West TN

Shelby County• North Shelby County Landfills has received

the most radioactive waste of any landfill in TN, over 17 Million Pounds in 6 years.

• The city of Memphis depends upon an underground aquifer for its drinking water.

• If the drinking water is contaminated, the health and welfare of 670,000 people will be threatened. Memphis is the largest city in Tennessee.

• Memphis lies on a major earthquake fault. Even a minor earthquake might damage those landfills and pollute the water.

Memphis Aquifer

PRESIDENT’S ISLAND IN MEMPHIS

Memphis – President’s Island

• President’s Island is home to EnergySolutions and Studsvik radioactive waste processing facilities. Both specialize in large metal components.

• Studsvik processed 12,000,000 pounds in the last 5 years.

• Much of the “low-level” waste goes into the North and South Shelby County Landfills.

RADIOACTIVE STEAM GENERATORSThe Studsvik facility on President’s Island in Memphis is the only place in the U.S. where radioactive steam generators from pressurized water reactors are taken for processing or dismantling. These units are up to 70 feet tall and weigh as much as 800 tons. These must be taken apart, piece by piece to separate the parts that are highly radioactive. These contain a significant amount of plutonium and other dangerous radionuclides. Much of the material deemed to be “extremely low level” by Studsvik will end up in the North or South Shelby landfills.

Into MemphisInside a Steam Generator

Oak Ridge

Other Radioactive Waste Facilities

in Tennessee

•Studsvik and StudsvikRACE at Erwin and Memphis•Nuclear Fuel Services at Erwin•Philotechnics at Oak Ridge •Bionomics at Oak Ridge•DSSI Permafix at Kingston•EnergySolutions Memphis, Oak Ridge

Processors in TN that Heat Treat Radioactive Waste

•EnergySolutions in Oak Ridge- 2 incinerators•DSSI PermaFix in Kingston- radioactive and mixed waste boiler, processes PCBs •Studsvik in Erwin-- pyroprocessing•IMPACT in Oak Ridge – pyroprocessing•Duratek metal melt in Oak Ridge•TOXCO metal melt in Oak Ridge•Aerojet oxidizer in Jonesborough (metallic uranium chips)

Facts about Incineration• Incineration produces toxic and carcinogenic

substances such as dioxins, furans, particlate matter, heavy metals such as lead and mercury.

• Inhaling radioactive particles is doubly dangerous.• When considering the impact of an incinerator, it

is necessary to consider the collective impact of incinerators in the region.

• Oak Ridge has 4 incinerators within fairly close proximity. Some process weapons waste.

• To our knowledge, NO environmental impact study has been ever been done.

Oak Ridge 37,000 acre federal reservation• home of the Oak Ridge Nat’l Laboratory

(ORNL)• of the Y-12 Nat’l Security Complex • of the East TN Technology Park • site where uranium was enriched for the

first WWII atomic bombs• since used to enrich uranium, dismantle

bombs. etc.• one of the most polluted sites in USA• years ago waste was just buried in ditches • DOE trying to clean it up—not easy

DOE is planning to built a super bomb plant at Y-12.

“On April 2 [2012], the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board released a highly critical report about the design plans for the Uranium Processing Facility planned for the Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Complex in Oak Ridge. The Safety Board's report, coupled with findings of the General Accounting Office, make a strong case for putting a hold on funding construction of the UPF.” (Ralph Hutchison)

Estimates of the total cost of the Uranium Processing Facility in Oak Ridge started at $600 million– $1.5 billion back in 2005. By last year the total pricetag was estimated at $7.5 billion by the Department of Energy and $8 billion by the Army Corps of Engineers. That’s a 1000% increase!

Erwin

Nuclear Fuel Services In Erwin, Tennessee

NFS enriches uranium to create nuclear fuel for nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers. It also is used for U.S. nuclear weapons.

Erwin, TN, home of Areva and NFS

The Nolichucky River

Erwin, TN, is home to both Nuclear

Fuel Services and Studsvik.

A study released on Nov. 11, 2010, shows that Nuclear Fuel Services in Erwin is apparently discharging enriched uranium into the Nolichucky River. Uranium was found up to 45 miles down river.

Six TVA Nuclear Reactors

in or nearTennessee

Browns Ferry Plant (3 reactors) near Athens, AL

Browns Ferry’s Record

Built between 1966 and 1977, TVA’s oldest Same GE design as Fukushima Almost 1 million pop. within 50 mi. radius Only reactor in nation to have NRC RED FLAG inspection rating (worst) Contains 3.1 million lbs. radioactive “spent” fuel

in cooling pools Since 1980 BF has reported more than 1700 “events” to the NRC, has had repeated shutdownsLicenses of 3 reactors were renewed in May of 2006 to operate until 2033, 2034, and 2036

Licenses renewed until 2033,2034 & 2037

Tornados April 27, 2011

Sequoyah

Two reactorsLocated not far from downtown ChattanoogaBuilt in 1980 & 1981, license renewed to 2041Over 1 million people within 50 mi. radius

Watts Bar

Located between Chattanooga and KnoxvilleOne reactor operating, 2nd under construction since 2007, supposed to open in 2012, again delayed 2 yrs or more , $2 BILLION OVER ESTIMATED COST

BellefonteThe ZOMBIE

REACTORLocated near

Scottsboro, ALBegun In 1974.

stopped in 1988, cannibalized

for parts by TVA in 2006 & 07.

RESURRECTED in 2008 when TVA asked NRC to reinstate deferred license. Approved by TVA Board for construction after Watts Bar 2 begins operating. Estimated cost, $4 to $5 BILLION.

Water consumption by type of electricity generation:

This article was corrected on 12 September 2011

TVA has 6 nuclear reactors on the Tennessee River +One more in construction at Watts Bar +One more planned at Bellefonte= 8 reactors

Each reactor uses about 24 million gallons of water per day.

Current water usage = c. 144 million gal/day

Projected water usage = c. 192 million gal./day

A typical nuclear power plant in a year generates 20 metric tons of used nuclear fuel. The nuclear industry generates a total of about 2,000 - 2,300 metric tons of used fuel per year.

That accounts only for high level waste.

The USA has 104 nuclear reactors churning out tons of radioactive waste every year. Spent fuel rods are stored in pools to cool and are then placed in casks on site. No place for permanent disposal. “Low-level” waste is sent to TN for processing and then for burial or incineration. Radioactive metals may soon be recycled into objects for commercial use. Cooking pots? Braces for kids’ teeth?

There is no such thing as real nuclear clean-up, just an effort to incinerate, to sort, to bury,

and to move radioactive waste from one location to another. Some lethal radionuclides will be with the earth for up to a

million years.