By admin 
South Carolina’s effort to expand its nuclear capabilities includes discussion of burying high-level nuclear waste in “boreholes,’’ deep trenches in the ground that one environmental group worries could be used to dispose of other states’ atomic refuse.
Read more Missouri sues Kansas City, alleging discrimination against white people and men
The idea, mentioned in a proposal to establish a nuclear innovation campus in South Carolina, did not go into detail but said burying waste in boreholes is a concept that should be examined.
“South Carolina is interested in exploring the potential role emerging technologies may play in the future of nuclear-fuel management, including concepts such as deep borehole disposal as a potential pathway for long-term isolation,’’ according to the proposal to the U.S. Department of Energy.
It’s expected that the proposed nuclear campus would be at the 310-square mile Savannah River Site atomic weapons complex near Aiken, with boreholes potentially located there.
The South Carolina proposal said the Savannah River Site’s national laboratory could study previous borehole research “and assess technical feasibility under South Carolina-specific geological conditions.’’
Several state officials who support developing the nuclear campus said they doubt the campus would accept any nuclear waste from outside South Carolina for disposal in boreholes, despite what the proposal indicated. But Tom Clements, a longtime critic of state nuclear policies, said he’s not so sure.
The country abandoned its only designated high-level nuclear waste disposal site at Yucca Mountain, Nev., during President Barack Obama’s administration more than 15 years ago as environmental concerns mounted . That left high-level waste scattered and building up at commercial nuclear plants across the country.
The nation has about 100,000 metric tons of used nuclear fuel from commercial power plants, according to a July 17 news release from Savannah River Site Watch, the organization Clements directs.
“There is no indication that the public would be supportive of a borehole plan that could result in South Carolina become a dumping ground for a portion of the nation’s 100,000 metric tons of deadly irradiated nuclear fuel,’’ Clements said in the news release. The release called the idea “a questionable method that has not undergone technical or environmental review.’’
Bringing waste from out of state to South Carolina has historically been a hot button issue. In the past, the state had a low-level nuclear waste dump in Barnwell County, a medical waste incinerator in Hampton County and a hazardous waste landfill near Lake Marion in Sumter County. The low-level waste dump is still operating, although it is now open to only a few states.
According to a 2020 story in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, one plan to use boreholes for nuclear waste disposal looked at drilling them on commercial nuclear power plant sites to take care of waste created at those facilities. The holes would be hundreds of feet to several miles deep.
Read more SC prison guard got bribe money for designer items, luxury car and plastic surgery
The S.C. Department of Commerce recently released the March nuclear campus proposal to Clements under the state’s open records law.
A Commerce spokeswoman said South Carolina isn’t interested in any one type of waste disposal, but it is “open to further discussions regarding long-term fuel management and disposal concepts.’’ South Carolina needs additional information, the Commerce Department’s Alex Clark said in an email to The State.
Clark said the state’s interest in establishing the nuclear campus could be good for the economy.
The nuclear innovation campus could support fuel fabrication and recycling used nuclear fuel, as well as contain facilities for advanced nuclear reactors and power generation, a federal proposal says. South Carolina is competing with other states to land such a campus. The idea is that it would include different nuclear processes in one place.
“A potential nuclear innovation campus would be part of South Carolina’s growing advanced energy ecosystem — contributing a projected $60 billion in private investment and 15,000 direct, new jobs,’’ she said.
Rick Lee, who chairs the S.C. Governor’s Nuclear Advisory Council, was skeptical the state would allow boreholes to be drilled for waste disposal. South Carolina may not be suitable for boreholes as a way to dispose of waste, Lee said.
“I don’t believe the geology will work,’’ Lee said in a brief interview.
Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, said the Senate has passed legislation clearly stating South Carolina does not want to import nuclear waste for disposal.
High-level nuclear waste is some of the most dangerous atomic refuse in the world, in some cases taking thousands of years to break down. It is generated at nuclear weapons sites, as well as at commercial nuclear plants during the process of making energy.
Once nuclear fuel is used up at power plants, the material is hot, highly radioactive and needs to cool down. The existing method of dealing with used fuel is to deposit it in pools until it cools. Later, the waste is encased in thick casks and positioned above ground at commercial nuclear plants, including those in South Carolina.
Clements said boreholes aren’t the answer to the nation’s nuclear waste problem.
“The poorly-thought-out scheme to look into spent fuel disposal in boreholes in South Carolina should be immediately withdrawn as it could hold significant environmental, health and cost downsides that the people of South Carolina won’t tolerate,’’ he said in the release.
Read more SC prison guard got bribe money for designer items, luxury car and plastic surgery