1996 RESOLUTIONS
Home
About the FWOC
Join the FWOC
Member Organizations
Adopted Resolutions
Outdoors West
Officers
Current List of Conservation Developments with Bush Administration
History
Policy Summary
Convention Schedule
Related Links
Site Map
|
FEDERATION OF WESTERN OUTDOOR CLUBS
|
1996 FWOC
Resolution
No. 9:
USE OF THE HANFORD FAST FLUX TEST REACTOR
FOR TRITIUM PRODUCTION
|
|
The Fast Flux Test Reactor
Facility (FFTF) was built to test new designs and nuclear fuels for the
then-proposed nation's liquid metal cooled reactor development
program. These were to be advanced nuclear power plants such as
France and Japan have under development. The U.S. government has
decided not to keep up with this reactor development program, and the
FFTF was shut down. Note that even though it was based at
Hanford, the FFTF was never even remotely considered to be a part of
the nation's nuclear weapons program. Assertions relating the
deplorable existing tritium contamination with potential FFTF
operations are unfounded and inaccurate.
|
There are other options
for obtaining tritium besides restart-up of the FFTF, such as using
accelerators at Los Alamos, re-start of specialized reactors at
Savannah River, etc. In any event, and only if such activities
are justified for our nation's defense, any tritium production at any
Department of Energy site, must be funded entirely by the Department of
Defense, so that no DOE site clean-up activities are impeded by
diversion of funds. If the FFTF is started up for a mission for
which it is not designed, an Environmental Impact Statement should be
prepared, per the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), which
would include public hearings and comment input.
|
|
Note that in a letter DOE
Secretary of February 12, 1996, the Federation soundly criticized DOE
for using what is considered an environmentally risky and
hyper-expensive method for dealing with left-over fuel from the
shut-down of Hanford's N-reactor. This letter was written to
respond to concerns expressed by nuclear professionals on reading media
accounts of how this fuel was being dealt with. As of the 1996
Annual Meeting, there had been no response from the DOE on this matter.
|
In summary, the Federation
of Western Outdoor Clubs opposes the re-start of the FFTF for a mission
for it was not designed without adequate NEPA review. The
Federation is wholly opposed to any such mission, should it be
necessary, that is not wholly funded by the Defense Department.
|
|
...................................................................................................................
|
|
Member Clubs and individual members of the
Federation of Western Outdoor Clubs with an interest in this matter
should send a copy of the above Resolution along with pertinent
comments of their own to their Congressional Delegations, since the DOE
is proven to be unresponsive and uncommunicative.
|
|
next
>>
|