M.S., "Licensing and Operations of the Clive, Utah Low-level Continerized Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility - A Continuation of Excellence" (2002). All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository). Paper 1.
  14. "Radioactive waste bill passes; veto by Utah governor appears unlikely". Deseret News. 2019-02-23. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  15. "Utah Gov. Herbert quietly allows depleted uranium bill to become law without his signature". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
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