Community questions safety, long-term impact of nuclear power plant in Brigham City

BRIGHAM CITY, Utah (KUTV) — Community members raised concerns about the safety and long-term impact of a nuclear power plant in Brigham City.

Phase one of the construction could begin within the next two years. Still, the nuclear power plant, which includes a training center and manufacturing facility, is not expected to be complete until the early 2030s.

Some residents, like Robert Bennett, said they are not worried.

“I don’t have a problem with it,” Bennett said.

Bennett, who previously worked in the aerospace industry, said he believes the risks are minimal.

“I played with a lot more dangerous stuff than they have out there, so I’m not really concerned about it,” he said.

MORE | Energy project to establish Brigham City as Utah’s ‘first-full scale nuclear ecosystem’

But others said they believe the proposal needs to be thoughtfully examined.

Dr. Brian Moench, president of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, raised questions about safety planning and the plant’s overall feasibility.

He asked, “Where’s the water going to come from? What sort of safety zone are they going to establish? What sort of evacuation plan do they have? How large of an area are we talking about? What kind of system are we using? Where is the waste going to be stored?

At the University of Utah, Dr. Supathorn (Supy) Phongikaroon, Director of Nuclear Engineering, expressed confidence in modern reactor design.

2News asked if he had safety concerns with the project.

“I don’t think so because the way they designed they’re going to use a lot of the safety features that already exist,” Phongikaroon said.

They said today’s systems use multiple built-in protections.

“Safety has been the main priority of us, and we put so many safety features into our current nuclear reactor design, too often that it’s almost like you’re putting a double barrier on protection.”

The professor added that the plant could ultimately generate large amounts of power with minimal resource use.

“The amount of energy that you’re going to use using the resource, it will be very small in comparison to producing that much gigantic power in comparison to coal,” Phongikaroon said.

City leaders were unavailable for comment. A Box Elder County commissioner told 2News he is “not concerned” about the project.

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