Utah: The global nuclear waste dumping ground
Bateman: Utah: The global nuclear waste dumping ground
By: Joseph Bateman
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Not content with building a Tower of Babel out of America's nuclear waste at its Clive site, EnergySolutions President Steve Creamer wants to import 20,000 tons of Italian nuclear waste and bury it in Utah. Apparently, the "solution" in the company's name stands for "dump it in Utah."
Don't worry about the health risks, groundwater contamination or that nuclear waste takes hundreds, if not thousands, of years to break down. Just think about the opportunities. Utahns already got a fancy new name for the arena formerly known as the Delta Center.
Not convinced? Well, just think about the tourist potential. Forget about the greatest snow on Earth, Temple Square or even the Golden Spike. We could be the first state that glows in the dark. Say goodbye to electric bills and say hello to the three-eyed cutthroat. The tickets would fly for the "climb the nuclear waste container" attraction or even a nuclear waste version of the corn maze. The possibilities are limitless like the nuclear waste in our state.
Gov. Huntsman must see the same tourist dollar signs dance across his eyes, as he doesn't object to the importation of the fine Italian waste. We already import their pasta, wine and loafers, so what's wrong with a little of the world's most dangerous substance? Maybe the governor forgot his anti-nuclear waste pledge or that being a public servant means you serve and protect the people, not the multi-million dollar corporations and their army of lobbyists.
Reps. Matheson, Bishop and Cannon must go to bed with the same dreams of grandeur, or stay up into the night counting the campaign contributions from EnergySolutions. Despite objections from several other members of the House of Representatives, Utah's delegation remains absurdly silent.
The reality is that this nuclear waste doesn't benefit anyone but Creamer, fattening his already burgeoning wallet. Our so-called leaders champion business at the expense of the people, and the pundits wonder why Congress' approval rating is at historic lows.
Since our induction into the Union, America has viewed Utah as a giant dumping ground. "Not in my backyard" for the rest of the nation meant "bring it to Utah."
Just ask the residents who lived downwind of the nuclear bomb tests. Take a tour of the superfund sites of the uranium mines and mills and the dead miners' graves. Stroll past US Magnesium Corporation, otherwise known as Magcorp or to the EPA as the nation's worst toxic air polluter, spewing tons of PCB and chlorine gas into the air and making Utah's air some of the most polluted in the nation.
The sad part is that if these things were happening in New York or California, the residents would be up in arms demanding action, but, in the Land of Zion, it's business as usual because silence reigns supreme in keeping Utah's dirty secret safe.
letters@chronicle.utah.edu
Gregor Gable
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