and The Traditional Use Exposure Scenario for Radionuclides
Submitted by Seneca Nation Environmental Protection Department (EPD)
Our community is full of knowledge about cultural, medicinal, and subsistence practices. The Seneca Nation Environmental Protection Department needs your input today to make sure we can continue to utilize our natural resources and be stewards of the environment safely for generations to come. We need to uncover all the ways our people can be exposed to radionuclides from day-to-day interaction with our environment on territory. Every community member has input that matters, because our experience is unique compared to most outside communities. We need you to complete the Traditional Use Exposure for Radionuclides survey. The completed surveys will then be utilized in an assessment for the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, for the West Valley Demonstration Project.
The West Valley Demonstration Project (WDVP) is the remediation project for the nuclear reprocessing facility that used to stand at the site. The nuclear reprocessing facility only operated for five years 1966 to 1971. WVDP is only 20 miles from the Cattaraugus Territory and is situated within the Cattaraugus Creek Watershed. Those five years of operation did irreparable damage to the environment and the Cattaraugus Creek Watershed. What the facility contained when it closed was 750 spent fuel assemblies that had not been reprocessed, 600,000 gallons of liquid high-level radioactive waste (HLW) stored in steel tanks, the highly contaminated Main Plant Process Building, and two radioactive waste disposal areas that contained almost 3 million cubic feet of waste in unlined trenches. The nuclear waste on site and past contamination events continue to be a threat to our water, environment and health.
The Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) is crucial in the decision-making process as we enter Phase 2 of the clean-up for West Valley nuclear site. According to The Environmental Site report from the Department of Energy for 2024 “Phase 2 will address the Waste Tank Farm (WTF), the waste disposal areas, the Construction and Demolition Debris Landfill (CDDL), and the non-source area of the groundwater plume. The DOE intends to complete the remaining WVDP decision making with its Phase 2 decision in the SEIS. The SEIS will evaluate a range of alternatives including removal, in-place closure, and a combination of those two.”
Although New York State had a hand in developing the facility it did not take ownership or responsibility for the clean-up until 1982 in accordance with the West Valley Demonstration Act of 1980. The remediation continues today. Although the sites facilities are mostly demolished what is left on site today still poses substantial risk to the environment. The Seneca Nation has always urged for full removal of all contaminated material and full remediation of the site, as does the West Valley Citizens Task Force. To make sure that the final decision considers the full breadth of exposure risk for our community. We need information on how exposure to radionuclides can happen within our traditional and cultural utilization and stewardship of our natural resources and environment.
When filling out the survey please keep in mind all steps in harvesting, handling and processing any materials you collect. Consider different elements you encounter while doing these activities.
Please scan the QR code with any smart phone or type https://arcg.is/1arXOj1 into a computer browser for our Traditional Use Exposure Scenario Survey and complete the survey by the end of November. If you would like a paper survey to complete please contact SNI Environmental Protection Department 716-532-2546.
Contacts for the Water Quality Program:
Jordan Parker Buffalo
SNI Environmental Protection Department
Water Quality Program Manager
716-532-2546 ext. 5474
Jordan.Buffalo@sni.org
Emma Kate Martin
Water Quality Program Manager
SNI Environmental Protection Department
Emma.Martin@sni.org
Darcy Gates
Water Quality Program- Coordinator
SNI Environmental Protection Department
716-532-2546 ext. 5438
Darcy.Gates@sni.org
