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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is taking comment from Utahns about writing new rules for the disposal of depleted uranium.
The NRC will take about three years to write the new rules, which it says are needed because the volumes of the waste now being produced weren't anticipated when the agency considered disposal methods in the 1980s.
This week the NRC held round-table discussions on the issue in Salt Lake City.
NRC spokesman David McIntyre says the decision to write new rules won't keep Utah company EnergySolutions from accepting the material at its site in Utah's west desert before the rules are complete.
EnergySolutions is expected to take depleted uranium from South Carolina starting next month. The Utah Radiation Control Board on Tuesday rejected a call for a moratorium on the waste.
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said Thursday he's more concerned about depleted uranium than foreign waste because depleted uranium gets hotter over time.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
