Nuclear waste official resigns

Suzanne Struglinski

Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2004 | 10:59 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- University of California professor Paul Craig resigned from the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board last week, saying he wanted more time to work on other projects but also wanted to leave the "enormously stressful" situation.

Congress created the board in 1987 to review the Energy Department's plan to store 77,000 tons of nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

Former board Chairman Michael Corradini resigned in Dec. 30 after months of conflict-of-interest complaints stemming from his earlier support of the project. Corradini said he did not believe he had conflict, but resigned to keep the board's reputation and work intact.

"This last year was enormously stressful," Craig said. "The Bush administration likes to appoint people to committees who are going to do their bidding. I have no evidence of this, but it seemed Corradini was there to get Yucca Mountain up and running."

Craig said the former chairman would never back down from his thoughts that Yucca Mountain was a good idea, even when the board had scientific data to the contrary.

"It was distracting from doing the job I was hired to do," Craig said.

But regardless of the problems on the board, Craig said in a letter to the White House sent on Thursday that there are other projects he wants to work on, and he needs the time he now commits to the board.

Craig said none of his other activities have anything to do with nuclear waste or nuclear policy, but that is was time for him to leave. He will still be teaching at the University of California, Davis, but was not sure what specific other projects in which he will be involved. His term, which began in 1997, was supposed to end in April.

"The secretary of Energy needs to negotiate with Congress and the nuclear industry to slow this project down," Craig said. "Will he do that? I'm not holding my breath."

Craig said corrosion problems the board notified the department about in October still need to be addressed. The board feels the most recent design for the repository will not work.

"They will have to admit this one has a problem," Craig said.

Craig said he did not see "any possible way" the department will submit its license application for the project by the end of the year.

DOE has always maintained that its final application will not only be in to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by December 2004, but that the project is scientifically sound.