Pla ning and Programming 93 Extraction of plutonium from waste or jutoni um with the soil (excision). soil is ¢ neoretically possible, and the technology has been explored by It was suggested by the AEC Task Group,!25 but a other co untries. was not available for field use since national policy practicab je technique only precluded development or use of such technology. Thus, the ofsoil racticable process was excision—thestripping of successive layers radiation levels were ising earth-moving equipment until acceptable reacsal of radioactive waste is one of the most controversial problems this nation faces. This was especially true as it applied to the Enewetak Cleanup Project. The Enewetak people’s position was madeclear in their earliest meetings with DNAI27 and was restated in their counsel’s comments on the DEIS: Disposal on the atoll was rejected, and off-atoll disposal was the only acceptable solution. Several other solutions had been suggested during the radiological surveys, including use of a small island as a disposal dump, !28 packaging and shipping to the Nevada TestSite, !29 burial in place, and dumpingin the lagoon.!30 The DEIS considered four alternatives for disposal: e Level | - Crater Dumping, by which radioactive materials would be dumped in Cactus Crater (and in Lacrosse Crater, if required) with no further action to fix the materials in place. (The craters were named for the nuclear test shots which had created them.) The estimated cost for disposal of materials from a Case 3 cleanup using this method was $320,000. , e Level 2 - Ocean Dumping, by which radioactive materials would be containerized and dumped in the ocean at a deep-water site. The estimated cost for disposal of materials from a Case 3 cleanup using this method was $9,989,000. e Level 3 - CONUSDisposal, by which radioactive materials would be sealed in containers and shippedto the United States for disposal. The — estimated cost for disposal of materials for a Case 3 cleanup using this method was $18,910,000. © Level 4 - Crater Entombment, by which contaminated soil and debris would be entombed in Lacrosse Crater (and in Cactus Crater, if required) by sealing the cracks in the crater, mixing the plutonium- eeRT ee ens = contaminated soil with cement to form a slurry, and pumping the slurry into the crater around the contaminated debris, thereby encasing all the radioactive materials in a solid mass. The mass would be covered by an 18-inch thick concrete cap or lid, to provide an erosion resistant crypt which would seal off the radioactive material. The estimated cost for disposal of materials from a Case 3 cleanup using this method was $6,968,000. 131!