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Home My WebLink AboutNB01-Council Office CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO . REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION From: Councilwoman Susan Lien Subject: Transportation of Nuclear Waste Dept. Council Office Date: July 1, 2002 Synopsis of Previous Council Action: Recommended Motion: To approve the attached letters regarding the transportation of nuclear waste. Entered into RICIIII. Council/CmyOevCm. Mtl: by C...r... ~I .t,... rl/ .,.. V ~ re Agenda Item tV t!> ~h.~ City Clerk/COC Secy lily of 6111 Bllnlrdino ----.---......". 7/,/02 . ~a1.~J Signature Contact Person: Councilwoman Lien Phone: 5222 Supporting Data Attached: Ward: FUNDING REQUIREMENTS: Amount: Source: fAcet. No.) f Acct. DescriDtion) Finance: Coundl Notes: Agenda Item No. CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO . REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION STAFF REPORT It is now nearly certain that the key procedural vote on Yucca Mountain whether Senator Majority Leader Tom Daschle's refusal to bring the Yucca issue to the Senate floor can be overturned, will occur on July 9th. If Yucca supporters win that vote, there will be 10 hours for floor debate and the final vote will occur either late July 9 or July 10, 2002. It is important that Mayor and Common Council forward the attached letters to Senator Thomas Daschle and Senator Trent Lott. OFFICE OF THE COMMON COUNCIL 300 North "D" Street. San Bernardino. CA 92418-0001 909.384.5188. Fax: 909.384.5105 www.cLsan-bernardino.ca.us ,.. July 1, 2002 The Honorable Thomas Daschle Majority Leader United States Senate Washington, DC 20510-4103 Dear Senator Daschle: Before Congress makes any decision on where to store this Country's nuclear waste, it must first determine whether the waste can be safely transported through our communities. The United States Senate should not approve Senate Joint Resolution 34 until a feasible plan for the secure transportation of high-level nuclear waste is developed and the safety risks to our communities are addressed adequately. Recent accidents on rail lines, interstates and waterways have increased our concerns about the safe transportation of high level nuclear waste. As Mayor and Councilmembers, we will have primary responsibility for ensuring the safety of our schools, hospitals, community centers and business districts when nuclear waste shipments travel through our jurisdictions. We strongly believe Mayors, local elected officials and the public need to be involved in the planning and execution of these shipments. Recently the U.S. Conference of Mayors overwhelmingly passed a resolution expressing these concerns and urging Congress to "pass legislation that prohibits the movement of any high level waste unless, beginning three years prior to any such movement, all cities along the proposed transportation route have received adequate funds, training and equipment to protect public health and safety in the event of an accident". Transportation safety concerns should not take a back seat in this important decision. We urge the Senate to withhold approval of the proposed repository at least until these concerns have been addressed. Please note the attached City of San Bernardino Resolution No. 2000-35 dated February 22, 2000. This was read into the record by Councilwoman Susan Lien during a public meeting held in the City of San Bernardino during the EIR/EIS. Please delay further action until our concerns regarding the transportation of waste are addressed. ESTHER R. ESTRADA Councilwoman, First Ward JUDITH VALLES Mayor 'JOE'V.C. SUAREZ, Councilman, Fifth Ward SUSAN UEN Councilwoman, Second Ward BETTY DEAN ANDERSON Councilwoman, Sixth Ward GORDON MCGINNIS Councilman, Third Ward OFFICE OF THE COMMON COUNCIL 300 North "0" Street. San Bernardino. CA 92418-0001 909.384.5188. Fax: 909.384.5105 www.cLsan-bernardino.ca.us "M July 1, 2002 The Honorable Trent Lott Minority Leader United States Senate Washington, DC 20510-2403 Dear Senator Lott: Before Congress makes any decision on where to store this Country's nuclear waste, it must first determine whether the waste can be safely transported through our communities. The United States Senate should not approve Senate Joint Resolution 34 until a feasible plan for the secure transportation of high-level nuclear waste is developed and the safety risks to our communities are addressed adequately. Recent accidents on rai1lines, interstates and waterways have increased our concerns about the safe transportation of high level nuclear waste. As Mayor and Councilmembers, we will have primary responsibility for ensuring the safety of our schools, hospitals, community centers and business districts when nuclear waste shipments travel through our jurisdictions. We strongly believe Mayors, local elected officials and the public need to be involved in the planning and execution of these shipments. Recently the