Yucca seen as a key to avert terror

Laura Meckler

Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2002 | 11:14 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The United States must determine how the Energy Department "can move ahead" with its plan to bury nuclear waste beneath Yucca Mountain, the conservative Heritage Foundation says in a new report recommending steps to increase homeland defense.

Yucca Mountain is listed as a primary recommendation because the foundation says nuclear waste could be stolen by terrorists and used to build radiological weapons.

Also recommended in the report is increased security at the nation's borders, more protections for communications systems and development of drugs to combat bioterrorism.

The Heritage report is the latest in a series of reports before and after Sept. 11 on how to prevent and prepare for terrorist attacks. It concludes that much remains to be done.

"America is dangerously vulnerable to this new form of terrorism," the report concludes.

L. Paul Bremer III, who co-chaired the Heritage task force that wrote the report, said the threat of terrorism will not disappear as long as the United States retains its dominant world position and said he hopes the panel's recommendations will be implemented.

"It's regrettable I had to serve on a third commission," said Bremer, who was former President Ronald Reagan's ambassador-at-large for counterterrorism and chairman of the National Commission on Terrorism that finished its work last year.

The Heritage task force, formed in the aftermath of Sept. 11, was co-chaired by Edwin Meese III, Reagan's attorney general.

Some of its recommendations, such as developing better public health surveillance systems to spot biological attacks, enjoy widespread support and have been recommended by similar groups in the past. Others, such as creation of a national missile defense, are considerably more divisive.

The recommendations include:

* Secure the nation's nuclear waste, which could be stolen by terrorists to build radiological weapons. Determine how the Energy Department can move ahead with a contentious proposal to bury 77,000 tons of radioactive waste beneath Yucca Mountain in Nevada.

* Monitor more closely who enters the country through airports and seaports.

Specifically: Develop new systems to share passenger information to prevent potential terrorists from boarding planes. Create a new federal center to analyze information about people and products arriving by sea, including experimental point-of-origin inspections for maritime trade. Require airports and port administrations to ensure that only authorized people can enter secure areas.

* Federal law enforcement agencies share more information with one another and with local law enforcers.

* Secure federal computer networks and information systems better.

* Give the Pentagon control of security for the Global Positioning System frequencies and network, which allow many telecommunications systems to function.

* Encourage drug companies to accelerate development of antibiotics and vaccines to treat and prevent diseases caused by biological agents.

* Develop agreements with Canada and Mexico for working together in case of an attack on the border.

* Develop an improved public relations program for communicating with the public in the event of attack or increasing threats.

* Change federal law to allow closer monitoring of foreigners in the United States.

The full Heritage Foundation study may be found at http://www.heritage.org/ homelanddefense/welcome.html