Some scientists, environmentalists say decision premature

Friday, Feb. 15, 2002 | 9:45 a.m.

Some scientists and environmentalists criticized Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham's decision to recommend Yucca Mountain, saying the decision is premature, because not all of the scientific facts are available.

"This is not a routine political decision," said Arjun Makhijani, director of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research in Takoma Park, Md. The institute is an independent scientific think tank.

"Such a decision should not be done in a rush, receive it today, sign off on it tomorrow," he said. "I think it would not be appropriate for the president to accept a decision by the (Department of Energy) without consulting with someone outside the administration.

"Plutonium's half life is 100 times older than the age of the United States," Makhijani said of one of the deadliest radioactive elements destined for a Yucca Mountain repository.

Allison Macfarlane, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology geologist, said it's too early to make a decision on Yucca Mountain.

"I think it's premature based on science," Macfarlane said. "They don't have enough data on which to base a decision."

Macfarlane, a senior research associate in MIT's Security Studies Program, is editing a book for the public and policy makers with nuclear engineer Rodney Ewing about the unresolved issues of a Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. The project is funded, in part, by support from the John Merck Fund and the Rockefeller Financial Services.

Geologists have not had a chance to study the ramifications of burying 77,000 tons of nuclear waste inside Yucca Mountain for 10,000 years, Macfarlane said.

If the Bush administration expands nuclear power, existing reactors operating for another 20 years would double the amount of waste destined for Yucca Mountain, Macfarlane said. "I think they will have a problem putting all of it in the mountain," she said.

"This is a geologic issue, not just one for nuclear engineers and physicists," Macfarlane said. "Geologists have not had enough say in this issue."

But there are many hurdles before a Yucca Mountain repository would open, including a vote to overturn Governor Guinn's expected veto, lawsuits filed by Nevada or proving the site to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a license, Macfarlane said.

Environmental groups were also disappointed in the decision to recommend Yucca Mountain.

"It is completely unacceptable that this project seems to be based strictly on politics and not science," said Kalynda Tilges, nuclear issues coordinator for Citizen Alert, a statewide environmental watchdog group.

Tilges noted that the president is the one person in the decision process who does not have a statutory time limit.

"Why is the president the only not given a time limit?" Tilges asked, answering, "Because he is the person who is responsible for public health and safety.

"The first and only imperative should be the health and safety of all Americans."

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