Skip to main content

ODing on DU

Image
By
The SL Tribune reported today that the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has cleared EnergySolutions to store and dispose of depleted uranium at its Utah site. Great news, right? Depleted? Means less radioactive?

Well, yes and no. The USNRC decided to classify depleted uranium as a class A low-level waste, which may or may not be fair; "low-level waste" just means that DU doesn't qualify as high-level waste, mill tailings, transuranic waste or spent nuclear fuel. That said, that does not mean that DU is safe, or that it's a good thing that we Utahns will be getting a heaping helping (1.4 million tons! huzzah!) of it.

Depleted uranium is, indeed, less radioactive than other forms of uranium (thus the word "depleted," I would imagine). However, converting it for disposal is extremely dangerous:

Conversion of uranium hexafluoride to oxide or metal may involve hazardous chemicals in addition to UF6; specifically, ammonia (NH3) may be used in the process, and HF may be produced from the process. In the PEIS, the conversion accidents estimated to have the largest potential consequences were accidents involving the rupture of tanks containing either anhydrous HF or ammonia. Such an accident could be caused by a large earthquake.
A large earthquake, you say? In Utah? Well, I find that highly unlikely.

Once it has been processed from DU to a DU oxide, the stuff gets slightly safer, but still, I'm not a happy camper about this decision. Yet another victory for EnergySolutions, and yet another loss for Utah.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Apparently, Liberals Are The Illuminati

By
posted 10/5/2012 by the Salt City Sinner Greetings, sheeple, from my stronghold high atop the Wells Fargo Building in downtown Salt City, where I type this before a massive, glowing bank of monitors that display the ongoing progress of my 23-point plan for complete social control. Whether you want to demonize me as a "liberal," or prefer the Glenn Beck update "progressive," we all know the truth, and it's time to pull the curtain aside: like all left-leaning persons, I am actually a member of the Illuminati. How else to explain how much power my side of the aisle wields in U.S. American politics? According to conservatives, liberals/the Illuminati control the media * , science * , academia in general * , public schools * , public radio * , pretty much anything "public," the courts * , and Hollywood * . Hell, we pretty much control everything except for scrappy, underdog operations like WND and Fox News, or quiet, marginalized voices like...
126 comments
Read more

Where (Else) to Find My Writing

By
REGULARLY UPDATED Posted on 1/9/2020  - UPDATED 2/4/2025 MY FULL-LENGTH   NONFICTION DEBUT! BLACK SUNRISE ON PISS EARTH: FASCISM, NIHILISM, AND THE 21ST CENTURY OCCULT Black Sunrise on Piss Earth: Fascism, Nihilism, and the 21st Century Occult is a nonfiction, anti-fascist, punk rock, and no-holds-barred look at the role that nihilism and the postmodern occult have played in the development of fascist movements in the United States, Great Britain, Germany, and elsewhere – a coordinated movement I call the Fascist Internationale. The manuscript’s title is a reference to Piss Earth 2025, a piece of fascist agitprop that I respond to, using my refutation as a framework for looking at the dangerous, deadly, and dumbass ideas undergirding everything from QAnon and Christian Identity to Nazi Satanist- worshipers the Order of Nine Angles and portions of the Asatru (Norse Pantheon worship) and chaos magick communities. HE LED US INTO THE WILDERNESS AND SPOKE TO US My fourth novel! No...
Post a Comment
Read more

May Day, Salt Lake City

By
Posted on 5/1/2012 by the Salt City Sinner It was a glorious spring day in Salt City today.So why not get some exercise in the form of a protest march celebrating May Day ? Our goal was to meet at the City County Building and march to the capitol. The crowd started to gather at the City County building at 3:00 PM, MST. The big news on the street was that the Black Bloc would be in attendance ( my views on the Bloc are mixed at best). Were there Black Bloc comrades* at today's march? Yes, there were: The real  story here is that we had an ally far more lovable (but I would argue less flexible) than the Bloc on our side. Gumby. My favorite sign by far: And we marched! At one point the protesters were too many to stay on the sidewalk and spilled into the street, effectively stopping traffic. The cops (who were already on scene) blared their sirens and ominously intoned "STAY OFF THE STREET" through bullhorns. The response? Protes...
6 comments
Read more