Alternatives sought to dumping of contaminated water into Cape Cod Bay

Doug Fraser 

Cape Cod Times 

Published Jan 15, 2022 

Opposition to a proposal to dump up to 1 million gallons of treated radioactive water into Cape Cod Bay continues to burn brightly among local elected officials.

U.S. Reps. William Keating and Seth Moulton, along with U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey, sent a letter this week to the company decommissioning the closed Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth. They urged Holtec Decommissioning International, which has considered releasing the water used to cool spent nuclear fuel rods and the reactor at Pilgrim, "to pursue — and publicly share information about — alternative methods of disposal."

"Forcing this latest discharge upon the community would threaten the reputations and operations of the many businesses and organizations that rely on Cape Cod Bay's reputation for clean and safe water," the four Massachusetts federal delegation members wrote in the Jan. 12 letter to Holtec's president Kelly Trice.

"The strong public opposition to news of the proposed discharge reflects Holtec’s failure to engage in the forthright, open, and transparent process that it promised the Plymouth community and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts when it took over the operating license for the decommissioning of Pilgrim," the letter stated.

The possibility that Holtec was considering releasing up to 1 million gallons of radioactive water into the bay was revealed by state Department of Environmental Protection Deputy Regional Director Seth Pickering at a decommissioning citizens' advisory panel meeting Nov. 22. It was contemplated as one way to get rid of water in a pool used to store spent nuclear fuel rods and water in the "donut" that helps cool the reactor.  

The other options were to truck the water off-site to an approved facility in Idaho, or evaporate it. Holtec has said the company hasn't made a decision yet on the disposal method and would not release any radioactive water into Cape Cod Bay in 2022 while it is making its decision.

Letter: Ship radioactive water to Idaho

Citing a 2021 Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval for the closed Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant to ship approximately 2 million gallons of radioactive water to the US Ecology facility in Grand View, Idaho, and widespread public opposition to dumping in Cape Cod Bay, the delegation said Holtec should pursue such an option.

"This would be a viable alternative to the discharge of radioactive material into one of the most important areas of marine life and economy in the United States," the letter stated. 

Known as "overboarding," discharging radioactive water is considered routine practice within the nuclear power industry. The water is filtered to reduce radioactivity to a level acceptable to regulators, and then can be released. It has been used at Pilgrim in the past, plant operators say.

But opponents contend it would tarnish the reputations of the fish and shellfish harvested in Cape Cod Bay as well as make beaches less attractive in an area heavily dependent on tourism.  

A long list of maritime businesses including fishermen, aquaculture operations, state legislators and watchdog groups oppose dumping the radioactive water into the bay.

Assembly of Delegates weigh in on Pilgrim

Earlier this week, the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates also sent a letter to Trice expressing its unanimous opposition to any bay dumping. 

"Your proposed plan to release radioactive water into Cape Cod Bay, an environmentally fragile area, is an intolerable threat and this hazardous proposal must be permanently discarded," the assembly wrote in the letter that also requested that Trice, or a Holtec representative, appear before the assembly at a future meeting. 

Cape Cod towns were also being asked to sign on in opposition with a letter circulating to town select board meetings for a vote. The nuclear watchdog group Cape Downwinders has also planned a speakout against the bay disposal option for 5 to 6:15 p.m. Jan. 31 at Plymouth Town Hall. 

Last month, Holtec finished moving all the spent fuel rods from the pool at the Pilgrim plant to what are known as dry casks that sit atop a concrete pad awaiting future transport on an as-yet-unknown date to a federal facility that the U.S. Department of Energy has yet to open. 

With the fuel safely stored, demolition of remaining buildings on the Plymouth property can begin. A Holtec spokesman said they expect to have all structures demolished and the site cleaned up by 2024. Only the spent fuel storage facility will remain. 

Holtec spokesman Patrick O'Brien said the remaining costs to finish the job at the Plymouth plant amounted to $824 million at the close of 2020 with a balance of $881 million left in the $1.03 billion decommissioning trust fund. He said Holtec will update those figures in March to reflect the cost of work in 2021.

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US Ecology releases investigation report into deadly 2018 Grand View facility explosion

Regulatory agencies continue investigating, reviewing this investigation

Copyright 2018 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Photo by: KIVI-TV

By: Mike Sharp - Content Manager/Executive Producer

Posted at 12:59 PM, Aug 12, 2019

 

and last updated 3:13 PM, Aug 12, 2019

GRAND VIEW, Idaho — Nearly nine months after an explosion at a US Ecology plant in Grand View, Idaho killed one person, the company is releasing a report of an investigation which utilized third-party investigators.

“This investigation confirms what we suspected early on, that we received a shipment of non-conforming waste that included material that was not supposed to be part of the approved waste stream,” said Jeff Feeler, US Ecology Chairman, President and CEO. “It is good to understand the root cause of the incident and we are focusing on steps we can take to eliminate any future incidents.”

Officials say Monte “Alex” Green of Grand View passed away after sustaining injuries during the explosion. Green was reported missing immediately following an explosion and was later located.

The report findings suggest that the explosion was "caused by a chemical reaction between water, magnesium, and the presence of non-conforming materials. It was determined that the catastrophic damage was caused by a steam explosion and was not the result of a flammable or combustible dust environment."

“The regulatory agencies are in the process of going through our final report and we want to provide the agencies with adequate time to review and digest the findings,” said Feeler. “Although it is good to have determined the root cause, it is important to remember that members of our US Ecology family suffered physical and emotional injuries, and a valued employee lost his life. We remain focused on supporting our valued team members as we move forward with rebuilding efforts.”

A representative of US Ecology tells 6 On Your Side that "an outside investigator was brought in to conduct a thorough investigation. Regulatory agencies are also investigating and currently reviewing the results of this investigation."

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