SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Three trainloads of depleted uranium will be buried at a storage site in Utah before experts complete a safety review concerning the issue, experts say.
The depleted uranium coming from a government nuclear weapons cleanup site in South Carolina could arrive at the EnergySolutions Inc. disposal site in Tooele County in six weeks. The state Radiation Control Board expects to take another year in their review of engineering standards needed to contain any radiation hazards posed by storing the atomic waste, The Salt Lake Tribune reported Saturday.
A spokesman for Gov. Gary Herbert said the governor is trying to work as fast as he can to beef up safe ways to deal with the trainload of depleted uranium already heading for Utah.
In a period of less than two months, Utah's Division of Radiation Control will have to evaluate consequences of increased radon monitoring, deeper burial of the material, and a cover for the material that will withstand weathering and leakage.
"It's what you have to do when you are in a short time frame and the train has literally left the station," said spokesman Jason Perry.
