State Commission Approves License For Low-level Radioactive Waste Facility

摘要

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Jan. 14 voted 2-0 to grant Dallas-based Waste Control Specialists a license to dispose of low-level radioactive waste from Texas, Vermont, and the federal government at a site in West Texas near the New Mexico border.rnThe license authorizes two separate facilities to dispose of up to 28 million cubic feet of Class A, B, and C low-level radioactive waste.rnOne commissioner abstained from the vote.rnThe license will require Waste Control Specialists, a subsidiary of Valhi Inc., to acquire mineral rights to property below the waste facilities.rnBefore voting on the license, the commission denied a request of the Sierra Club's Lone Star Chapter on behalf of its Eunice, N.M., members for a contested case hearing before an administrative law judge to decide the merits of the license.rnIn a statement, the Sierra Club said the environmental analysis prepared by the commission showed that basic facts about the proposed sites, its final design, radioactive safety program, the level of the water tables, and saturation levels had not been satisfied by the applicant. The environmental organization also claimed the application failed to consider climatic conditions that might change, including high winds and precipitation.