ANDREWS, Texas — Governor Greg Abbott on Thursday announced that he opposes a plan to store spent nuclear waste in Andrews County. Abbott said he asked the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to deny a federal license for the proposed facility.
For more than a decade, Andrews County has hosted the storage of low-level nuclear waste. WCS (Waste Control Specialists) was first licensed in 2009. But the governor characterized spent nuclear fuel as a different risk.
A statement said, “The Governor urges the NRC to deny ISP’s license application, highlighting the unique environmental risk of a terrorist attack that could shut down the world’s largest producing oilfield through a major radioactive release.”
“It would be a prime target for attacks by terrorists, saboteurs, and other enemies,” Abbott said. “This location could not be worse for storing ultra-hazardous radioactive waste.”
Over the years, even the storage of low-level nuclear waste 35 miles west of the City of Andrews has been harshly criticized.
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WCS and another company partnered to create Interim Storage Partners.
The website for Interim Storage Partners said, “The above-ground structures enable easy loading and access for inspections, monitoring and maintenance during canister safety programs. The design life of the proposed WCS CISF storage system is 100+ years.”
