"I feel that increased inspections are necessary to ensure that the risk to our residents is as low as can possibly be guaranteed."ĭOE officials did not provide comment for this story.Ī rem is a standard measurement of radioactivity. "I will be conferring with DOE and DEC to increase inspections to occur at least bi-monthly by utilizing remote monitoring devices," said Syed. Niskayuna Supervisor Yasmine Syed said she wants a stronger inspection schedule than the quarterly system proposed to the state by DOE. "The wastes are containerized, shielded with lead, and stored inside Conex boxes (a type of shipping container) in a controlled area posted with signs indicating a high radiation area in accordance with state and federal regulations," the DEC statement continued. The waste could be there through 2021 based on DOE estimates, if the long-term state storage permit is approved, according to DEC. "With appropriate security and controls, these materials are not a danger to the public and are subject to regular inspection, an emergency plan, and other routine management," according to DEC. "What could happen includes leaks, fires, tornadoes, explosions and, of course, terrorist activities that could release material."ĭEC is reviewing a request by DOE to allow the waste to be stored for several more years because of a backlog at an underground government repository in the New Mexico desert for military nuclear waste. "Clearly there are two threats: First to the staff at DEC and DOE who are legally obligated to inspect it four times a year, and second to the general public should anything happen," said Carpenter, who worked at the Defense Nuclear Agency in the 1970s. DOE has designed part of the storage facility at Knolls as "high radiation areas." Radiation at that level is a health hazard, increasing the risks of cancer and premature death, said Carpenter. According to the report, waste debris from the decade-long demolition of the facility's former Separations Process Research Unit contained materials that have "highly radioactive exposure rates of up to 12 rem/hour."Ī person receiving that much radiation in a hour would be the equivalent of getting 6,000 X-rays, or 40 years of normal background radiation in the Capital Region.
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