Editorial: Nuclear industry stacks deck

Thursday, Oct. 16, 1997 | 9:36 a.m.

DOLLARS here! Get your campaign money here!

Like hucksters at a carnival, the nuclear industry is dangling dollars in front of senators and congressmen, then stuffing their campaign coffers to the tune of $12.8 million.

The prize? A nuclear waste dump in Nevada.

According to a study by a consumer advocacy group, Public Citizen, the industry is "getting its money's worth" for the "investment." The study, aptly titled "The Nuclear Industry: A Cash Cow for Congress," pointed out that $9,735,349 was given to House members, and $3,061,936 to senators.

More than $2 million went to members of the House Commerce Committee, which -- surprise! -- has jurisdiction over the nuclear waste bill and the deregulation of the electric utility industry.

We wonder what effect that has on any "scientific study" of Yucca Mountain's suitability as a nuclear waste repository.

The nuclear industry could put that $12.8 million to ITALICS really ITALICS good use and pay to bury the waste at the sites where it's generated.

The Public Citizen report was released a week after a House committee blocked an attempt to kill a nuclear waste dump in Nevada, which cleared the way for a full House vote on the bill later this month.

Reps. John Ensign and Jim Gibbons, Nevada Republicans who failed to get the bill killed, took some satisfaction in getting the committee to at least send the bill to the House with an "unfavorable report."

We applaud Ensign and Gibbons for their efforts, even though the "unfavorable report" gesture is merely symbolic.

The House could vote on the bill as early as Oct. 22.

We can only hope that the congressmen will listen to science and not the rustling of dollar bills in their pockets.

Yucca Mountain is not the place to store nuclear waste -- no matter how many dollars the nuclear industry throws Congress' way.