Residents question project

A couple of hundred turn out for meeting about the plutonium project at INL

By NICOLE STRICKER
nstricker@postregister.com

Cooler heads tend to prevail in Idaho Falls when it comes to nuclear projects than in some surrounding communities.

More than 200 people turned out for a public meeting Monday night about a proposal to base the nation's nuclear battery work at Idaho National Laboratory.

The vibe was opposite of meetings in Sun Valley and Jackson, Wyo., where participants were emotional, confrontational and almost universally opposed to the project.

Roughly 200 people turned out in both those towns -- more than 30 people spoke against the proposal in Sun Valley and 20 voiced opposition in Jackson. Two people spoke in favor of the project at each meeting. Of the roughly 240 people at Monday's meeting, at least half of the speakers supported the project.

Few yelled at Department of Energy officials, and most applauded at the end of each public comment, even those opposing the project.

The meeting started with a 30-minute presentation by Tim Frazier, head of the DOE's nuclear battery program. He explained why the DOE wants to make batteries of plutonium-238 (not the weapons-grade 239 isotope): They provide energy for deep-space probes and national security devices. The DOE will restart domestic production of the battery plutonium and is trying to decide where to base the work. The current infrastructure uses three national labs, but the DOE wants to base the entire project at INL.

"This project is an opportunity for Idaho," said Kathleen Trever, who coordinates INL oversight for the state. "But we must do our homework to make sure it merits our support."

Trever urged the DOE to protect the health of workers and residents, make sure the project doesn't compromise the environment or lab cleanup, and seek independent oversight.

Tami Thatcher, a former nuclear safety analyst at INL's Advanced Test Reactor, where the plutonium would be generated, had concerns about the DOE's safety priorities.

"There are many troubling aspects of how DOE has historically and is currently conducting its nuclear reactor operations," she said. "Because contractor award fees depend on production and schedule, I know firsthand what priority DOE's contractors give to safety."

Like Thatcher, a few others voiced concerns about the safety of workers, the environment and the nation. But many spoke in support of the proposal, including Idaho legislators Mel Richardson, Russ Mathews and Jack Barraclough.

"It's not just about jobs, it's about national security," Barraclough said. "We need to get rid of this image that nuclear is bad -- it's done a lot more good than bad."

The support of the crowd was evident during the question-and-answer period, when several questioned claims that plutonium is one of the deadliest substances known to man and that the project would result in massive plutonium releases.

Barbara Dolphin of Idaho Falls asked why she's never heard of a plutonium disaster in the 40 years the DOE has been making nuclear batteries.

"Are you lying or are there people dying in the streets?" she asked.

Frazier responded that no American deaths have been associated with cancer linked to plutonium exposure.

DOE officials will hold three more public meetings in Idaho to gather comments about the draft Environmental Impact Statement that outlines its preference for INL. Comments will be considered when writing the final impact statement, which should come out in November. The Secretary of Energy will use that document to decide where the DOE should make plutonium-238 for batteries.

The final meeting in eastern Idaho will be today at the Fort Hall Tribal Business Center. Meetings in Twin Falls and Boise will be Wednesday and Thursday.

Science and Medicine reporter Nicole Stricker can be reached at 542-6763.

INSIDE

• INL awards grants to schools, teachers / C3

If you go

The Department of Energy will host several public meetings to hear comments about its proposal to consolidate plutonium battery production at Idaho National Lab.

When: 7 p.m. today

Where: Fort Hall Tribal Business Center, Interstate 15 Exit 80, Fort Hall

To learn more

Copies of the draft Environmental Impact Statement for the plan to consolidate plutonium battery production in Idaho are available at the Idaho Falls Public Library (457 Broadway), the DOE public reading room (1776 Science Center Drive) and online at http://consolidationeis.doe.gov under "publications."

Get involved

Submit comments using any of the following methods.

Phone: (800) 919-3706

Fax: (800) 919-3765

E-mail: consolidationeis@nuclear .energy.gov

U.S. mail: Timothy Frazier, document manager; U.S. Department of Energy; NE-50/GTN Building; 1000 Independence Ave. S.W.; Washington, D.C. 20585-1290

For more information on these and other stories see today'edition of the Post Register or subscribe online.

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