555 100 LAs VEGAS. NEVADA 89101 OFFICE: (702) 486-2500 FAX (702) 486-2505 ONE: HUNDRED ONE NORTH CARSON CARSON Cm: NEVADA 89701 OFFICE: (775) 684-5670 FAX No: (775) 684?5683 (IBffinz at the (Enuernnr July 5, 2019 Secretary Rick Perry US. Department of Energy 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, DC 20585 Dear Secretary Perry: On July 3rd, as Nevadans were preparing to celebrate our nation?s 2431'd birthday, we learned that the Department of Energy (DOE or Department) has again illegally shipped classified radioactive material to Nevada. We also learned that these shipments have been going on for more than a decade. Nevada?s trust and con?dence in the Department has already been diminished by recent past events. Now, any remaining trust and con?dence is at best tenuous because of the Depart- ment?s newly disclosed actions. On July 3rd, Deputy Secretary Brouilette called to inform us that the Department of Energy has been shipping incorrectly labeled low-level radioactive waste (LLW) from Y-12 facility in Oak Ridge, TN to the Nevada National Security Site (NN S). Mr. Brouilette noted that the incor- rectly labeled waste is in fact mixed low-level radioactive waste (MLLW) that violates the pre? vailing Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC) for disposal at NNSS. Further, the Deputy Secretary informed us that this waste stream may contain a reactive material. Such waste has never been approved for disposal at the NNSS, not only violating the WAC, but also numerous other state and federal laws and regulations. Yet worse, these illegal shipments apparently have occurred for the past 12 years. These egregious acts?whether acts of negligence or indicative of something else?are unconscionable and have potentially put the health and safety of Nevadans and our en- vironment at unacceptable risk, including the employees of NNSS and the communities in Nevada and along the transportation routes of this material to NNSS. Unfortunately, these latest revelations relating to DOE shipments of radioactive material into Ne~ vada are not anomalous. DOE has eroded the trust of Nevadans through a systemic failure to per- form the basic function of ensuring the integrity of the waste disposal mission at NNSS and through the deception and obfuscation of Nevadans regarding the recent shipment and storage of weapons grade plutonium at the NNSS Device Assembly Facility (DAF) at the end of last year?the basis of recent and ongoing legal action and a separate issue from the one before us now, but illustrative of failure to respect Nevada?s sovereignty as an independent state and to adhere to the basic precepts of honesty and forthrightness, which form the basis of any relationship of trust. In May of 2019, your Department entered into a Settlement Agreement with the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (N DEP) as a result of a fine levied against DOE by NDEP for accept- ing low-level radioactive waste for disposal at the NNSS that was subsequently found to be con- taminated with chromium above the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) limit, thereby rendering it a mixed low?level radioac- tive waste, in violation of 40 CFR 261.24 and 262.11. The most recent acknowledgment of ship- ments and disposal of a mischaracterized MLLW at the NNSS illustrates a complete lack of im? plementation of any lessons-learned throughout the DOE?complex from the previous violation and calls into question the Department?s complex-wide waste characterization and disposition knowledge and oversight of its contractor workforce. We request the DOE immediately provide all information currently known or discerned regarding the mischaracterized and illegal shipments and disposal of material from the Y-l2 facility, includ- ing, but not limited to the attached set of information requests. Until Nevada leaders receive ac- ceptable answers to these questions, given the systemic failure of DOE to properly protect the health and safety of Nevada citizens, we demand that DOE cease and desist all shipments of radi- oactive waste to the NNSS. Additionally, as a precursor to resuming future waste shipments and disposal at NNSS, the State of Nevada requests, at a minimum that: DOE enter into an enforceable settlement agreement with the NDEP, to include at a min- imum, a path forward for addressing the mischaracterized Y~l2 shipments; and DOE establish independent verification technology at the NNSS to inspect and verify the content of future waste streams designated for disposal at NNSS. The continued reliance on employees and contractors at other DOE sites to properly package and label waste shipments to NNSS has proven both ineffective and potentially dangerous and dis- respects the citizens