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So far no one's protesting EnergySolutions Inc.'s request to import radioactive waste from Germany.
That's according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the federal agency that oversees import and export licenses for radioactive materials. And it's a dramatic contrast to the company's request three years ago to import waste from Italy, which prompted thousands of letters of opposition and federal legislation. The big difference: The Salt Lake City nuclear waste company plans to ship back the waste from various sites in Germany, while it proposed burying in Clive, Tooele County, about 1,600 tons of the 20,000 tons imported from Italy.
Earlier this month, Dale Didion, the company's chief communications officer, said: "Nothing comes to Clive."
The latest import-export license, if granted by federal regulators, would allow EnergySolutions to take 1,000 tons of waste from several German universities and hospitals, incinerate it and return the resulting ash to Germany. It's what Didion called a "burn-and-return" contract.
The deadline for making comments on the company's plans or requesting a formal hearing isThursday.