Radioactive Waste

Army officials shared with a small group of Harford community residents last night plans to clean up contaminated soil at a site on the Bush River once used to process radioactive waste for deep-sea dumping. Workers contracted by the Army are to remove about 11,000 cubic yards of soil and debris from the 3.1-acre site in the Edgewood area of the Aberdeen Proving Ground, officials say. The project is expected to cost about $2 million and take about six months to complete. The processing site, called the RAD Yard by APG officials, was the East Coast collection point for the Army's radioactive medical and research waste in the 1950s and 1960s.

Dan Ervin's commentary on lifting restrictions on U.S. companies supplying nuclear power equipment abroad is completely misleading ("A nuclear opportunity," May 6). Nuclear energy is not, as Mr. Ervin says, pollutant free or carbon free. Government regulations allow nuclear power plants to deliberately' and routinely emit hundreds of thousands of curies of radioactive gases and other radioactive elements into the environment every day. Radiation cannot be seen, felt or tasted, so I'm wondering if this is why Mr. Ervin feels he can credibly say that nuclear power is pollution free.

WASHINGTON - An effort by the Energy Department to cut billions of dollars and several years off the schedule for cleaning up radioactive bomb wastes is illegal, a judge in U.S. District Court has ruled, because it would leave shallowly buried wastes that Congress said could be safely disposed of only in a deep "geologic" repository. The radioactive waste is stored in tanks, many of which are rusting, at government nuclear reservations in Idaho; in Hanford, Wash.; and near Aiken, S.C. The original plan was to clean out the tanks and solidify the wastes, but the department faced major technical problems and cost overruns.

Baltimore residents will be able to drop off hazardous waste at a renovated site at the city's northwest facility on Nov. 4 and 5, according to the Department of Public Works. The Northwest Citizen Convenience Center, at 2840 Sisson St. in Remington, will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days to collect household materials including oil-based paint, pesticides, herbicides, batteries, drain cleaner, gasoline and pool chemicals. Proof of city residency is required to use the facility.

GTS Duratek's first-quarter revenue climbed by almost 16 percent, compared with the same period last year, but its earnings were down sharply because of the cost of temporarily shutting down a plant in South Carolina, the company said yesterday.The Columbia-based disposer of radioactive waste posted total sales of $11.951 million for the first quarter, up from $10.336 million last year.It suffered a net loss of $4.7 million, or 41 cents a share, because of the decision to set aside $5.9 million to cover repairs to a processing plant at the Savannah River nuclear waste disposal site in South Carolina.

A major acquisition helped GTS Duratek double earnings and more than triple revenue in the second quarter, the company said yesterday.The Columbia-based hazardous-waste disposal company said its net income jumped 101 percent, to $1.036 million, compared with $516,000 during the same period last year. The earnings translated to a gain of 5 cents per share, up from 1 cent per share last year.Revenue for the quarter leaped to $38.01 million from $11.645 fTC million, a 226 percent increase.The numbers represent the acquisition of the Scientific Ecology Group, which GTS Duratek bought from Westinghouse Electric Corp.

Metal containers designed to transport spent nuclear fuel would have survived the intense heat from a blaze in a Baltimore rail tunnel in July 2001, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The NRC's findings contradict a report by a private firm last year which said the containers would have failed, causing a catastrophic radiation leak. More than 300,000 people in the Baltimore area would have been exposed to radiation from the containers, built to withstand 1,475 degrees for 30 minutes, said the report, prepared by Radioactive Waste Management Associates.

Dan Ervin's commentary on lifting restrictions on U.S. companies supplying nuclear power equipment abroad is completely misleading ("A nuclear opportunity," May 6). Nuclear energy is not, as Mr. Ervin says, pollutant free or carbon free. Government regulations allow nuclear power plants to deliberately' and routinely emit hundreds of thousands of curies of radioactive gases and other radioactive elements into the environment every day. Radiation cannot be seen, felt or tasted, so I'm wondering if this is why Mr. Ervin feels he can credibly say that nuclear power is pollution free.

Columbia-based GTS Duratek Inc., a radioactive- and hazardous waste disposal company, announced yesterday that it will acquire the nuclear services business of Waste Management Inc. Duratek will pay up to $65 million in cash for the Waste Management unit, $55 million when the sale closes and $10 million if certain conditions are met after the sale is completed. The companies expect to complete the sale in the second quarter. Waste Management Nuclear Services identifies itself as one of the nation's leading companies in providing low-level radioactive waste management services to industrial customers and the federal government.

Biotech stock surge may be short-livedIs the recent rebound in biotechnology stocks for real? Some stock analysts say the upsurge that began in the middle of October and continued with a leap in early November could collapse soon."

