Panel urged to warn other states of nuke transport dangers

Friday, April 13, 2001 | 11:19 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Alerting the citizens across the nation to the dangers of transporting nuclear waste through their cities is the key to stopping designation of Yucca Mountain as the site for burial of high level radioactive materials, witnesses told the Senate Transportation Committee Thursday.

It is vital that others living outside Nevada realize how this transportation "places thousands of people in harm's way throughout the country," Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa said.

The failure of the Department of Energy to conduct an environmental impact statement on the transportation routes means that people in 43 states and hundreds of cities are unaware of the threats "posed by thousands of shipments of deadly nuclear waste, should the proposed repository become a reality," Del Papa said.

The DOE should hold public hearings in other states on the transportation routes, Sen. Jon Porter, R-Henderson, said, adding that once the citizens in those states see how these nuclear shipments will affect their economy, health and safety, "it will create an uproar that stops the process."

A host of other public officials, including Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, Clark County Commissioner Myrna Williams and representatives for Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., testified in support of Senate Joint Resolution 11, which calls on Congress to order federal agencies to conduct the environmental transportation studies before any decision is made on Yucca Mountain.

Goodman said it was "frightening" to think what could happen if a truck jackknifed on U.S. 95 going through Las Vegas. A spill, even a small one of the nuclear materials, could affect a 42-square mile area.

He noted the federal government told the public the above-ground nuclear testing was safe and now many citizens are suffering from cancer and other ailments due to this radiation.

Williams said a proposed route through Southern Nevada would pass 37 schools, hospitals, long-term care facilities, child care centers, hotels and the special events center.There would be significant impact on the citizens of Nevada, she said.

Sen. Ray Shaffer, D-North Las Vegas, said he endorses the resolution. But he complained that many of the witnesses that supported the Porter resolution opposed bills and resolutions by him and Committee Chairman Sen. Bill O'Donnell, R-Las Vegas.

Their bills and resolutions urged the government to select routes outside of urban areas in Las Vegas and suggested safety measures to be taken. Critics said these resolutions send a message to Congress that Nevada would be willing to accept the waste, as long as certain conditions are met.

Shaffer said those who testified against his and O'Donnell's bills were "hypocritical in my book." He said his and O'Donnell's bill were also aimed at protecting the public.

Sen. Maurice Washington, R-Sparks, said he was also confused that some of the resolutions were unacceptable while others gained widespread support. He said the man on the street must also be confused since the resolutions of Shaffer and O'Donnell pushed safety issues.

But Porter and others said this resolution SJR11 was to get the federal government to obey its own law that requires these transportation studies before any site is selected.

The DOE, Porter said wants to study the routes after a site selection is made. "That is unacceptable and irresponsible," he said. "The federal government is violating its own law."

Bob Loux, director of the state Office of Nuclear Projects, said these proposed public hearings in cities outside Nevada would "energize the citizens." He said it was the "key to our opposition and the key to success" in stopping the waste from coming to Nevada.

The committee did not take action on the resolution.