Letter: It’s not too late to stop nuclear dump at Yucca

Friday, Jan. 2, 2004 | 5:34 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

January 3 - 4, 2004

Thank you for the Dec. 26 editorial on the Department of Energy's transportation plan for shipping high-level radioactive waste to Yucca Mountain. Having just moved here, it is refreshing to see that the Las Vegas Sun is taking a very pessimistic view of the DOE's so-called scientific findings on this most dangerous proposal.

As a former resident of New Mexico, I know all too well to what lengths the DOE will go to to shove radioactive wastes down the throats of states they consider "nuclear sacrifice zones." The Waste Isolation Pilot Program in southern New Mexico has been accepting low-level radioactive waste for several years now, despite an outpouring of protest over the safety of the site and of the transportation issues. It seems no matter what the citizens who live there want, what DOE wants, DOE gets.

It is still not too late to stop Yucca Mountain, but the forces behind it are formidable. We don't know how much damage has already been done from radiation at the Nevada Test Site, but we can be sure that Yucca Mountain will only add to the problem. Citizens of this state need to join together like never before to stop this deadly poison from coming here. At risk is our health, our air, our water and our future.

DON KIMBALL JR.