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John Hollenhorst reporting"Import Italian food but not Italian nukes!" That was the message today from an unusual coalition of environmentalists and the owners of three Italian restaurants.
"No Grazie!" That was the rallying cry today. "No Thanks" to nuclear waste from Italy. The EnergySolutions Company wants to bring it all the way to Clive in Tooele County after a stopover in Tennessee.
The EnergySolutions landfill would get the waste from Italy after it's processed first in Tennessee. Surrounded by Italian delicacies, environmentalists served up the first dish of rhetoric. Vanessa, with the Healthy Environmental Alliance of Utah (HEAL Utah), says, "We have taken more than our fair share of our own country's nuclear waste, and we do not need to be entrenched as the hot spot for the rest of the world's nuclear garbage."
Italian restaurateurs added spice, noting that some Italian food imports are banned for health reasons. "Our government, both federal and state, is opposed to someone eating salami, but they're not opposed to us being in the environment with toxic nuclear waste," said Tony Caputo of Caputos' Restaurant & Deli.
"I love cheese, and I love wine, and I love sunglasses and fashion, but I don't love nuclear waste," said Joe Cannella, of Cannella's Restaurant and Lounge.
EnergySolutions says it's not a threat. Greg Hopkins, senior vice-president of EnergySolutions, says, "Class-A waste, which is the lowest of low-level materials, it's the materials we've been dealing with here at Clive for 20 years, no difference. So it's the regular course of our business."
Utah has a future ceiling on waste shipments, but the Gov. Huntsman says it's not clear if he has authority to block the Italian waste. "I don't like the stuff coming into our state, I never have. We're moving to the point where we won't have any of it," Huntsman says.
EnergySolutions claims to meet a growing need. "As global warming becomes a bigger issue, nuclear power is going to play a much bigger role in the world in terms of providing clean and safe power to the world. We're helping to facilitate that industry," Hopkins says.
Greg Neville of the Lugano restaurant says, "The nuclear waste, they should find an alternative disposal option, thank you very much,"
The decision rests for now with the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission. They're in a public comment period, so it's a perfect time to serve up your thoughts. You can do so by sending an e-mail to secy@nrc.gov, or you can mail your comments to the address below.
Office of the Secretary
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington, D.C. 20555
