Editorial: Parallel universe on justice

Tuesday, May 9, 2000 | 9:39 a.m.

Congress came within a whisker last week of overriding President Clinton's veto of a nuclear waste storage bill, legislation that would have sent high-level nuclear waste to Nevada by 2007. It was just another reminder to this state of how rigged and unjust this whole process has been. Not only is Nevada the only state under consideration, but Congress also has ignored repeated warnings that burying nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain would pose a danger to the health and safety of Nevadans.

The GOP congressional leadership, which has proven how obsessed it is with sending this poison to Nevada no matter what the consequences are, would have been well-served last week if it instead had paid attention to a meeting of scientific experts who gathered in Nevada. The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board looked at how Sweden was addressing nuclear waste storage, an evenhanded effort that should shame this nation. In contrast to the United States, Sweden's government seeks volunteers for this task -- and any city that wishes to veto a repository can do so. In addition, there is no deadline to select a repository, which means there is no pressure to recklessly pick a site that later could be found dangerous. Talk about paradise.

Even though we live in the world's pre-eminent democracy, whose constitution aims to secure individual rights to prevent tyranny by an oppressive government, scant attention is given to fairness when it comes to storing man's deadliest waste. It truly is a sad commentary when a European nation, such as Sweden, is a beacon of protecting the public's safety and ensuring that the environment isn't forever destroyed by making such a foolish decision.