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February 2, 1033
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Vol. 82, No. 95
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Cuoim.dfl (Waste iniwdteair waste safety
By Kevin Hanken
Questions about safety guidelines for
the proposed shipment of spent radioac
tive materials through Lincoln stirred a de
bate at the City Council meeting Monday.
On Jan. 24, the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission approved the Nebraska Pub
lic Power District's route for shipping
spent nuclear fuel from the Cooper Nu
clear Station near Brownville to General
Elcctric's storage facility near Morris, 111.
The outlined route runs through 17 south
cast Nebraska towns, including Lincoln.
Lincoln City Councilman Eric Young
berg has proposed a city ordinance that
would set guidelines intended to make
these shipments safer to Lincoln residents.
Youngberg told the council the ordi
nance is based on the premise NPPD offi
cials should prove that such shipments via
Burlington Northern Railroad are as safe as
possible. A national policy for such trans
portation routes is needed desperately and
has been resisted by the federal govern
ment, Youngberg said.
Jay Pilant, NPPD division manager for
licensing and quality assurance, outlined
opposition to tour major areas of the ordi
nance: -The ordinance discriminates against
the commercial shipment of nuclear waste,
but concedes that safety measures for mili
tary and medical research shipments are
adequate.
-Reasonable alternatives to shipping
spent fuel cannot be reached.
-Requirements to obtain a permit, and
the fee, are viewed as unacceptable.
-Further notification of shipment de
tails, other than the seven-day advance no
tice to the governor of the state, must
come from state officials, not NPPD.
Representatives of the Nebraska Safe
Energy Committee, which showed a slide
presentation to the council, said that be
cause only a few commercial facilities have
shipped such waste, NPPD's experience
should not be used as a reason for trusting
their capabilities.
The committee also pointed out that
the 65-to-70-ton casks, which hold three
tons of spent fuel, have been tested only
by computer simulation and scale models.
Therefore, it was argued, the tests were
misleading unrl objectionable.
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Staff photo by Craig Andresen
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A major snow storm hit Lincoln Tuesday .
Clockwise from top: Pam Merkle shields
herself against the blowing snow with a
scarf. Tim Norlan, left, takes a spill near
13 th and R streets while walking with
John Regan.
Pilant said the current NRC and U.S.
Department of Transportation regulations
that NPPD operates under, adequately pro
tect residents of Lincoln and surrounding
areas. In addition, NPPD has voluntarily
implemented special safety measures. A
"chase vehicle," a separate train with mod
erating equipment and effective personnel
on board, will be in constant radio contact,
and within minutes, of the shipment train.
Special speed limits will be set for BN
trains during the 30-hour trip from Coop
er Station to Morris, Pilant said. Accidents
occurring at speeds up to 30 mph would
not result in forces exceeding the cask's
damage resistance, he said.
Eugene Voiland, GE's manager of the
nuclear fuel and services division at the
Morris operation, said severe testing of
casks at the Sandia National Laboratories
in New Mexico showed no evidence of any
failure in the actual container.
Voiland said the accident scenarios sug
gested in the SEC slide were speculative.
After 31 years in the nuclear industry, he
said, he believes real risks are limited.
The Morris facility has received 500
shipments of spent fuel, 450 in casks, dur-
ing the last 1 1 years without any accidents
releasing radioactivity, Voiland said.
The SIX" said that building dry-storage
facilities could handle the spent fuel until
a permanent waste depository is complet
ed. Such a depository is scheduled to begin
operation before 1998 under the recently
passed Waste Policy Act.
Joe Flash, NPPD information coordina
tor, said no sudi facilities have been built
in the United States, and that if one was
built, there would be no guarantee that the
NRC would grant it a license. Construction
and licensing could cost up to $(() million,
lie said.
"If we ship it (the waste) now, it costs
NPPD roughly S2 million, but only in
transportation costs because GE is storing
it in their facility without charging," Flash
said.
"Ji we elected to wait, we run the risk
of not having GE wait for us, which means
we'd have to search for another facility,
which at current storage costs for the
amount of material we want stored, would
cost $30 million.
Continued on Page 7
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Staff photo by John Zoz
By Ward W. Triplett III
It took almost two hours for members
of the Culture Center Task Force and other
students to convince Nebraska Union
Board members that the center's activities
should be moved to the Terrace Hall an
nex, 425 University Terrace.
It took less time for the Committee for
Fees Allocation to approve an additional
$13,000 in the union's 1983-84 budget to
operate the Terrace Hall building.
But, according to a university regent,
the decisions were made too quickly, and
another option should be considered be
fore $180,000 in bond funding is approved
to renovate Terrace Hall.
"If we acquire Whittier school," Regent
Ed Schwartzkopf of Lincoln said, "there
would be a number of possibilities for it.
I think it could lend itself to the kind of
activities the Culture Center wants to have
now."
Schwartzkopf said the Whittier option
could be more feasible than spending the
$180,000 needed to remodel a building
that is "insufficient and mediocre."
Schwartzkopf's contention that Whit
tier's potential space advantages should be
explored nearly echoed the argument Un
ion Board President Laura Meyer gave at
the Jan. 19 board meeting.
Meyer and several other board members
had suggested bypassing the Terrace Hall
option until other options, such as a new
building, could be examined.
Culture Center Task Force members
had answered no, saying a new building
was too much of a long shot and their stud
ies had determined that Terrace Hall, cur
rently occupied by Tau Kappa Epsilon, was
the best option available. The building al
ready is owned by the university, and is
closer to the middle of campus - an impor
tant factor for the center. In the end, the
board voted 64 to approve the Terrace
Hall option.
Schwartzkopf voiced his objections, af
ter CFA voted on the union budget.
Schwartzkopf said Whittier has not been
considered carefully enough as a potential
site for the center. The building's location
at 22nd and Vine streets, would not have
to be a factor if the programs offered were
strong enough, he said.
"In Whittier, there is plenty of office
space, a cafeteria, an auditorium,. a stage
and plenty of open space to hold any type
of function they could have," Schwartz
kopf said.
Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs
Richard Armstrong said the Terrace Hall
building cannot accommodate more than
50 persons in one room. It will also not be
accessible to handicapped students without
major renovations.
"But 1 tend to agree with the students
who say it (Whittier) js far from the center
of campus. Since that was a prominent
consideration for moving the center, for
that reason it would appear to be not as
attractive as the other options," Armstrong
added. ;
Center Director Ennio Quevedo agreed.
The present Culture Center at 1016 N.
16th St. has stood for 10 years, serving as a
meeting place for the African People's Un
ion, the Mexican-American Student Asso
ciation and the Native American Student
Association.
Last year, a study by the University's
Physical Plant determined the building was
in unsatisfactory condition and was too
poorly constructed to justify projected re
novation costs.
Late last semester, Armstrong appoint
ed the task force to find another location
for the center. Terrace Hall was identified,
and a feasibility study completed in No
vember. Most of the student groups who use the
center believed Terrace Hall was prefer
able to the present building, which will be
demolished for parking-lot space.
Whittier, which was never considered by
the task force, is not feasible because it is
further from campus than the present
structure, Perez said.
"If (Schwartzkopf) has ever walked
from the union to the Culture Center, he
should know that's a long hike," she said.
Wardell Smith, a graduate assistant at
the Culture Center for two years, said the
move would defeat the purpose and objec
tive of the students on campus who chose
the Terrace Hall building.
"It's always convenient for people in
power to pick our location for us. It should
be understood that the students and what
they want should be considered more,"
Smith said.
Continued on Page 3
