Editorial: Governors should address nuclear waste issue

Tuesday, July 29, 1997 | 11:22 a.m.

The setting is perfect for the governors to tackle another important matter: nuclear waste storage.

The timing also is right: A congressional committee is set this week to resume deliberations on a bill to store the nation's high-level nuclear waste in the desert outside Las Vegas.

Nuclear waste is a problem worthy of the governors' attention. Under the congressional plan, the highly radioactive waste shipped to Nevada would pass by truck or rail through 43 states. An accident could be disastrous.

The governors love to cry states' rights. They don't like it when the federal government imposes programs or rules on them, especially when the states have to pick up the tab.

That sentiment ought to be extended to the nuclear waste issue. States should be able to say nay when the feds want to dump nuclear waste in their back yards.

The Western Governors' Association, a much smaller version of the national group, has opposed transportation of nuclear waste to Western states. It's time for the influential national group to speak out, too.

Nevada's views on nuclear waste storage are well known. The overriding feeling is that Congress wants to dump the radioactive garbage in Nevada because it's an easy target politically. Nevada, with four votes, does not have much clout in Congress.

Nevada's leaders cite numerous scientific reasons why Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, is a flawed site, including the potential for earthquakes and groundwater contamination. But those concerns are largely ignored by nuclear industry-influenced members of Congress.

Some governors -- i.e., those whose states host nuclear reactors -- may feel inclined to side with nuclear industry officials who say the waste should be moved to desolate Nevada because they are running out of room at their plants.

But the risks associated with transporting the waste from those plants is significant (and the urgency to move the waste inflated). The nation's highways and railroads -- and the millions of people living near them -- would be put in danger if there were an accident.

It's easy to be lulled into a false sense of security that technological progress would prevent such a tragedy from occurring. We should not be so naive.

Accidents on our highways are common. Thousands die every year. Just like the rest of us, a truck with a nuclear load must contend with motorists who drive drunk or incompetently on our roadways.

These trucks are designed to prevent a radioactive leak in case of an accident, but no vehicle can be 100 percent certain of containing the deadly material.

Train accidents also occur, often with tragic consequences for those on board and residents in surrounding locales.

Furthermore, many communities through which this waste would travel are not prepared to deal with such an accident. They have neither the manpower nor the expertise.

Gov. Bob Miller, outgoing chairman of the National Governors' Association, should spearhead an open debate on the transportation safety and states' rights issues revolving around nuclear waste storage.