Editorial: Don’t gut radiation standards

Friday, Dec. 29, 2000 | 9:27 a.m.

Aides to George W. Bush are saying that the incoming president may overturn some regulations implemented by President Clinton in the waning months of his term, especially those rules setting stricter requirements for pollution control and worker safety.

Bush's big contributors and other conservative soul mates also will want to look at many other regulations put in place during Clinton's entire eight years in office, along with those currently in the works but not yet finished. This development could bode ill for Nevada's fight against efforts to send high-level nuclear waste here. In light of the fact that the U.S. Department of Energy appears headed toward recommending that Yucca Mountain is suitable to store nuclear waste -- despite scientific evidence showing that it's unsafe -- the next battle likely will be over what safety standards must be met before a repository can be built.

The Clinton administration has supported the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's advocacy of tougher standards that would curb the allowable amount of radiation that could escape a nuclear waste repository. In contrast the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which has the final say on whether to approve the construction of a repository, wants easier standards that the nuclear power industry supports. In 1999 the Nuclear Energy Institute warned that if a repository had to meet the EPA's stricter radiation-release standards, it could be so cost-prohibitive that it couldn't be built. It's obvious that the nuclear power industry views this as a critical issue.

Don't be surprised then if the nuclear power industry renews its push for the adoption of the NRC standards, especially since Bush received sizable contributions from the industry. Also noteworthy is that one of the names on Bush's short list for energy secretary is Thomas Kuhn, who runs the Edison Electric Institute, a trade group of utilities that is advocating the selection of Yucca Mountain. Kuhn not only attended Yale University with Bush, but he also was one of the president-elect's key fund-raisers.

Bush already has sent worrisome signals about how his administration will treat nuclear waste storage. For instance, the job of secretary of energy was all but offered to former Democratic Sen. Bennett Johnston, the author of the "Screw Nevada" legislation that designated only Nevada for consideration as a place to store nuclear waste. Fortunately Johnston turned down the job after Nevada's Harry Reid, the No. 2 official in the Senate's Democratic leadership, told Johnston he would do whatever it took to derail his confirmation. Incoming EPA Administrator Christie Whitman has been praised for her commitment on land conservation policies as governor of New Jersey, but environmental groups told the New York Times recently that her environmental record has been a mixed bag, as she sometimes favors industries that pollute.

Regulations put in place by agencies don't tend to get the same attention from the public as does legislation considered by Congress. But the reality is that regulations often can have more far-reaching impacts than laws do. Bush's election has the potential to create a sea change in attitude on nuclear waste storage. The new president should honor his predecessor's commitment to support the EPA's tougher radiation standards. While the EPA's rules may not be as stringent as they could be, the fact is that even these minimum safety standards should be observed, not weakened.