U.S. Conference of Mayors overwhelmingly passed a resolution expressing these concerns and urging Congress to "pass legislation that prohibits the movement of any high level waste unless, beginning three years prior to any such movement, all cities along the proposed transportation route have received adequate funds, training and equipment to protect public health and safety in the event of an accident". Transportation safety concerns should not take a back seat in this important decision. We urge the Senate to withhold approval of the proposed repository at least until these concerns have been addressed. Please note the attached City of San Bernardino Resolution No. 2000-35 dated February 22, 2000. This was read into the record by Councilwoman Susan Lien during a public meeting held in the City of San Bernardino during the EIRjEIS. Please delay further action until our concerns regarding the transportation of waste are addressed. ESTHER R. ESTRADA Councilwoman, First Ward JUDITH VALLES Mayor 'JOE'V.C. SUAREZ, Councilman, Fifth Ward SUSAN LIEN Councilwoman, Second Ward BETI'Y DEAN ANDERSON Councilwoman, Sixth Ward GORDON MCGINNIS Councilman, Third Ward NEIL DERRY Councilman, Fourth Ward WENDY MCCAMMACK Councilwoman, Seventh Ward 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 RESOLUTION NO. 2000-35 RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO IN OPPOSITION TO TRANSPORTING HIGHLY RADIOACTIVE WASTE ON SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY FREEWAYS AND RAIL LINES TO THE YUCCA MOUNTAIN WASTE SITE. WHEREAS, the U.S. Senate approved legislation (S.1287) authorizing shipments of the nation's most hazardous nuclear wastes to a p~anned .' permanent repository at Yucca Moun~n, about 100 miles from Las Vegas, Nevada; and WHEREAS, S.1287 calls for storage of high level waste from nuclear weapons and commercial nuclear reactors at Yucca Mountain; and WHEREAS, shipping highly radioactive wastes, as proposed on San Bernardino freeways and rail lines, constitutes an unacceptable risk of radioactive accidents; and WHEREAS, these radioactive accidents or terrorist acts involving highly radioactive waste would release radiation into our local environment; and WHEREAS, the areas located along the rail or trucking routes with the greatest possibility of accidents would devalue property and quality of life; and WHEREAS, insufficient evidence exists to mitigate these concerns at this time. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Mayor and Common Council of the City of San Bernardino hereby lists the City of San Bernardino as formally in opposition to the transport of highly radioactive ~~-_._.- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 2000,..35 waste on San Bernardino County Freeways and Rail Lines to the YUcca Mountain Waste Site; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Mayor and Common Council of the City of San Bernardino hereby lists the City of San. Bernardino as formally in opposition to Senate Bill S. 1287. III III III III III III III III III III III III III III III III III III III III III III .' 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 2000-35 RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO IN OPPOSITION TO TRANSPORTING mGHLY RADIOACTIVE WASTE ON SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY FREEWAYS AND RAIL LINES TO THE YUCCA MOUNTAIN WASTE SITE. I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Resolution was duly adopted by the Mayor and Common Council of the City of San Bernardino at ajl" r"g meeting thereof, held on the 22ndday of Pebruary , 2000, by the following vote, to wit: Council Members: AYES ESlRADA -I- LIEN 1: MC GINNIS x SCHNETZ x - SUAREZ -L ANDERSON X MILLER NAYS ABSTAIN ABSENT X @~,(. e. /:J. Ct~ City Clerk The foregoing resolution is hereby approved this 2200 day of Pebruary - . 2000 Approved as to Form and legal content: Valles, Mayor of San Bernardin-' JAMES F. PENMAN, City Attorney By: City Attorney refused to sign. WHITE PAPER ON RADIOACTIVE WASTE AT YUCCA MOUNTAIN Since the dawn of the nuclear age, policy regarding all levels of radioactive waste has been set by the nuclear industry and various governmental agencies. Those policies have consistently taken precedent over physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Future survival requires that policy regarding radioactive waste: .:. truly considers the health, safety and habitat of all living things; and .:. that recognizes the need for this most dangerous substance to be COMPLETELY isolated from the environment for as long as it remains hazardous, at least a quarter of a million years. Presently, there is no scientifically sound, environmentally just, or democratically dermed solution to the disposal or storale ot radioactive waste, yet each day approximately ten (10) tons of this waste is produced. The production of this deadly substance must stop I It is insanity to use a technology that benefits only 1 _ 2 generations while