Kempthorne OKs reactor fuel development

IDAHO FALLS – Gov. Dirk Kempthorne has approved a nuclear research project at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory that will focus on creating a new commercial reactor fuel that produces more power with less waste.

State approval was needed because the project requires a waiver from restrictions in the court-enforced 1995 nuclear waste cleanup agreement that restricts shipments of radioactive material into Idaho.

Officials said only a small amount of nuclear material – four fuel rods and two control rods from a commercial nuclear power plant in Virginia – will be shipped to the eastern Idaho installation, and under the governor’s authorization it must be shipped back out of the state by the end of 2006.

In his letter to the Energy Department, Kempthorne said the goal of creating a nuclear fuel that is more efficient and leaves less radioactive waste has public support.

The authorization for the new project came as the state of New Mexico finally lifted its moratorium on shipments of plutonium-contaminated waste from INEEL to the underground federal dump near Carlsbad.

The moratorium was imposed in mid-July after inspectors at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant discovered drums of contaminated sludge had been shipped before they had been properly sampled. More than 100 drums containing a mix of chemical and radioactive waste were buried before the mistake was discovered.

Although Energy Department spokesman Paul Detwiler said no risk was posed to workers or the environment, the government still faces up to $2.4 million in fines from the state of New Mexico and must explain how the mistake occurred and what has been done to prevent any recurrence.

Under the 1995 agreement, the government must move an average of 9,700 drums a year from INEEL with all the plutonium-contaminated waste removed by 2019.