SPOKANE, Wash. – A plan to transport liquid, radioactive waste by traveling through Spokane via train or truck has stirred opposition from Mayor Lisa Brown and from City Council Members.
The radioactive waste is set to be transported from the Hanford Nuclear Site in Tri-Cities to Clive, Utah and Andrews, Texas.
The decision to route the shipments through Spokane followed concerns raised by partners in Oregon about the risks associated with trucking toxic waste through their communities.
At Monday’s City Council meeting, Council Member Zack Zappone sponsored a special consideration regarding a letter he wrote voicing concerns about the toxic waste.
He told NonStop Local that the letter, which will be sent to Governor Jay Inslee, the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, the regional administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, emphasizes support for finding alternative solutions.
One solution could be turning the liquid chemicals into a solid form before transportation.
Zappone’s main concern is having hazardous, toxic sludge brought through densely populated areas where many live, such as near I-90 or train tracks.
“What if it’s worse case scenario. We don’t want to put our residents at risk or knowingly putting them at risk… There’s a lot of fear if something were to happen and there’s a spill of liquid waste in our downtown, along interstate 90 [or] through the Valley. That’s a lot of people,” Zappone said.
The letter also will ask the EPA to conduct an assessment of what environmental impacts could be at risk if the route goes through Spokane.
“We’re just asking to please do this in a thorough, transparent process with community outreach, so people know what’s happening. And do a full assessment of that too. So that we all know the potential risks that are associated with it,” Zappone said.
At Monday’s meeting, the Council will vote to add their signatures to the letter before it is sent to state and federal representatives.
