Stop Radiant Nuclear in Wyoming

Hero image of the town of Bar Nunn WY showing the location of the proposed nuclear waste storage

A community-led effort to keep nuclear manufacturing and waste storage away from our neighborhoods

Bar Nunn residents didn’t ask for a factory that assembles, fuels, tests, and stores components of portable nuclear micro-reactors next to homes, schools, and small businesses. Yet Radiant Industries, a California startup, is advancing a plan to build a microreactor manufacturing complex on the outskirts of Bar Nunn in Natrona County—complete with on-site handling of nuclear fuel and storage of used fuel cores. Local meetings have drawn strong opposition from residents across Natrona County. (WyoFile, Oil City News)

Radiant’s own presentation to Wyoming lawmakers maps out a multi-year buildout, touting a \$100M+ factory and eventual output of “50+ Kaleidos units per year.” The company and supportive state partners have simultaneously pushed bills to change Wyoming law so manufacturers can store spent (used) nuclear fuel in the state. Those proposals have met intense public pushback and, most recently, were tabled. (Wyoming Legislature, Wyoming Public Media)

What’s being proposed—plainly

  • A nuclear microreactor factory near Bar Nunn (Natrona County) — Radiant says the site is “over a mile from any home,” but it sits next to a growing residential community and the broader Casper area. The plan covers assembly, fueling with TRISO fuel, on-site testing, and dry-cask storage of used fuel cores. (WyoFile)
  • A push to change state law — Wyoming currently restricts high-level radioactive waste storage. Exceptions for manufacturers to store spent fuel were drafted and debated in 2024–2025, then tabled for now by lawmakers after significant opposition.

Why Bar Nunn? Our concern

Community members suspect the location was chosen for convenience—not community fit:

  1. Talent relocation appeal: Minutes from downtown Casper’s amenities for staff relocating from California.
  2. Smaller local electorate: Bar Nunn’s low population may have been viewed as lower political risk than Casper (≈60,000) or other cities like Cheyenne, Laramie, Jackson, or Gillette.

Radiant and its supporters emphasize distance from homes and compatibility with federal rules, but that does not address the broader community-fit issues above. Recent reporting confirms the company is targeting the Bar Nunn/Casper area and that the location choice is a central community worry. (News From The States, WyoFile)

What’s at stake for Bar Nunn and Wyoming

1) On-site nuclear waste storage next to neighborhoods

Radiant’s concept involves storing used fuel (in dry casks). While the NRC says dry-cask systems have operated without public-affecting releases since 1986, Wyoming residents and lawmakers are right to ask: Why should our community take on indefinite storage with no national repository in place?

  • The law today: Wyoming’s statutes restrict high-level radioactive waste storage; lawmakers considering expanded allowances faced strong public opposition and tabled the bill in August 2025.
  • Scale and logistics: Typical truck casks weigh ~25 tons loaded; rail casks can reach 125–180 tons. These are specialized, heavy shipments—raising fair questions about siting, routing, security, and local impact.

2) Road wear, traffic, and local infrastructure costs

Heavy industrial shipments increase wear on local roads. Transportation engineering research (FHWA and others) shows pavement damage rises more than proportionally with axle load (often illustrated with the “fourth power law”). Heavier axles dramatically accelerate road degradation—costs that typically fall on taxpayers unless fully mitigated. (Federal Highway Administration, ctr.utexas.edu)

3) Property values and “risk stigma”

Peer-reviewed research on “undesirable facilities” (including hazardous and nuclear-adjacent uses) finds nearby property values can be sensitive to perceived risk and stigma—even where operators comply with regulations. Studies summarizing dozens of cases report negative value impacts around noxious facilities; classic work on Yucca Mountain showed that mere perceptions of nuclear waste risks could influence tourism, migration, and business development. (SAGE Journals, ScienceDirect, PubMed)

4) Tourism—the brand of Wyoming

Tourism is one of Wyoming’s largest private employment engines: \$4.9 billion in visitor spending in 2024, supporting roughly 33,850 jobs statewide—with Natrona County alone seeing \$377.8 million in direct visitor spending. Introducing nuclear manufacturing and spent-fuel storage right next to a residential gateway to Casper risks eroding the state’s “wide-open, pristine” brand that draws visitors, events, and outdoor recreation dollars. Even the perception of nuclear-waste proximity can matter. (Travel Wyoming, Oil City News, Visit Casper)

What we want (and what we oppose)

We oppose any legislative changes that would allow high-level radioactive waste (spent nuclear fuel) storage by manufacturers in or near Wyoming communities.

