Some Utahns say there's no need to worry about burying more depleted uranium in a Utah landfill. Others want the radioactive waste shipped back where it came from -- the government cleanup of an atomic weapons site at Savannah River, S.C.

Tussling over the issue continued all week, culminating in a statement Friday by Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon.

"I continue to be concerned about putting the county residents at risk," he wrote, "and would urge the governor to do everything in his power to stop the transfer and disposal of depleted uranium in Utah."

But, after a full week of controversy over DU, as the waste is often called, the only certainty appears to be that both sides will have to wait before the debate is settled.

The first of three planned shipments from Savannah River was already on its way to Utah on Thursday, when Gov. Gary Herbert reached a compromise with the U.S, Energy Department. The deal allows new, state controls to be put in place for DU before any of those 5,408 drums are buried and before the remaining 10,000 are hauled to Utah.

"This agreement," the Republican governor said Thursday in a news release, "allows the State to put into place extra safeguards to ensure the continued health and safety of all Utahns while the Radiation Control Board continues its study of this issue."

State regulators begin taking comments next month on how to contain DU effectively for 10,000 years or more.

The EnergySolutions Inc. low-level radioactive waste disposal site already holds 49,000 tons of it, and the federal government projects another 700,000 in its own stockpiles, plus an additional 700,000 tons expected in coming years from commercial enrichment plants. EnergySolutions' Tooele County site is currently the only disposal option for most of it.

The state Radiation Control Board wants assurances that the Utah site can hold up against the elements -- including erosion and possible inundation by a rising Great Salt Lake -- in light of DU's unusual quality of becoming more hazardous over time.

The Salt Lake City nuclear waste company is among those who say there's no cause to worry.

"It's not EnergySolutions telling the people of the state of Utah that it's safe," company President Val Christen -sen said Thursday on KSL Radio's Doug Wright show. "It's the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the state, the Radiation Control Board -- these are scientists, people who understand the risks."

In an e-mail, a company spokesman clarified Christensen's remarks as a reference to state regulators and not the Radiation Control Board.

"Although the state is now seeking greater assurance that the continued disposal of DU is safe," Mark Walker said, "EnergySolutions has been and continues to operate under a license issued by the state that allows disposal of DU as a Class A waste based on the state's conclusions, consistent with NRC regulations, that the disposal of DU at the Clive facility poses no significant impact to human health and safety, or to the environment."

But the reality is that neither NRC nor state regulators have yet determined whether large quantities of DU belong in shallow landfills like EnergySolutions'. The state's answer is not expected for months, the NRC's for years.

The NRC last March noted that "a literal reading" of current law makes DU "Class A" low-level waste, the kind that EnergySolutions is licensed to take. But it goes on to say "the analysis supporting this section [of law] did not address large quantities." The NRC staff also said each site should be analyzed separately to see what can be done to make sure DU sites are effective over time.

The NRC staff also said federal regulators should include "a comprehensive revision to reform the ... waste classification framework" to include the latest standards on radiological risks.

The Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah has been advocating a cautious approach for months, long before DU became a public cause. On Thursday, the group sent a letter to Amanda Smith, director of the state Department of Environmental Quality, that said each container of the waste coming from Savannah River should be checked -- not just a sample of drums -- to make sure the waste falls within state standards.

The environmental group even plans a news conference today to urge Herbert and state regulators to send the Savannah River waste back to South Carolina.

fahys@sltrib.com

Depleted uranium

EnergySolutions' Tooele County landfill for low-level radioactive waste already contains 49,000 tons of depleted uranium. Soon, an additional 5,408 barrels will arrive from South Carolina, but under an agreement between Gov. Gary Herbert and the Department of Energy, the waste will be temporarily stored -- not buried for permanent disposal -- pending further review. The Energy Department has about 700,000 more tons of depleted uranium at sites around the nation that will need to be disposed of in coming years.
HEAL Utah: 'Return to sender'

HEAL Utah will be hosting a Return to Sender party to protest the shipment of depleted uranium to Utah.

When » 11:00-11:30 a.m. Saturday

Where » Railroad Crossing, 499 W. 400 North, Salt Lake City