by Wyoming Liberty Group
The Minerals Committee discussion on HB16 was full of commentary on economic diversification and the general public's ignorance on nuclear technology. What was not mentioned, was that the nuclear industry is like any other industry. They have their share of issues and disagreements on best practices. What is the best way to do dry cask storage in this case? Did you know there is a disagreement within the industry on thin-walled casks versus thick-walled casks? Surely thick-walled is the safest and a no-brainer, right? Nope! Thin-walled casks are cheaper and have been used by the US nuclear industry for years. The NRC says they are fine to use.
Meanwhile, countries like Germany, Japan, and Switzerland have said that thick-walled casks are mandatory. Even France uses thick-walled casks for anything it stores long-term. Thick-walled casks are usually 15 to 20 inches of forged steel and are designed for both long-term storage and transport, unlike thin-walled canisters used in the US, which lack the ability to be internally monitored or reopened if necessary.
During the course of his presentation, Rep. Lloyd Larsen (R – Fremont County) mentioned a facility in Southern California that sits on military-owned land. He mistakenly said the facility was Diablo Canyon. It's actually the famous San Onofre facility, often called SONGS. He referred to the location while explaining to the committee that a decommissioned facility like that has nowhere to send their remaining waste being held in storage and that it would be nice if there was a central repository somewhere like Wyoming. After all "the Marine Corps would like to use that property, but can't because it's hosting and storing the spent fuel. "Well, there is a lot to know about the SONGS facility. We could spend a great deal of time highlighting all the issues with that facility, but in a nutshell, their problems with dry cask storage are plentiful. In 2018 alone, the facility experienced two major incidents.
On August 3, 2018, a 49-ton canister filled with spent nuclear fuel was being lowered into an underground storage vault when it got stuck on a guiding ring. Workers did not realize the canister was not adequately supported, and it was hanging at the edge of falling 18 feet to the bottom of the vault. The incident was not reported immediately, and whistleblowers later revealed that proper training and oversight were lacking. If the canister had dropped, it could have been severely damaged, with unknown risks of radiation exposure. Earlier in 2018, a whistleblower revealed that multiple thin-walled Holtec canisters used for storage were scratched while loading into concrete vaults. These scratches were deep enough to compromise the protective surface of the stainless steel, increasing the risk of corrosion and cracks over time. Holtec, the company responsible for the storage system, claimed the scratches were "insignificant," but critics warned that they could lead to stress corrosion cracking, especially in a marine environment like San Onofre. The materials at that site are about 100 feet from the ocean's edge, and it's easy to understand that metal and ocean water aren't the best of friends.
The near-drop incident exposed serious safety training and oversight failures at the facility, and the scratched canisters raised concerns about long-term integrity, as these thin-walled canisters cannot be repaired once sealed. That is just an example from one year at one facility. Multiple storage sites nationwide have experienced weld or gasket failures in the thin-walled casks over the years. These failures create the opportunity for radiation leaks to occur. The fact remains that human beings design, construct, monitor, and maintain these materials & facilities, and people make mistakes. Canisters crack, gaskets fail, materials are faulty, people get lazy, training gets missed, and so on.
What precautions can Wyoming take against ocean air corroded canisters? What assurances can Wyoming offer to residents of towns along the route receiving SNF? Where else could we receive canisters from? What condition would they be in? Do NRC storage regulations need to be strengthened to ensure safe transportation and storage? Will Wyoming's sometimes extreme weather variations put too much stress on the canisters as they expand and contract? Can Wyoming demand that thick-walled canisters be used and that any materials coming to our state be repackaged before transport? What if we receive a damaged cask? Can we send it back? It was mentioned at the meeting that the company that generated the waste is responsible for the SNF. How does that work at a central storage site? Who would be more responsible for the cleanup should the worst happen?? What happens if a company goes bankrupt and their canister fails? These are the hard questions Wyoming legislators need to address. A committee meeting doesn't allow time to address this critical issue and all these looming questions.
As the meeting was running out of time, the committee voted to table the bill. What that means is the committee is effectively postponing further consideration of that bill. This action sets the bill aside, and unless the committee decides to revisit it later, the bill remains inactive and does not progress through the legislative process. Tabling a bill can be a strategic move to delay or halt legislation without a direct vote against it. Before adjournment, it was evident that the general committee consensus was that Wyoming isn't ready to make this decision, and perhaps an interim study is in order. We couldn't agree more.