Opposition to More Nuclear Waste in Utah

A recent proposal to import radioactive waste from Canada to a dump in Utah faces opposition from 88 environmental organizations in the U.S. and Canada, including Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah, the Sierra Club of Utah, and Uranium Watch of Moab.

EnergySolutions, a firm based in Salt Lake City, is proposing to ship 1.31 million cubic yards of radioactive waste from Ontario, Canada to its Clive site in Utah, roughly 80 miles west of Salt Lake City. The site is also supposed to receive radioactive waste set to be transferred from one of the country’s largest nuclear waste dumps, located in Parks Township, Pennsylvania. The “clear-out” of the Pennsylvania site, which will involve shipping rad waste across the country to Utah, is slated to cost $500 million and last six years. Likewise, the volume of waste from Canada would be shipped to Utah over a period of ten years.

The proposed dumping needs a license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and a permit from Canada’s government. EnergySolutions claims that leaders in the host state back the plan, and Utah’s Governor Spencer Cox is also pushing for more nuclear power in the state. — The Cold Down; and KSL AM Radio (Salt L. City), Dec. 18, 2025