Editorial: Energy Department suspends burn tests

Wednesday, Sept. 22, 1999 | 9:49 a.m.

The U.S. Department of Energy did the right thing last week when, at the request of Sen. Harry Reid, it halted plans to burn highly toxic uranium and beryllium at the Tonopah Test Range, 110 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The DOE's Sandia National Laboratories wanted to test the safety of nuclear weapons in the event of a fire aboard a B-52.

The purpose of the test -- nuclear weapons safety -- is laudable. But as Reid noted, the DOE had rejected a similar test near Albuquerque, N.M., because of concerns about its potential impact on the health of those residents. As an alternative, Reid suggested that the DOE instead consider using computer models to conduct these tests as is already done with the nation's nuclear weapons. This nation has had a poor track record in the production, testing and storage of nuclear weapons. So it is encouraging, then, to see DOE Secretary Bill Richardson's swift response in suspending these tests that could permanently scar Nevada's environment.

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