of Nevada who have sacrificed greatly for decades in support of our Nation?s safety and security. Finally, we request that DOE provide the information requested in the attachment no later than three working days after receipt of this letter. Respectfully, ove or St ve Sisolak Catherine Cortez Masto Jacky Rosen Sta of Nevada United States Senator United States Senator ATTACHMENT Information Required by the State of Nevada Regarding Mischaracterized Waste Shipments to the Nevada National Security Site July 5, 2019 Background On July 3, 2019, at approximately 4:00 meDT, State of Nevada, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Division of EnVironmental ProteCtion, Bureau of Federal Facilities (NDEP) staff were noti?ed by the _U.S.-.Department of Energy Environmental Management Ne? vada Program and National Nuclear Security Administration/Nevada Field Of?ce personnel that they had been noti?ed by personnel at the 12 National Security Complex that a classi? ?ed wastestream sent to the Nevada National Security Site 3 A1ea 5 Radioactive Waste Manage- ment Complex (NN S) for, diSposal had been mischaracterized. Pro?led and disposed of as a classi?ed low? level radioactive. waste, the wastestream was recently found to be reactive, the1eby r?endering it a classi?ed mixed low-level radioactive waste. [Upon requesting Speczf CS of the waste stream, NDEP sta?were told that the matter was still be investigating and a written notifi? cation will be p: ovide'd to NDEP sta?on Monday, July- 8 2019, with a more detailed I eport to follow Within fteen IdayS. - - Such illegal dispoSal of MLLW constitutes a serious vrolatlon of the. NDEP iSsued NNSS facility RCRA pe1mit, RCRA Land Disposal Restrictions (40 CFR Part 268 adopted by reference under Nevada Administrative Code 444 8632) and 1's potentially subj ect to enforCement under Nevada Revised Statutes 459 (mcludmg not 11m1ted to 459. 585, __459. .590, and 459 Information Required The State of Nevada demands DOE prov1de the folloWing information relating to the shipment and disposal of MLLW from to NNSS. (including as provided for under NRS 459.575 (Subpoenas)): 1. Provide a timeline for when and how DOE became-aware that the material was MLLW, including supporting documentation, including what steps DOE immediately took after becoming aware. 2. Identify and provide copies of the speci?c approved Waste Pro?les and Waste Ac- ceptance Review Panel documentation under which shipped to and NNSS received the MLLW, including a description of omissions or inaccuracies in the approved Waste Pro?les as related to the MLLW and an explanation of what led to these omissions or in- accuracies. 10. Provide a description of the physical state and chemical composition of the MLLW, in- cluding a list of radioisotopes, their concentrations, activity, and half?lives. Provide an itemized chronological summary table for each shipment showing Y-12 origin location, packaging description, individual and cumulative shipment and disposal vol- umes and weights, shipment and disposal dates, disposal cell and grid locations, and transportation modes and routes for shipment of all mislabeled material. Provide the list of all potentially applicable RCRA hazardous waste codes and hazardous characteristics (ignitability, corrosivitiy, reactivity, and/or toxicity) and the speci?c mate- rial p1 ope1t1es that render the material hazardous. Provide datesand methods used for'all original and any revised basis for the hazardous waste determination of the MLLW as required by 40 CFR 262.11. 7 Provide detailed descr 1pt1on of compliance or non?compliance with the NNSS facility RCRA permit and RCRA Land Disposal Restrictions (40 CFR Part 268) and the NNSS Waste AcceptanCe Criteria, including a detailed explanation and supporting information on the stability and Safety of the MLLW in its current disposal location at NNSS,1nclud- ing infermation specifically related to the safety of NNSS personnel and other Nevadans living and working 111 the vicinity of the NNSS and to the safety of individuals living along, working along, and t1 avel111g on the routes used to transport the MLLW. Provide all supportingdeeumentation; including but not limited to, analytical test results and data'v'alidation reports, shipping manifests: and/ or bills of lading, and inventory logs. Provide a plan and schedule for a loot cause analysis and development and implementan tion of a corrective action plan, including speci?c steps that will be taken to ensu1e that such mislabeling does not occur again. - - - Provide any and all other information relative to the shipment and disposal of the mate? rial in question from the inception of the packaging and shipping campaign to the pro- posed remedial actions and remedies.