The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has sided with the environmental law firm Earthjustice over a nuclear irradiation facility proposed near Honolulu Airport to treat fruits and vegetables for export.

The NRC today agreed with Earthjustice’s client Concerned Citizens of Honolulu that NRC staff failed to investigate non-nuclear technologies that could accomplish the same goal. Earthjustice cited an electron-beam irradiator that has been used for the past 10 years on the Big Island.

The law firm says the NRC also faulted the staff for failing to consider alternate sites for the proposed nuclear irradiation facility that aren’t subject to the threats of tsunami, earthquakes and aircraft crashes.