I am opposed to any approval by the Utah Division of Radiation Control to allow the blending of Class B and Class C radioactive waste with less-potent Class A waste so it can be disposed of at the EnergySolutions’ landfill.

As an engineer, this strikes me as counter to all logic. The typical problem with waste is collecting it and concentrating it so that it can be properly controlled and processed or disposed of. It makes no sense to take waste that is highly toxic and has a long lifespan and to allow it to be diluted just to meet a definition of waste that will allow its disposal at EnergySolutions’ Utah landfill.

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The most logical approach would be to keep it concentrated so that it can be easily controlled now, and at some time in the future there may be a means for processing the material to reduce its toxicity.

Once it is mixed with other materials, this would be much more difficult, and the likelihood is increased that the material will eventually be exposed and allowed to contaminate the environment and affect people’s health.

Robert J. Plachta

Salt Lake City