Nuclear Issues in Tennessee presentation by Kathleen Ferris of Citizens to ENDIT at KNOW NUKES Y'ALL SUMMIT on June 30, 2012.

1. West TN

2. Shelby County
• North Shelby County Landfills has received
the most radioactive waste of any landfill in
TN, over 17 Million Pounds in 6 years.
• The city of Memphis depends upon an
underground aquifer for its drinking water.
• If the drinking water is contaminated, the
health and welfare of 670,000 people will be
threatened. Memphis is the largest city in
Tennessee.
• Memphis lies on a major earthquake fault.
Even a minor earthquake might damage
those landfills and pollute the water.

3. Memphis Aquifer

4. PRESIDENT’S ISLAND IN MEMPHIS

5. Memphis – President’s Island
• President’s Island is home to EnergySolutions
and Studsvik radioactive waste processing
facilities. Both specialize in large metal
components.
• Studsvik processed 12,000,000 pounds in the
last 5 years.
• Much of the “low-level” waste goes into the
North and South Shelby County Landfills.

6. RADIOACTIVE STEAM GENERATORS
The Studsvik facility on President’s Island in
Memphis is the only place in the U.S. where
radioactive steam generators from pressurized
water reactors are taken for processing or
dismantling. These units are up to 70 feet tall and
weigh as much as 800 tons. These must be taken
apart, piece by piece to separate the parts that are
highly radioactive. These contain a significant
amount of plutonium and other dangerous
radionuclides. Much of the material deemed to be
“extremely low level” by Studsvik will end up in
the North or South Shelby landfills.

7. Into Memphis
Inside a Steam Generator

8. Oak Ridge

9. Other Radioactive Waste Facilities
in Tennessee
•Studsvik and StudsvikRACE at Erwin and
Memphis
•Nuclear Fuel Services at Erwin
•Philotechnics at Oak Ridge
•Bionomics at Oak Ridge
•DSSI Permafix at Kingston
•EnergySolutions Memphis, Oak Ridge

10. Processors in TN that Heat Treat
Radioactive Waste
•EnergySolutions in Oak Ridge- 2 incinerators
•DSSI PermaFix in Kingston- radioactive and
mixed waste boiler, processes PCBs
•Studsvik in Erwin-- pyroprocessing
•IMPACT in Oak Ridge – pyroprocessing
•Duratek metal melt in Oak Ridge
•TOXCO metal melt in Oak Ridge
•Aerojet oxidizer in Jonesborough (metallic
uranium chips)

11. Facts about Incineration
• Incineration produces toxic and carcinogenic
substances such as dioxins, furans, particlate
matter, heavy metals such as lead and mercury.
• Inhaling radioactive particles is doubly dangerous.
• When considering the impact of an incinerator, it
is necessary to consider the collective impact of
incinerators in the region.
• Oak Ridge has 4 incinerators within fairly close
proximity. Some process weapons waste.
• To our knowledge, NO environmental impact
study has been ever been done.

12. Oak Ridge 37,000 acre federal reservation
• home of the Oak Ridge Nat’l Laboratory
(ORNL)
• of the Y-12 Nat’l Security Complex
• of the East TN Technology Park
• site where uranium was enriched for the
first WWII atomic bombs
• since used to enrich uranium, dismantle
bombs. etc.
• one of the most polluted sites in USA
• years ago waste was just buried in
ditches
• DOE trying to clean it up—not easy

13. DOE is planning to built a super
bomb plant at Y-12.
“On April 2 [2012], the Defense Nuclear
Facilities Safety Board released a highly
critical report about the design plans for the
Uranium Processing Facility planned for the
Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Complex in Oak Ridge.
The Safety Board's report, coupled with
findings of the General Accounting Office,
make a strong case for putting a hold on
funding construction of the UPF.” (Ralph Hutchison)

14. Estimates of the total cost of the
Uranium Processing Facility in
Oak Ridge started at $600
million– $1.5 billion back in
2005. By last year the total
pricetag was estimated at $7.5
billion by the Department of
Energy and $8 billion by the
Army Corps of Engineers. That’s
a 1000% increase!

15. Erwin

16. Nuclear Fuel Services
In Erwin, Tennessee

17. NFS enriches uranium to
create nuclear fuel for
nuclear submarines and
aircraft carriers. It also is
used for U.S. nuclear
weapons.

18. Erwin, TN, home of Areva and NFS

19. The Nolichucky River

20. Erwin, TN, is home
to both Nuclear
Fuel Services and
Studsvik.
A study released on
Nov. 11, 2010,
shows that Nuclear
Fuel Services in
Erwin is apparently
discharging
enriched uranium
into the Nolichucky
River. Uranium was
found up to 45
miles down river.

22. Six TVA
Nuclear Reactors
in or near
Tennessee

23. Browns Ferry Plant (3 reactors) near Athens, AL

24. Browns Ferry’s Record
 Built between 1966 and 1977, TVA’s oldest
 Same GE design as Fukushima
 Almost 1 million pop. within 50 mi. radius
 Only reactor in nation to have NRC RED FLAG
inspection rating (worst)
 Contains 3.1 million lbs. radioactive “spent” fuel
in cooling pools
 Since 1980 BF has reported more than 1700
“events” to the NRC, has had repeated
shutdowns
Licenses of 3 reactors were renewed in May of
2006 to operate until 2033, 2034, and 2036

25. Tornados April 27, 2011

27. Sequoyah
Two reactors
Located not far from downtown Chattanooga
Built in 1980 & 1981, license renewed to 2041
Over 1 million people within 50 mi. radius

28. Watts Bar
Located between Chattanooga and Knoxville
One reactor operating, 2nd under construction since
2007, supposed to open in 2012, again delayed 2 yrs or
more , $2 BILLION OVER ESTIMATED COST

29. Bellefonte
The ZOMBIE
REACTOR
Located near
Scottsboro, AL
Begun In 1974.
stopped in 1988,
cannibalized
for parts by TVA in
2006 & 07.
RESURRECTED in 2008 when TVA asked NRC to reinstate
deferred license. Approved by TVA Board for
construction after Watts Bar 2 begins operating.
Estimated cost, $4 to $5 BILLION.

32. Water consumption by type of electricity generation:
This article was corrected on 12 September 2011

33. TVA has 6 nuclear reactors on the Tennessee River
+
One more in construction at Watts Bar +
One more planned at Bellefonte= 8 reactors
Each reactor uses about 24 million gallons of water
per day.
Current water usage = c. 144 million gal/day
Projected water usage = c. 192 million gal./day

37. A typical nuclear power plant in a
year generates 20 metric tons of
used nuclear fuel. The nuclear
industry generates a total of about
2,000 - 2,300 metric tons of used
fuel per year.
That accounts only for high level
waste.

39. The USA has 104 nuclear reactors
churning out tons of radioactive waste
every year. Spent fuel rods are stored in
pools to cool and are then placed in
casks on site. No place for permanent
disposal. “Low-level” waste is sent to TN
for processing and then for burial or
incineration. Radioactive metals may
soon be recycled into objects for
commercial use. Cooking pots? Braces
for kids’ teeth?

40. There is no such thing as real
nuclear clean-up, just an effort
to incinerate, to sort, to bury,
and to move radioactive waste
from one location to another.
Some lethal radionuclides will
be with the earth for up to a
million years.