Editorial: Aren’t these concerns a tad belated?

Monday, Nov. 25, 2002 | 9 a.m.

Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., announced a week ago that he would introduce legislation that he said is designed to make the transportation of nuclear waste safer. Durbin, who voted in favor of sending the nation's high-level nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain, said he is concerned about risks these shipments will pose to public health, especially in light of terrorist threats our nation will receive in years to come. He also wants to make sure that the states are properly consulted in advance on what transportation routes are selected. Under Durbin's legislation, trained guards would have to be stationed at the front and rear of the trains or trucks carrying these shipments. In addition, Durbin wants the containers to be tested so they can withstand intense fires. (The Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans to perform tests on the containers, but we don't have much confidence in the rigor of these tests because the NRC long has been cozy with the nuclear power industry.)

You'd think -- with all of the concerns and many unanswered questions about the transportation of 77,000 tons of man's deadliest waste -- that these are the issues that would have been resolved before President Bush and Congress earlier this year approved a plan to make Nevada's Yucca Mountain the nation's dump for high-level nuclear waste. But we're talking about politicians who rely heavily on donations from those in the nuclear power industry -- and they certainly weren't going to stop a vote to go forward with Yucca Mountain if the industry demanded that they move quickly. The nuclear power industry was in a rush because it knew that public opposition to Yucca Mountain would intensify once people realized just how dangerous it would be to ship nuclear waste thousands of miles across roads and highways to Nevada.

At one time Durbin had sided with Nevada on the issue of nuclear waste storage, but that resolve weakened this year. Durbin was up for re-election and pressure was placed on him to vote for Yucca Mountain because his state's energy needs rely heavily on nuclear power. Nevada's congressional delegation should be wary of Durbin's legislation -- and make sure there isn't any fine print that could make a bad situation even worse. The delegation also should make sure that the bill isn't hijacked by other legislators who are tied to the nuclear power industry, legislators who might amend the bill drastically so that it actually ends up making it easier -- not more difficult -- to send nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain.