The history of the West Valley nuclear site is one of environmental oversight and community disenfranchisement going back almost 40 years. Most people in the Western New York area would be shocked to learn that not only do we have a nuclear waste site in our midst, but also that it is the only one in the country not connected to a reactor or weapons project. In 1966 the state strong-armed its way into the Southern Tier, acquiring 3,300 acres through eminent domain. Waste soon began coming in from neighboring states, giving Western New York the honor of dealing with the dirty laundry of our country’s nuclear program. Almost from the beginning there were problems, including widespread leakage and unsafe burial of wastes. In 1972 the Atomic Energy Commission stepped in and shut down the original processing operation conducted by Nuclear Fuel Services. Despite their gross environmental record, NFS was immediately contracted AGAIN to clean up their own operation. Unfortunately, their idea of cleanup was dumping radioactive material in nearby Buttermilk and Cattaraugus Creek, as well as burying drums of radioactive waste sealed only with duct tape. During this time citizens became very concerned and the Coalition on West Valley Nuclear Wastes was formed. New cleanup regulations prompted NFS to cut-and-run in 1976, leaving the state and the local people with a huge nuclear mess to clean up.
Due to Coalition pressure, the West Valley Demonstration Act (a Federal bill) was passed in 1981. This law provided the framework for a cleanup but was light on specifics. In 1982 solidification in glass was chosen as the cleanup method for the most dangerous high-level waste, but this left the vast amount of waste not classified as “high-level” relatively untouched. The Department of Energy’s attitude towards the so-called “low level” waste has largely been one of “out of sight, out of mind”. Since cleanup of low-level waste was not specifically mentioned in the legislation, (as the “high-level” waste was) they have felt a certain lack of compulsion to act. After all, the waste is buried in Western New York, not under the DOE’s offices. However, we are the ones feeling the brunt of their inaction. Along with the inadequately buried waste on-site there is also a plume of radioactive material that has been moving through the groundwater since the late 60s. It was not discovered by the DOE until 1992, and has still not been satisfactorily cleaned up. It is a major current problem to area residents such as local towns and the Seneca Nation, but the DOE has largely turned a blind eye.
Vitrification (glass fusion) of the most dangerous waste was completed in 2002, but the community still has not seen a plan dealing with the other waste on site. A Coalition settlement in 1987 forced the hand of DOE in making a decision about eventual site closure, but the area would have to wait 9 years for even a draft copy of the EIS to surface. Although inconclusive as to a preferred method of cleanup, the ’96 EIS did identify troubling erosion predictions, since West Valley is on a glacial till that will likely erode into the Great Lakes basin within a thousand years. (This may seem like an eternity, but the waste on site will be dangerous for tens of thousands of years.) Perhaps in response to this the DOE in 2000 decided to split the EIS process into two parts, waste management and decommissioning and eventual site release. This obfuscates the issue by focusing only on what is easily identifiable as “waste” and shrugging aside pressing contamination issues such as radioactive tanks used for reprocessing and the groundwater plume.
Despite the fact that the DOE has still not released an EIS for eventual site release (it is projected for early 2007) new federal legislation has come on the table that could further limit the ability of community members to demand a comprehensive cleanup. The West Valley Remediation Act (sponsored by local politicians) would give the site over to the Federal government to clean it up as they see fit. The earlier state involvement in the cleanup (paying 10% of costs) would be effectively eliminated, giving the DOE full financial responsibility for protecting the health of WNY for thousands of years to come. The DOE has shown time and time again that they protect their own interests, not those of the people in the area. The bill must be stopped or altered so that it provides for more community involvement, not less.
The cause of the current dire situation in West Valley is not only the missteps of the DOE and NFS, but the lack of power the surrounding area has had in determining their own destiny. As a region we must mobilize to demand the protection of not only our health, but that of future Western New Yorkers. What is needed immediately is a Full Cost Accounting study that will look into the long-term environmental and economic repercussions of the different site cleanups possible. The EIS prepared by the DOE and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority will only go out 100 years, not the thousands of years that the waste is dangerous for. Furthermore, the DOE and NYSERDA have a vested interest in performing the cleanup as cheaply as possible, since they are not the ones who will be affected by the ramifications of a sub-standard cleanup. The Full Cost Accounting study will provide an essential independent voice that will give the community the power to fight for its own health.