creating waste that will threaten the next 12,000 generations!! In the United States the nuclear industry, the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) have consistently evaded exploring less harmful ways of storing radioactive waste. Under the guise of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, the congressionally mandated "solution" to the nuclear industry's waste problem, the government recklessly pushes forward its "out of sight, out of mind" policies while ignoring concerns from both the scientific community and the public. RADIOACTIVE WASTE IS SAFER SITTING STILL THAN GOING 60-90 MPH The intense radioactivity of even IO-year old "irradiated" fuel is such that the risks involved in transporting it are too gceat. As the fuel "cools" Over the years it's danger to the public decreases exponentially. Even those living in reactor communities conCUr that, in most instances, transportation of High-Level Radioactive Waste poses a much greater danger to the public and the environment as a whole than temporary to intermediate on-site storage. Transportation of HLRW to a 'permanent' repository does nothing to address the problems of security at the site of generation. As long as Waste is being produced, there will be a need to manage that waste either in "irradiated" fuel pools or Some other type of facility. 1 RESPONSIBLE ON-SITE HLRW MANAGEMENT MUST BEGIN IMMEDIATELY Neither "irradiated" fuel pools nor the current proposal of dry cask storage are viable options for the on-site storage of HLRW. It is the responsibility of the nuclear industry to fully explore and develop technology that will protect the waste from all natural and man-made assaults and completely isolate it from the environment. .:. As reactors are shut down, containment vessels could be modified to isolate casks from the environment. .:. Currently there is only minimal external cask monitoring. Casks must be monitored internally for radiation levels, pressure and temperature. -:. The buildings containing the irradiated fuel pools must be hardened to withstand all natural and man-made assaults. .:- Assured storage, including above or in-ground monitored leachate collection systems, should bp, used. .;. Minimally, protective measures such as earthen berms and/or bunkers, such as those used at nuclear weapons facilities, should be used. .;. The Nuclear Waste Fund is projected to have approximately $35 billion, and could easily pay for Monitored Retrievable Storage. PuBLIC OVERSIGHT OF WASTE IS MANDATORY AT EVERY LEVEL It is clear after twenty years of industry-biased DOE research at Yucca Mt. that a new credible approach is required. A public non-profit corporation, which would include members of the industry, the public and independent scientists, should be created to study the problem of radioactive waste disposal. This approach would get away from the culture of fear and nuclear denial and foster new ideas. Oversight and Safety Committees (using European models) should be in place for each facility and include local community members. RADIOACTIVE WASTE CLASSIFICATIONS MUST BE CIfANGED "Low-Level" Radioactive Waste is one of the most misleading terms ever created. In the U.S., it is all nuclear waste that is not legally high-level waste, SOme transuranic waste, or mill tailings. "Low-Level" Radioactive Waste includes: .:- Irradiated CODlponenu aDd Piping: reactor hardware and pipes that are in continual contact with highly radioactive water for the 20 to 30 years the reactor operates. -:. Control Rods: from the core of nuclear pOwer plantsurods that regulate and stop the nuclear reactions in the reactor core. .:. Poison Curtains: which absorb neutrons from the water. in the reactor core and irradiated fuel (high level waste) pool. .:. Resins, Sludges, FUters and Evaporator Bottoms: from cleansing the water that circulates around the irradiated fuel in the reactor vessel and in the fuel pool, which holds the irradiated fuel when it is removed from the core. .:. Entire Nuclear Power Plants if and when they are dismantled. The highly radioactive and long-lived reactor wastes are included in the "low-level" waste category along with the much less concentrated and generally much shorter-lived wastes from medical treatment and diagnosis and some types of scientific research. The vast majority of medical waste is hazardous for less than 8 months. Yet, it is in the same category as reactor waste that will he hazardous for hundreds of thousands to millions of years. Among the radioactive elements commonly found in nuclear reactor "low-level" waste are: Tritium, with a half-life of 12 years and a hazardous life of 120-240 yearsi IOdine-131, half-life of 8 days, hazardous life of 80-160 days; Strontium-90, half life of28 years, hazardous life of 280-560 years; Nickel-59, half life of 76,000 years, hazardous life of 760,000-1,520,000 years, and IOdine-129, half- life of sixteen million years, hazardous life of160-320 million years. ,