(Salt Lake City, Utah)—Next week, the Utah legislature will again consider Governor Gary Herbert’s appointment of a top-level EnergySolutions executive to the Radiation Control Board even as a recently released report found EnergySolutions was illegally storing dozens of containers of banned waste.
Dan Shrum, vice president of environmental compliance and permitting at EnergySolutions, is set to be confirmed for the board that monitors radioactive waste storage in Utah at next week’s interim legislative session, despite evidence that 37 containers of illegal class C waste were accepted at the Utah facility.
According to the report prepared by the Office of the Legislative Auditor General, “these 37 containers represent a small fraction of total containers coming to the site,” suggesting that even more banned waste is traveling on Utah’s highways and being buried in Utah.
“The EnergySolutions situation represents the latest example of the lack of corporate, legislative, and administrative leadership,” said Maryann Martindale, Executive Director of the Alliance for a Better UTAH. “EnergySolutions is playing loose with the law while Senator Dayton reduces the role of citizen oversight boards, Senator Waddoups suggests elimination of the UDEQ, and the Governor’s office vilifies HEAL Utah as ‘extreme’ while their predictions come true before our eyes.”
“We need, and the citizens of Utah deserve, leadership and solutions that enforce the State’s regulations and safeguard the State’s citizens,” said Martindale. “First UDOT, then the DABC and now the Radiation Control Board. We need a Governor who says ‘Not on my watch. The buck stops here.’”
Prior to this latest report, Shrum was widely expected to be approved by the state senate during next Wednesday’s interim session. In light of this disturbing evidence of safety violations and collusion with the Division of Radiation Control, various organizations, including Better UTAH, are calling for the immediate withdrawal of Shrum’s nomination.
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Alliance for a Better Utah | 801.664.9751 | www.betterutah.org
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The Alliance for a Better UTAH is a year-round, multi-issue education and advocacy organization providing resources, commentary, and action on important public policy matters.