Utah lawmaker wants his district to store and recycle nuclear waste

Salt Lake Tribune ^ | March 4, 2026 | Lia Larson, Matt Ward

[Pontiac]

Utah leaders are aggressively pursuing nuclear power, but a controversial “poison pill” lingers: what to do with the dangerous waste. Now the state is exploring whether to become one of the antidotes for the nation — by potentially storing nuclear waste in the massive salt deposit in Millard County.

Caverns carved into the salt dome already hold natural gas liquids, gasoline and other fuels. Separate storage of hydrogen began there this year.

The Trump administration wants states to volunteer as hosts for “nuclear lifecycle innovation campuses” — sites that will take radioactive material for a variety of uses, like storage, recycling, enrichment, fabrication, deploying reactors or powering manufacturing and data centers.

The same day the Department of Energy began soliciting states to host campuses, Sen. Derrin Owens, R-Fountain Green, contacted several lawmakers, lobbyists, private equity investors and Millard County officials, in an email obtained by the Millard County Chronicle Progress and shared with The Salt Lake Tribune.

[woodbutcher1963]

I believe most of it WAS shipped on semi tractor trucks.
My dad drove for a company called Chemical Leaman tank lines. They were a trucking company that handled the shipment of various hazardous chemicals in stainless steel tankers. He was a CDL driver with an almost spotless record. Meaning, he had badges with no accidents in 500K miles, etc.

They shipped rocket propellant, blue indigo dye, raw sugar, jet fuel, Palmolive dish detergent, flammables and corrosives.

The only truckers that got paid higher than him were the truckers hauling nuclear waste. They had to have a spotless driving record. They also did not have a placard on the front of tractor or rear of the tank that says “nuclear waste”. It probably said “flammable” or “corrosive”. Obviously, they did not want to advertise they were hauling nuclear waste down I90.

My dad retired in around 1980. The trucking company he hauled for is no longer in business.
Dad passed about 29 years ago.

[Taxman]

Thanks!

Is the reprocessing of nuclear waste economically viable?

If so, then by all means, reprocess.

[Taxman]

Thanks!

Is the reprocessing of nuclear waste economically viable?

If so, then by all means, reprocess.

[rottndog]

Spent fuel still contains 95% of the Uranium it was manufactured with. Uranium 235 has a half life of 700 million years. Just burying it is not a good solution. Reprocessing is the only realistic option, IMHO.

[Pontiac]

re the truckers hauling nuclear waste. They had to have a spotless driving record. They also did not have a placard on the front of tractor or rear of the tank that says “nuclear waste”. It probably said “flammable” or “corrosive”. Obviously, they did not want to advertise they were hauling nuclear waste down I90.

Odd.

I shipped Radioactive Waste from 1986 to 2021 and every shipment had a RADIOACTIVE placard of some kind on tractor and trailer.

The only thing I can think of that might go down the road 'Incognito' that might be radioactive would be nuclear warheads. You definitely have to have a spotless record (of all kinds) to haul those loads.

And most radwaste that goes down the road from power plant is unmistakable because it is in a cask. A spent fuel cask is really unmistakable. See the video in post 15.

By the way we did have a truck driver for one of our shipments that did drive warheads on occasion. He had a submachine gun in his cab when he arrived. The security guards found it and all h@ll broke lose. Anyone found on a Nuclear Power Plant site with a firearm is normally going to jail. This driver had a Special Federal carry permit. So, security safely secured his fire arm and he got it back when he left. Why the driver didn't declare it when he arrived I have no idea.

[rottndog]

Now...if you want to deal with high level waste permanently, bury it in a subduction zone on the ocean floor. This will make it completely inaccessible to humans, and will store it until it gets incinerated and dispersed safely in the Earth’s mantle.

[Pontiac]

I thought of that idea myself.

However I can’t imagine how expensive it would be to build a container able to withstand the pressure to get it to the bottom intact.

I think the salt mines are the best option. These salt formations have existed for over a billion years. The biggest worry for radwaste burial is water intrusion. Any fissure permitting water intrusion in salt formations are self sealing.

[woodbutcher1963]

I must be wrong about the placard then.

