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House passes low-level radioactive waste import ban
The House just voted 309-112 to approve Rep. Bart Gordon’s (D-Tenn.) bill that prohibits the import of foreign low-level radioactive waste.
The bill is largely aimed at preventing a Salt Lake City company – EnergySolutions Inc. – from obtaining a Nuclear Regulatory Commission license to import 20,000 tons of waste from Italy.
The waste would be processed at a company facility in Tennessee, and 1,600 tons would ultimately be transferred to EnergySolutions’ disposal site in Clive, Utah.
Gordon argues that the U.S. has limited space to dispose of its own low-level waste. Co-sponsors include two of the three Utah House members.
The bill allows the White House to waive the prohibition if it would meet “important” policy goals, such as waste used for research purposes.
