Editorial: Impartiality is essential for board

Friday, Jan. 2, 2004 | 9:46 a.m.

This week Michael Corradini, under fire because of accusations that he couldn't be objective as chairman of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, submitted his resignation to the White House. The board, an independent advisory body created by Congress, is supposed to offer unbiased advice to the federal government regarding the Yucca Mountain project. But Corradini, the chairman of the Department of Engineering Physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, showed that he was incapable of doing that.

Back in February, members of Nevada's congressional delegation asked that Bush demand Corradini's resignation. In 2002, in testimony to Congress before he became a member of the board, Corradini spoke positively about the Yucca Mountain project, saying the stalemate over approving it was unacceptable and that opposition was because of political reasons. But, as Nevadans can attest, the opposite has been true. The Yucca Mountain project has been driven forward by politics while safety concerns about burying man's deadliest waste have been left by the roadside. After he became a member of the board in 2002, Corradini co-wrote an opinion piece in October 2003 for a Wisconsin newspaper in which he contended that nuclear waste could be stored safely at Yucca Mountain.

We called on Corradini to resign in October and we are glad that he finally did so. Yucca Mountain shouldn't be viewed as a done deal. The Energy Department still hasn't proved that the nuclear waste can be shipped and stored safely -- conditions necessary to gain a license to open. President Bush, in replacing Corradini, should select someone who will give Nevada a fair shake. This job -- offering technical advice on plans to bury 77,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste -- is one that can't be tainted by individuals whose established opinions would likely blind them to potential problems.