We support:

  • Full transparency & independent review: A robust, public environmental and community impact analysis—covering transportation routes, security, emergency response, water/electricity demands, and long-term stewardship. (Oil City News)
  • No on-site spent-fuel storage in Bar Nunn: Maintain Wyoming’s current restrictions; do not create carve-outs for manufacturers.
  • Property value and infrastructure protections: If any industrial project is pursued, require binding funds to offset property-value losses and to pay for accelerated road maintenance due to heavy shipments. Engineering literature supports the disproportionate wear from heavy axles. (Federal Highway Administration)
  • Economic development that fits Wyoming: Grow sectors that don’t threaten neighborhoods or Wyoming’s tourism brand—e.g., outdoor-recreation manufacturing, precision fabrication unrelated to nuclear, film & events, data-adjacent services sited away from neighborhoods, and year-round tourism investments. (See tourism’s economic role below.) (Travel Wyoming)

How you can help

  • Sign the community letter calling on lawmakers to keep current waste-storage protections in place.
  • Speak up at Bar Nunn Town Council and Natrona County meetings.
  • Write your legislators: Urge them to oppose manufacturer waste-storage carve-outs and to require transparent, independent impact studies.
  • Share your story if you live, work, or own property near the proposed area. Personal testimony matters.

Frequently asked questions

Isn’t dry-cask storage safe?
The NRC reports very small risks and no public-affecting radiation releases from casks since 1986. But “small risk” is not “zero risk,” and Wyoming lacks a permanent repository. That means communities could host waste for decades—contrary to our state’s long-standing policy.

Does Wyoming even want to store spent fuel?
Lawmakers considered bills to allow it by certain manufacturers—but facing broad public concern, a key proposal was tabled in August 2025. Community voices are making a difference.

How close is the proposed site to homes?
Radiant and supporters say “over a mile away from any home.” Residents point out that Bar Nunn and the Casper area are growing, and that proximity to neighborhoods remains a central concern. Distance alone doesn’t resolve the issues of transport routes, on-site fuel handling, storage, and long-term stewardship. (WyoFile)

Is there proof property values will drop?
No one can guarantee future prices. However, a large body of research shows perceived risk from noxious facilities can depress nearby values, and nuclear-waste stigma can affect tourism and migration decisions. That’s why we insist on independent analysis and protective policies before any nuclear-adjacent industrial siting in residential corridors. (SAGE Journals, ScienceDirect, PubMed)

Wyoming’s tourism economy—too important to gamble with

  • \$4.9B in 2024 visitor spending statewide; ≈33,850 jobs supported.
  • Natrona County: \$377.8M in direct visitor spending; 2,890 jobs supported.
    These dollars fund local services and keep small businesses thriving. We can grow Wyoming’s economy without nuclear manufacturing and waste storage in residential gateways. (Travel Wyoming, Oil City News)

Latest coverage

  • Bar Nunn residents again deliver a “no” to Radiant’s nuclear plans. (Oil City News)
  • Deep-dive reporting on community concerns and legislative hurdles. (Oil City News)
  • Public radio explainers on the waste-storage debate and lawmaking process. (Wyoming Public Media)

Resources (reports, news, and official documents)

  • Radiant’s presentation to the Wyoming Legislature: jobs timeline, investment plans, and facility scope. (Wyoming Legislature)
  • WyoFile & Oil City News: on the proposal, community pushback, and legislative steps. (WyoFile, Oil City News)
  • Wyoming Public Media: statewide discussion on whether to allow spent-fuel storage by manufacturers. (Wyoming Public Media)
  • Wyoming law & bills: current statutory definitions/limits and 2025 bills to expand storage (tabled).
  • NRC backgrounders: dry-cask storage and spent-fuel transportation (cask weights, safety posture).
  • National Academies & DOE/ORNL materials: typical dry-cask capacities and technical guidance.
  • Road-wear science: FHWA and transportation research on exponential pavement damage from heavy axle loads. (Federal Highway Administration, ctr.utexas.edu)
  • Property values & “risk stigma” literature: summaries across hazardous facilities and nuclear-waste perception impacts on local economies. (SAGE Journals, ScienceDirect, PubMed)
  • Wyoming tourism economics: statewide and Natrona County data for 2024. (Travel Wyoming, Oil City News)

This is a grassroots site built by and for residents of Bar Nunn and Wyoming. If you’re a neighbor, business owner, or local official who shares these concerns, we invite you to add your voice and help us keep nuclear manufacturing and waste storage away from our neighborhoods.

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