Science
By JULIE BUTTON

PUBLIC hearings conducted by the House Subcommittee on Nuclear Safety on October 31 and November 1 in Springfield and November 26 in Chicago upheld the polarity that has come to characterize the nuclear issue. Seven bills introduced during the 81st General Assembly and placed on interim study were addressed, but the bills receiving the most comment were H.B. 2520, sponsored by Rep. Ray Christensen (D., Morris), which would place an indefinite moratorium on construction of new nuclear power plants, and H.B. 1262, sponsored by Rep. Richard A. Mugalian (D., Palatine), which would create a commission to study nuclear powered facilities and impose a five-year moratorium on construction of new nuclear power plants. The latter bill has made a regular appearance in the General Assembly since 1976.

Testimony, in many cases, did not focus on the proposed legislation, but served as a basis for addressing deeper issues of nuclear energy.

".. . Questions as to how we should manage a nuclear industry should not be confused with questions about whether we should have a nuclear industry at all," said George Stanford, a physicist at Argonne National Laboratory (but not representing that institution). Stanford called on the subcommittee to question witnesses about their facts and figures, and to ". . . be extra conscious of the information content of witnesses' statements, separating emotion from fact . . ."

George Travers, assistant to the president of Commonwealth Edison, testified that after shipping discrepancies were cited and corrected last June, his company received no indication of additional violations at the Bamwell, S.C., low-level radioactive waste site, Barnwell shut down in October, naming ComEd as a primary offender of packaging and shipping regulations. The site resumed operations in November, but will reduce incoming wastes by 50 percent over the next two years. ComEd has contributed about 16 percent of the total low-level radioactive waste at the South Carolina repository.

Dr. Edgar Rhodes, a reactor physicist at Argonne National Laboratory (but not representing that institution), promoted nuclear power as "the safest, cleanest, least expensive, and most reliable technology for large scale generation of electricity . . . Every new electrical generating plant should be a nuclear plant where feasible."

Such testimony contrasted with that of Catherine Quigg of the Pollution and Environmental Problems Group who warned of possible "devastating consequences" of present nuclear spent fuel shipping regulations. The irradiated fuel, Quigg said, ". . . may represent an attractive target to a terrorist intent on public harm. . . ."

Marilyn Shineflug, co-chairperson of the Illinois Safe Energy Alliance, voiced support for Christensen's and Mugalian's bills plus others, but the Alliance testimony primarily addressed the scheduled decontamination of the Dresden I reactor. This experimental "cleaning" process is designed to remove radioactive metal oxides accumulated in the reactor piping through use of a chemical solvent which bonds to the deposits. Dresden will be the first commercial reactor in the nation to undergo the process. The Alliance urged the subcommittee to investigate the "serious unknowns" involved in decontamination, such as the stability of the solvent wastes, and the accuracy of inspections conducted to determine if damages were incurred during decontamination.

Ethical considerations of nuclear energy were also raised. According to Sister Arlene Woelfel of the 8th Day Center for Justice, the decision about nuclear energy involves several moral issues, such as "stewardship of the earth . . . protectorship and reverence for life, and . . . promotion of harmonious society unburdened by guilt or fear." The center also endorsed Mugalian's bill.

Seven hours of testimony in Chicago concluded the subcommittee's scheduled hearings on the seven bills, summarized below:

H.B. 475 (Yourell) Prohibits the storage or disposal in Illinois of any nuclear waste materials that were generated outside the state boundaries.

H.B. 812 (Shuneman) Imposes a minimal fee of one dollar per cubic foot for the concentration, storage, or disposal of radioactive wastes in Illinois.

H.B. 1262 (Mugalian) Establishes the Nuclear Power Evaluation Commiitce to study light-water fission fueled power generation facilities. Bans new construction of nuclear power plants for five years after effective date of act.

H.B. 1748 (Breslin) Requires three possible sites for nuclear plant be approved by governor before Pollution Control Board grants permit.

H.B. 2517 (Hannig) Requires approval of the director of the Department of Public Health, the General Assembly and the governor in selection of site for disposal or storage of radioactive wastes.

H.B. 2520 (Christensen) Declares an indefinite moratorium on construction of new nuclear power plants until certain conditions are met.

H.B. 2584 (Ryan) Prohibits the importation of spent nuclear fuel into Illinois for storage or disposal.

Support for this column is provided in part by a National Science Foundation grant to the Illinois Legislative Council Science Unit, where Julie Dutton is a science intern.

March 1980/Illinois Issues/21