Alex Pollok

11/15/13
E. Ethics
Nuclear Waste: Whose Responsibility is it?
Human beings are a species that has journeyed approximately 50,000 years (beginning of
behavioral modernity) to reach their current place in time. No other species in the world has the
potentiality that Humans do. We have the ability to perform surgery on the brain or heart, travel to
almost any point on the globe in less than a day, and we can even send aspiring men and women into
space. We have experienced a giant population growth over the 20 th century. The world population in
1950 stood around 2.5 billion; today it is over 7 billion. i How have the respective governments
provided energy to their citizens? There are sources of energy such as wind, solar, and fossil fuels but
one source that is gaining momentum in the United States is Nuclear power. While proponents claim
that nuclear energy has a large support basis and that it provides economic development in poorer
nations; what about all that waste? ii The storage of this waste is an important issue in the nuclear
industry as will be seen in the Skull Valley case.
The Skull Valley case discusses the issue of nuclear waste storage. The Goshute Indian
Reservation has agreed to temporarily store 40,000 tons of high level radioactive waste on their land. iii
This amounted to 80% of spent nuclear fuel in the US (2004). iv Some people fear that the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) will let Skull Valley become a permanent storage site as opposed to
moving to Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Others in the Goshute reservation have expressed frustration
because not everyone has received their promised payments. v Despite these grievances, the Goshutes
feel that this is the only way they can continue to make money. For the chemicals in the nearby
chemical weapons disposal site reduce the likelihood of anyone buying food or water from their lands.
They also can't open a casino because Utah has a large Mormon population who oppose gambling. vi
Meanwhile, the citizens of Utah do not wish to have all this waste in their state arguing that the

Goshutes, only consisting of around 100 people, should not get to make a decision that affects the
whole state (among other reasons).vii In this study, I will examine why I believe the nuclear waste
should not be stored on the Goshute reservation for reasons of safety, fairness, and the rights of Utahs
citizens vs the Goshutes.
Nuclear power can provide a lot of energy for a lot of people. However, the waste created from
this energy is radioactive and can have serious health effects on anyone exposed to it. According to the
case, there is already a chemical weapons disposal site in the area as well as an air force base with
bombing ranges. While the NRC calculates that any accident involving these parties is incredibly
unlikely that does not mean it is impossible.viii With 4,000 casks of spent nuclear fuel passing through
large population centers in the state and a plan to ship 5 casks on 40 trains over the course of two
decades the potential for an accident seems only a matter of time. ix Even if a train is not derailed there
is still the potential risk from the nearby air force base and bombing ranges. If a plane were to
malfunction and crash or if there was some sort of accident in a bomb test it could have huge
repercussions if it hit these casks. Even if the NRC is right and such concerns are unwarranted how is
having 80% of the Nations spent nuclear fuel concentrated in one location a good idea. While the
United States has not suffered a terrorist attack since the September 11, 2001 attacks, it seems if
someone really wanted to harm a large amount of the US population all they would have to do is strike
one location. Having the waste spread out as it was before seems like the best solution for the safety of
most of the country.
If such an accident ever occurred, having all this spent nuclear fuel in one place seems like an
incredibly unsafe idea. Consider the fact that in just over a week radiation from the 2011 Fukushima
nuclear disaster had traveled over 5,000 miles to reach the California coastline. x If there was ever an
accident it could have disastrous effects on nearby and even outlying population centers. The radiation
would spread faster with the wind and only areas close to mountain ranges would have any hope of
protection.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) there are two types of health effects
from radiation, Stochastic and Non-Stochastic. Stochastic deals with long term exposure to low level
radiation.xi Some of the health effects from this kind of radiation are cancer and mutations. xii NonStochastic deals with exposure to high level acute radiation. xiii The effects from these are burns and
radiation sickness.xiv If there ever was some kind of incident in Skull Valley, most people would be
exposed to Stochastic effects. This is in addition to the already suffering people in Utah as a result of
nuclear weapons testing.
Aside from Safety there is also the concern of what is fair for the citizens of Utah. According to
the case, Utah does not produce any nuclear energy. People in favor of the storage claim that Utah still
draws its energy from the same national grid as the rest pf the country and should take its fair share of
the burden.xv That would seem fair if we weren't talking about storing a majority of the countries
nuclear waste all in Utah. How is THAT fair? A state that produces non of the waste would become
responsible for almost all of it. That doesn't sound fair to me.
Similar to the fairness argument is the wishes of the Goshute people and the rights of the rest of
Utahs citizens. The Goshute Reservation has a small population of around 100 people, how is it right
that such a small minority can be able to make decisions that impact the entire state? While Private
Fuel Storage claims to be fighting for Tribal sovereignty; do they really care about the Goshutes or is it
merely for publicity? Given the history between the US and Native Americans it seems like the history
of exploitation is continuing.
While the economic conditions for the Goshute people are regrettable, I feel that economic
growth should not result in the potential harm of another group (especially a larger group) of people.
This may seem ironic considering the plight of Native Americans over the centuries but I believe there
is a solution that can benefit both parties. While the state of Utah have supposedly not made good on
their promises of economic development for the Goshutes, it is on the right line of thought. The people
(or even the federal government) should put pressure on the state of Utah to put through these plans.

One thing is for certain, the storage of this waste is not a sustainable payment plan for the Goshutes.
Regarding the nuclear waste, I have two possible ideas. One, develop larger containment facilities
around the country so that the waste can continue to be distributed fairly. While this seems like it was
the plan with Yucca Mountain being temporary how can we be sure that temporary doesnt become a
very long term temporary. My second solution may seem to be a joke at first, but why not send it into
space? At present I understand it is too risky an endeavor but in time once we develop more study ships
and other means perhaps it would be best to sent the waste on a path to the Sun or even outside the
solar system. Although in time, hopefully humans have developed clean renewable energy and wont
have to worry about any of this.
The problem of nuclear waste disposal is a serious issue that is rarely thought of from
individuals outside of environmental science or the nuclear industry. Furthermore, nuclear energy is
only a temporary means of energy. For humans to thrive and prosper we need to develop better fuel
sources. Is all the energy created by these plants really worth all the waste?

United States Census Bureau, International Programs: World Population,

http://www.census.gov/population/international/data/worldpop/table_population.php
ii Joanna Burgess, 10 Pros and Cons of Nuclear Power, Discovery Channel, http://dsc.discovery.com/tvshows/curiosity/topics/10-pros-cons-nuclear-power.htm
iii Nuclear Information and Resource Service, Private Fuel Storage Targets High-Level Radioactive Waste Dump at Skull
Valley Goshute Indian Reservation , Utah, http://www.nirs.org/radwaste/scullvalley/skullvalley.htm
iv Ibid
v Cases and Commentaries, Skull Valley Case Study, 224, http://moodle.dominican.edu/mod/resource/view.php?
id=145047
vi Ibid
vii Ibid, 227
viiiIbid, 226-227
ix Ibid, 226
x Professor Michel Chossudovsky, Fukushima: A Nuclear War Without War: The Unspoken Crisis of Worldwide Nuclear
Radiation, Global Research, last modified January 25, 2012, http://www.globalresearch.ca/fukushima-a-nuclear-warwithout-a-war-the-unspoken-crisis-of-worldwide-nuclear-radiation
xi United States Environmental Protection Agency, Radiation Effects: Health Effects, last modified on August 7, 2012,
http://www.epa.gov/radiation/understand/health_effects.html
xii Ibid
xiiiIbid
xiv Ibid
xv Cases and Commentaries, Skull Valley Case Study, 225