Las Vegas • Public approval has soared for radioactive waste company EnergySolutions Inc. in the year since it began an "intensive education" media campaign, officials say.

Val J. Christensen, the Salt Lake City company's president and chief executive officer, said Wednesday his company's television, radio and newspaper spots strive to lessen public fear about the nuclear industry, which has historically faced sharp resistance from the public. Christensen said his company's efforts will help the entire industry and not just EnergySolutions, which has operations in dozens of U.S. states and on three continents.

"In this industry, communication is everything," Christensen told the RadWaste Summit, a gathering of government agencies, industry ofiicials and observers with an interest in low-level waste.

EnergySolutions operates the nation's busiest disposal site for low-level radioactive and hazardous waste in Tooele County. It has accepted 96 percent of the low-level radioactive waste buried in commercial sites during the past two decades.

Christensen said about 4,000 people had visited the site this year. Between last September and June, he added, the company's polling indicates its approval rating had risen from 49 percent to 64 percent of Utah voters.

Christensen's remarks come at a pivotal time in the nuclear industry.

Not only do government and the industry need to show that they can clean up waste sites of the past, but they also need to inspire enough confidence about their ability to protect health, safety and security to be able to win public support for future ventures, including new nuclear plants.

It's a hard sell for some.

In Utah, the Healthy Environment Alliance (HEAL), a frequent critic of EnergySolutions, questioned the value of the Utah company's public relations effort.

"Going on the EnergySolutions tour to learn about the risks of nuclear waste makes about as much sense as going to McDonald's to learn about nutrition," said Vanessa Pierce, director of HEAL.

She said the tour leaves visitors with the impression that the worst hazard EnergySolutions employees face is icy sidewalks, while they say nothing about workers exposed to excessive plutonium in 2005.

"In reality, the company has a consistent track record of pushing to take hotter, more and new types of waste, even in the face of widespread public opposition," Pierce said.

Like his counterpart from Utah, Rod Baltzer also spoke about the importance of community support and the value of good public outreach. President of Texas-based Waste Control Specialists, he told of the years-long effort to line up public backing for his company's disposal site in Andrews County, Texas.

The facility is being built with a $75 million bond that residents approved in a 642-to-639 vote that was recounted six times.

"We're a very known factor in Texas," he said.

Still, he said, opposition from "anti-nukes" surfaces no matter how much proof industry provides that a good technological solution has been found to a nuclear problem.

Given objections such as these, nuclear regulators and the industry said they feel stymied in efforts to address pressing problems, including how to deal with depleted uranium and down-blended waste, which allows mixing what's called "Class A waste" with radiologically hotter Class B and Class C waste.

The Utah Radiation Control Board has objected to down-blending, although EnergySolutions says the practice is safe.

fahys@sltrib.com