WASHINGTON – Congressman Gordon raised objections today to the news that a nuclear waste company plans to import radioactive waste from Germany to Tennessee for processing at Oak Ridge.

Congressman Bart Gordon, who has fought to keep foreign radioactive waste out of Tennessee for more than twenty years, says legislation is still needed to close loopholes that allow foreign waste to be brought to the United States.

“If a country like Germany has the capacity to produce large quantities of nuclear waste, it should also have the capacity to treat it and store it,” Gordon said. “I have fought to prevent these kinds of business deals by giving the Nuclear Regulatory Commission the authority to reject applications for the importation of nuclear waste.”

Nuclear waste management company EnergySolutions filed an application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to bring in 1,000 tons of radioactive waste to Oak Ridge for processing. The company acknowledges that while the waste is designed to be shipped back to Germany for disposal, radioactive byproducts will remain in the United States for disposal in a domestic waste facility. The NRC currently does not have the authority to summarily reject such applications from foreign countries, even though the U.S. already has a limited number of facilities able to store its own radioactive waste.

Gordon has led national efforts to protect America’s finite nuclear storage facilities for waste produced by American hospitals and power plants, and to keep foreign waste out. His bill the Radioactive Import Deterrence Act, or RID Act, would give the NRC the authority to reject foreign waste import applications and close the “treat-and-return” loophole. The bill passed the U.S. House in December 2009 and is awaiting action in the Senate.

“I am concerned that once waste is imported, nothing but an individual corporation’s word prevents it from being shipped to U.S. disposal sites,” Gordon said. “EnergySolutions’ business strategy is still based on bringing nuclear waste into this country. The NRC lacks the authority to enforce real oversight over this sensitive process. My bill would give the NRC the teeth it needs.”

Pressure from Gordon and his congressional allies has already helped drive EnergySolutions to scale down other nuclear waste importation plans. Earlier this year, the company halted its plans for a major shipment of nuclear waste from Italy that was destined for long-term storage in Clive, Utah.