Councilman: It’s about science, not nuke waste

Erin Neff

Friday, Oct. 6, 2000 | 11:16 a.m.

How could a fair that brings children in touch with discovery and scientists be anything but positive?

Well, if it's sponsored by the Yucca Mountain Project, it certainly raises eyebrows in these parts.

Las Vegas Councilman Lawrence Weekly is left trying to separate an obvious good cause from the damning potential that nuclear waste could be shipped through city streets en route to a storage site 90 miles away.

The Department of Energy is recommending storing 77,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste from throughout the country at Yucca Mountain, northwest of the city.

"I'm not pro-Yucca Mountain at all," Weekly said Thursday in a preemptive strike fearing anti-nuke protesters would question his connection with the Yucca-sponsored fair after an advertisement for the event appeared in a community newspaper.

The Yucca Mountain Project produced a flier picturing Weekly with 10 children holding science projects and brochures about Science Discovery Day.

The event will take place Saturday at West Middle School in Weekly's ward.

And while he emphasized that he is adamantly opposed to storing nuclear waste at Yucca, Weekly said he also is familiar with how well Science Discovery Day is received.

"I love this educational component," Weekly said. "It's a really a great educational day for these kids to go out and meet scientists."

The fair brochure touts that participants will be able to make volcanoes and fossils and design their own structure to protect an egg from a 60-foot drop.

"Even if you talk about Yucca Mountain in association with this, the kids can learn about that," Weekly said.