I am going by memory from 35 years ago of what dad told me.
He never hauled nuclear waste. He hauled other hazardous chemicals.

Every once in awhile though he would haul some household item. Like Palmolive dish detergent. He brought the trailer home before taking it back to the terminal to get cleaned out. We had multiple buckets of dish detergent.

Another time he hauled raw sugar. There was still a little left in the bottom of the tanker in the tubes. We filled up a couple of brand new Rubbermaid trash cans with sugar. Gave it to all our friends.

He mostly stayed east of the Mississippi. Although I remember once hauling a tanker of jet fuel out to White Sands Air Force base in NM. Probably the tanker coming on the railcar was late shipping.

Dad was an owner operator. He was leased to drive for Chemical Leaman out of PA. We lived south of Buffalo.

One of the more frequent and better paying loads was hauling rocket propellant to Anniston, AL. Where they made the ballistic missiles.

[Pontiac]

It would have been nice to have a couple buckets of jet fuel a round, but I would skip the rocket fuel.

That stuff is scary. Whatever they paid him, it wasn’t enough.

[woodbutcher1963]

I think Anniston was where they made the Titan/Tritan Missiles.

Yeah, dad died at the age of 77 from cancer. Started as prostate, but moved into the rest of abdomen/stomach.

He survived New Guinea and the invasion of the Philippians, but not hauling toxic chemicals.

[Pontiac]

Druring WW II my father assemble airplanes in England.

After peace was declared he decommissioned chemical weapons.

Many were leaking in the warehouse and he had to work in the slop. Walking through it while he worked wearing only his GI leather boots.

For decade after he had to buy new work boots every month because his feet seeped and rotted the leather.

It took about 20 years for his feet to heal to the point that he finally could keep a pair of boots for a normal life span.

He never got cancer surprisingly. He died of an aortic aneurysm.

Lesson learned: GI’s are consumable commodities.

[woodbutcher1963]

Dad never visited a doctors office to the best of my knowledge during my entire life until he was taken in an ambulance. This was because his prostate had swollen so much that it cut off his urine. Which was backing up in his bladder/kidneys.

When the doctor opened him up, he gave him a year to live. He lived another 6 or 7. If he had gone to the doctor even occasionally for a screening/blood work he might have lived much longer. It started with prostrate cancer. Then testicular cancer. Bladder cancer and stomach cancer.

I just found out two days ago that my PSA is 4.27. Which the doctor said “we need to retest you. this does not mean you have cancer, but if it comes back the same we will probably send you in for an MRI.”
I am 62. So, I got that goin for me.

[FreedomPoster]

What happened to the Yucca Mountain facility in Nevada?

[Pontiac]

Yucca mountain was defunded by Congress thanks to Nevada Senator Harry Reid. One of the most crooked men to serve in the Senate. He was famous for some very shady real estate deals in Vegas.

It was ready to begin acceptance testing. That involved putting electric heaters in the cavities where the spent fuel canisters would be placed and seeing if the native rock would react as expected.

I think it was about two years away from accepting waste. But then it was about two decades behind schedule. The Federal Government was sued by Nuclear utilities for defaulting on the contract to take ownership of the spent fuel.

Whereas, the DOE has the responsibility for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste of domestic origin from civilian nuclear power reactors in order to protect the public health and safety, and the environment; and

Whereas, the DOE has the responsibility, following commencement of operation of a repository, to take title to the spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste involved as expeditiously as practicable upon the request of the generator or owner of such waste or spent nuclear fuel; and

Whereas, all costs associated with the preparation, transportation, and the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste from civilian nuclear power reactors shall be borne by the owners and generators of such fuel and waste; and

Whereas, the DOE is required to collect a full cost recovery fee from owners and generators delivering to the DOE such spent nuclear fuel and/or high level radioactive waste; and

Whereas, the DOE is authorized to enter into contracts for the permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel and/or high-level radioactive waste of domestic origin in DOE facilities; and

Whereas, the Purchaser desires to obtain disposal services from DOE; and

Whereas, DOE is obligated and willing to provide such disposal services under the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;

[FreedomPoster]

Thanks.

Seems like we ought to get it in service soonest.