Editorial: Bad plan to handle uranium byproduct

Wednesday, Sept. 29, 1999 | 9:32 a.m.

The company that once ran a uranium mill in Moab, Utah, doesn't have the ability to clean up more than 10 million tons of uranium tailings that are near the banks of the Colorado River. So the Nuclear Regulatory Commission chose a Los Angeles firm on Monday to oversee the capping of these radioactive tailings. But environmental groups and elected officials are concerned that leaving the tailings where they are now will harm the environment, including the Colorado River that serves as the supply of drinking water for millions.

The NRC's cheap and environmentally risky approach has been rightfully condemned by Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, environmental groups and some members of Congress -- including Reps. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and Chris Cannon, R-Utah -- as being a Band-Aid measure. It is hoped that Congress approves Cannon's legislation that would provide enough funds to clean up this mess the right way, removing the radioactive tailings so they don't continue to contaminate the river.

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