response
Posted by John Tauxe on May 24, 1999 at 13:53:15:In Reply to: Monolith's?/Deep Repository? posted by Joan Seeman on May 23, 1999 at 10:13:03:
A response to your comments:
>The monolith is NOT at Rocky Flats....
>It is in the middle of Denver........Yow, that's even worse! But it does not change my point.
>What geologic repository has not been breached in this country.......
>Name me one that has not leaked?Name one at all! The only geologic repositories in this country are WIPP and Yucca Mt. I know of no other geologic repositories in this country at all.
>This is the research that I do.
What is?
>Can you state with total confidence that this site will contain the waste?
Of course not. No one can say anything about the future with "total confidence".
>Why are we not treating the waste instead of the "out of site out of mind" approach? Is this Waste Not Treatable?
That is correct. Attempts to treat it have been thwarted in part by yourself.
>Why is there an exemption from the RCRA Land Disposal Restrictions for Mixed Waste
at WIPP? Why do you think this was included in the REGS? and yet.....it's OK for WIPP?
Don't you question this position?The LDRs are intended to apply to landfills and other surface disposal facilities. All the disposal sites you have seen are such facilities. WIPP is not. It is deep underground -- a geologic repository. This is fundamentally different. It is unique, and should not be compared to cookie-cutter regs that were never meant to apply to something like it.
What is your solution?