Matheson: Utah wins with decision to halt foreign nuke waste imports

Salt Lake City, UT—Congressman Jim Matheson said Utahns’ long-held opposition to becoming the graveyard for foreign nuclear waste has paid off today, with the announcement that a Utah company has dropped plans to import 1,600 tons of Italian radioactive waste.  Matheson’s bill to ban the importation of foreign waste—the Radioactive Import Deterrence (RID) Act—has passed the House and an identical bill is pending in the Senate.

“Utahns have spoken out loudly and clearly that our state is not the place for the world’s radioactive garbage. No other country in the world takes another’s nuclear waste and I see no good reason, as public policy, why we should either,” said Matheson.

Matheson and Tennessee Representative Bart Gordon—who chairs the House Science and Technology Committee—successfully fought for passage of the bipartisan RID Act.  It passed the House last December with overwhelming support.

“One company’s decision to make a smart change today does not make the change permanent,” Gordon said.  “The bottom line is that if a country has the capacity to produce large amounts of nuclear waste, it should also have the capacity to treat it and store it.  American companies can lend their expertise to these endeavors elsewhere without bringing others’ nuclear waste to our soil.”

Matheson said he is waiting for word that the Utah company’s application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to import the waste is being withdrawn.  He said he’ll continue to push for adoption of the RID Act so that federal policy regarding foreign waste is clear.  He said that while he appreciates today’s management team decision to export its technology to foreign governments, rather than import the waste, management teams change.

“We can and should focus, as a country, on the disposal and storage of domestic radioactive waste. Utah is doing its part.  It’s time for a larger discussion about how health, safety and nuclear waste disposal needs are best met going forward,” said Matheson.