EIS-0113_Section_9 - Hanford Site

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074 0'74
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RECEIVED DOE-RL
Statement of Estella B. Leopold JUL 18 IM
Department of Be i.e.
0074
University of Washington WMD IVIIjbN
CLIMATE CHANGE
The EIS makes su perficial mention of possible impacts from
climate Chour. but the treatment Is inade quate in terms of human
safewty. Considering the importance at long harm conditions, and
3.5.6.1 ea lth of modern data climate systems (unexplored by DOE)
this topic in short shrift, is undo..... two and I. ..fully
inadequate. Just.entioning a problem is no substitute for an
analysis.
3
The safet y of the buried .defense wastes as well.. as the
repository must be considered on a geologic time9[ale. Th.
federa l. suidelines indicate that radioactive wastes must not leak
into the accessible environment for 10,000 years. That figure
.5.6.1 should better he 100,000 years, Considering the length of time
before the high level wastes ..aidtlec.. to a safe " level".
10,000 years i x the 'age of our vilisation. 100,000 years is
the age of later Stone age cultures•
An analysis of past timing of climate and glaciation an such a
timescale can be a basis for projecting the future climate for
astern Washington.
e The reason this 1s relevant is that any Change in climate means
Change in hydrology.
Long range climate can now be predicted because it i
established that our climate is forced be orbital Characteristics
on earth, not mentioned by the EIS.
The Present interglacial, 10,000 9rs long se far, has been
..line Over the last 4000 years. TM1e last interglaCial CompleN,
recorded be detailed fossil pollen data in France, sh ... d 3 w
periods , each as warm a as today, each lasting as 10,009 years and
_.... each entling rather O .ly with arJar ice is v.. . t in the Vosges
.
p . .took only C . 1 110
]0 y ears for tem perate tt to be
replaced Sc a boreal n radian type near Paris. In n the ye third
cooling,
Scanar an i reached Amsterdam only 4000 bears after
the warmest part t of theCenterglaciaL
this figure. This projection is sntetl, s it appears to be
a guess. Pat based on serious a sroa.h.
Under A full glacial climate, catastrophic flood. like the
Missoula floods of the late-glacial accross eastern Washington,
could wipe out the alluvium of the HHnford Reservation, change
the position of the Columbia River. r ing part or all of the
buried waste tanks, the reactors, asd gthe Purex Plant (net
mentioned).
Recent flootls in relation to HO.1—d ... dealt with
su p erficiall y . Floods of historical ma gnitude (1949 and 1894)
with about 21.,000 cubic meters/sec "would inundate the l00-F area
but woultl be of little c e to the rest of the Site' (p
4.10 no documentation). However such floods would im pact ground
water .levels awa y from the river and flush out existin g wastes in
the alluvium into the raver.
The EIS considers failure of the grand Coulee Dam. But it only
Considers scenarios for 25% and 902 failure. It sa ys the 100
areas and J00 area along the r mould be flooded, but falls to
Point out the relation to the N VRee,tor which would indeed be
flooded. DOE's Ca pacit y to shut dome o Op erate the Plant 'woultl
be insignificant. Such a condition suld u s pell severe disaster
with • grave environmental c nse guences for the re9,ion of. the
Columbia Basin and the liver Ṫhe HPPS Nuclear Plants woultl also
be flooded. DOE fails to deal with these obvious hazards.
The EIS do.. at take ^^ !to ac .t that if the Grand Coulee
Dam
thePriest R rw 0 m just above the Hanford
Reservation r ic a old probably 90 too. and this event mi ght increase
Public ha2ar tl5 b y anofheY order of agnitutle.
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In ........ the RIB does not adequatel y address the topic of
environmental and climate. change. With all the geological
ex p ertise 005 has brou g ht to bear an the 218, it has avoided the
most serious problem of all-- time and long term h y drology. This
is a fatal flaw of the EIS and the Project.
3.5.6.8
3.5.6.5
3.5.6.6
This means that the earth probably will experience the
begining of a major glaciation. within the next 4-5000 years. A
delay estimated at ca 2000 yr. Could be ..need by CO2 i
of the atmosphere (however, the s called greenhouse effect ® does
not .... to be happening). C.Pmarvativel y projecting from the
past 100,000 .Bare, . shift to a glacial climate should b Co.,
in 5-7000 yrs.
RECEIVED( DOERL
I$ue-
JUL2-r WG 0074
WM DIVISION
DOE assumes that Precipitation might double in eastern
3.5.6.1 Washington um and Pr Y. ..is Only a mall increase O water entering
the Surface aq uifer. The EIS does . not explain how arrived
at