Little attention has been paid by The Sun to developments in Pennsylvania that have the potential to affect the drinking water quality and food chain throughout the Chesapeake Bay region. Exploration for natural gas all over the country has increased dramatically using a relatively new process known as high-volume hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The process involves injecting large quantities of water at high pressure along with a mixture of sand and chemicals deep into the ground to release the gas trapped there.

A clause in the landmark energy bill now before Congress could open the door for massive loan guarantees meant to entice investors to build nuclear power plants. This is an extremely important piece of legislation, and we strongly support its green features, including higher mileage standards for motor vehicles and a renewable electricity standard. But as longtime anti-nuclear activists, we believe guaranteeing loans to build new reactors is exactly wrong for a nation that needs to solve the global warming crisis while building a sustainable economy.

Army officials shared with a small group of Harford community residents last night plans to clean up contaminated soil at a site on the Bush River once used to process radioactive waste for deep-sea dumping. Workers contracted by the Army are to remove about 11,000 cubic yards of soil and debris from the 3.1-acre site in the Edgewood area of the Aberdeen Proving Ground, officials say. The project is expected to cost about $2 million and take about six months to complete. The processing site, called the RAD Yard by APG officials, was the East Coast collection point for the Army's radioactive medical and research waste in the 1950s and 1960s.

Even as the Army destroys more than 1,600 tons of mustard agent stockpiled at Aberdeen Proving Ground, it is poised to begin another multimillion-dollar cleanup, on land contaminated by radioactive medical and research waste. The site, near the banks of the Bush River on the Edgewood peninsula, was the East Coast collection point for Army radioactive medical and research waste in the 1950s and 1960s, say APG officials. Before that, it was home to the Toxic Gas Yard, until canisters of mustard agent and other dangerous chemical weapons were moved to a larger storage site on the peninsula early in World War II. The Army is spending millions every year to clean up the toxic legacy of APG, a premier research and testing site for the military.

WASHINGTON - An effort by the Energy Department to cut billions of dollars and several years off the schedule for cleaning up radioactive bomb wastes is illegal, a judge in U.S. District Court has ruled, because it would leave shallowly buried wastes that Congress said could be safely disposed of only in a deep "geologic" repository. The radioactive waste is stored in tanks, many of which are rusting, at government nuclear reservations in Idaho; in Hanford, Wash.; and near Aiken, S.C. The original plan was to clean out the tanks and solidify the wastes, but the department faced major technical problems and cost overruns.

Metal containers designed to transport spent nuclear fuel would have survived the intense heat from a blaze in a Baltimore rail tunnel in July 2001, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The NRC's findings contradict a report by a private firm last year which said the containers would have failed, causing a catastrophic radiation leak. More than 300,000 people in the Baltimore area would have been exposed to radiation from the containers, built to withstand 1,475 degrees for 30 minutes, said the report, prepared by Radioactive Waste Management Associates.

Baltimore residents will be able to drop off hazardous waste at a renovated site at the city's northwest facility on Nov. 4 and 5, according to the Department of Public Works. The Northwest Citizen Convenience Center, at 2840 Sisson St. in Remington, will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days to collect household materials including oil-based paint, pesticides, herbicides, batteries, drain cleaner, gasoline and pool chemicals. Proof of city residency is required to use the facility.

A clause in the landmark energy bill now before Congress could open the door for massive loan guarantees meant to entice investors to build nuclear power plants. This is an extremely important piece of legislation, and we strongly support its green features, including higher mileage standards for motor vehicles and a renewable electricity standard. But as longtime anti-nuclear activists, we believe guaranteeing loans to build new reactors is exactly wrong for a nation that needs to solve the global warming crisis while building a sustainable economy.

The metal containers designed to carry spent nuclear fuel from the Calvert Cliffs plant and other reactors to a proposed storage site in Nevada would have failed if the transport train had been engulfed in the estimated 1,500- degree heat of the Baltimore rail tunnel fire last summer, according to a consultant's report prepared for the state of Nevada. More than 300,000 people would have been exposed to radiation leaking from the containers, built to withstand 1,475 degrees for 30 minutes, said the report compiled by Radioactive Waste Management Associates, which was hired by Nevada's Agency for Nuclear Projects.

Columbia-based GTS Duratek Inc., a radioactive- and hazardous waste disposal company, announced yesterday that it will acquire the nuclear services business of Waste Management Inc. Duratek will pay up to $65 million in cash for the Waste Management unit, $55 million when the sale closes and $10 million if certain conditions are met after the sale is completed. The companies expect to complete the sale in the second quarter. Waste Management Nuclear Services identifies itself as one of the nation's leading companies in providing low-level radioactive waste management services to industrial customers and the federal government.