Letter: Nuclear problem needs a solution

Friday, Nov. 26, 1999 | 9:22 a.m.

The problems of nuclear waste are much larger than Yucca Mountain, and at this point in time our engineering world is not capable of dealing with it. The bottomless pit that continues to absorb billions of dollars appears at this point to be unsolvable. Common sense, health and welfare, family values and moral ethics appear to be damned. Our government apparently will put some type of spin on its efforts, but in my opinion smoke and mirrors are transparent. One logical conclusion would be to stop generating this waste until someone can find a solution. This hole in a mountain just means a billion here, a billion there; pretty soon we are talking big money.

I don't know how big 70,000 tons of this garbage is but to have allowed this much waste to accumulate is a capricious act and only our government could perpetuate this obvious absurdity.

How can anyone have all the facts at this point in time? No one even knows what questions to ask. The realm of possibility for 10,000 years is infinite. The perfect heritage for future generations, this is one of those "It didn't happen on my watch" scenarios. Who cares who is responsible? Let's find a solution.

SAMUEL GILCHRIST

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