Commentary: Storing depleted uranium at EnergySolutions is a bad idea

(Al Hartmann | Tribune file photo) David Squires, general manager at Clive Operations for EnergySolutions, stands next to an area ready to accept large quantities of depleted uranium on April 2, 2015.Many Utahns have been following EnergySolutions' efforts to obtain a waiver in the state’s regulations that would allow the company to store hundreds thousands of pounds of “depleted uranium,” (DU), in its storage site in the desert west of Grantsville.

As a chemist, I oppose granting that waiver because my professional experience has made me aware of exactly what could happen with those rather exotic and unfamiliar chemicals. Even short-term storage can be dangerous, and assuring safe long-term…