Texas Border Business
By the Tribune’s Erin Douglas
Nuclear waste “floodgates” could open in Texas: When Waste Control Specialists, a hazardous waste disposal facility in Andrews County, was built in 1995, a company official told the community that it had no plans to expand to radioactive waste disposal. Now, the company wants to store the riskiest type of nuclear waste at their facility: the spent fuel rods from nuclear power plants, which can remain dangerously radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years.
But the idea still faces significant legal hurdles and opposition from environmental groups, local oil companies, some residents and even Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. The federal government and the companies involved say radioactive spills during transportation or storage that expose people or the environment to radiation are very unlikely to occur. But opponents fear human error, mechanical failures or geological changes could result in groundwater contamination.
While the slow-moving plan is wrapped in political turmoil, lower-profile changes and proposals from federal agencies are giving Waste Control Specialists another avenue to accept more radioactive waste than it does today.
Read the full story by the Tribune’s Erin Douglas, follow the link below:
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/02/10/nuclear-waste-government-rules/
