Font Resize"When the trash piles high
Reaches up to the sky
No amore!"
-- U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass.
Markey's take on Dean Martin's classic "That's Amore" won't win a Grammy. But his heart is in the right place, trying to keep radioactive waste from Italy off our shores.
The Massachusetts congressman sang his support for the Radioactive Import Deterrence Act at a House Energy and Commerce Committee meeting Thursday. The bill, co-sponsored by Utah Reps. Jim Matheson and Jason Chaffetz, would wisely ban the importation of low-level -- but still dangerous -- radioactive waste. The measure was approved 34-12, and a vote by the full House is expected in December.
It seems amazing that this activity is not already prohibited. Common sense dictates that nations that create dangerous wastes should be responsible for disposing of them within their own borders. The United States, and Utah by default, should not be the world's radioactive dumping ground.
But the imports to EnergySolutions' low-level radioactive waste disposal facility in Tooele County were becoming routine -- 14 licenses for small amounts of waste had been issued before the company sought a license for a larger-than-ususal volume of waste from Italy's nuclear power industry, and sparked protests. About 20,000 tons would be recycled at EnergySolutions' facility in Tennessee, with 1,600 tons of leftovers
The committee vote fell primarily along party lines -- all but four Republicans opposed the measure. And that's perplexing. Preserving our nation's limited disposal space for domestic waste should not be a partisan issue.
Opponents argued that the legislation would be counter to trade deals being negotiated with Italy and other nations. But any deal that necessitates burying dangerous waste from other countries in our soil isn't worth signing. They also said Congress would be, in effect, intervening in a court case by approving the bill. EnergySolutions successfully sued to overturn a decision by a regional radioactive waste management compact to forbid the Italian waste, and Utah and the compact have appealed. But it's up to Congress, not the courts, to make law.
And they offered an amendment that would have allowed radioactive waste imports as long as federal regulators determine EnergySolutions has the capacity to accept it. Fortunately, that ill-advised amendment was defeated. Congress needs to send a message. If EnergySolutions wants to store Italian waste, it should build a disposal facility in Italy.
