Las Vegas Sun

November 24, 2009

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Letter: Test Site threat is understated

Thursday, Aug. 17, 2000 | 9:32 a.m.

To understand why it doesn't, look at Test Site issues. As many as 160 plumes of deadly radioactivity have been migrating in the ground water from underground nuclear tests for up to 40 years. They contain millions of curies of radioactivity, not contained in canisters, not isolated by engineered barriers, and well on their way to private land off the Test Site.

Also, the DOE doesn't know nor seem to care where they are now. The DOE's $176 million efforts for the last 10 years to protect the public from contaminated ground water have resulted in two major products, both found unacceptable by peer reviews. Its punishment is a $40 million gift from Secretary Bill Richardson at Gov. Kenny Guinn's request.

This information has been published in both Las Vegas papers, but do the public or Nevada politicians care? Apparently not. Instead, the only issue of interest to either is Yucca. If the same scrutiny was applied to the Test Site, many would find that contamination from Yucca in 10,000 years would pale in comparison to that of the Test Site today.

DENNIS WEBER

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