Bill could improve security on trains with nuke waste

Suzanne Struglinski

Thursday, June 17, 2004 | 11:12 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- A new railroad bill could provide $350 million for improved security for trains transporting hazardous material, which could include nuclear waste, as well as additional money to strengthen railroad security nationwide.

Various hazardous materials, including nuclear waste, are already shipped on trains throughout the country every day, but the Energy Department plans to ship 77,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel and other radioactive waste to Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, via railroad.

Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev, today co-sponsored the $1 billion railroad security bill that, in addition to dedicating money to hazardous material issues, would require the Transportation Department and Homeland Security Department to complete a railroad transportation security plan and implement other security measures.

The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the train bombing in Madrid, Spain, earlier this year have brought increased attention to passenger and freight rail transportation.

"Even before the Madrid attacks, we knew that our rail lines were terrorist targets," said Porter, who is the vice chairman of the House Railroad subcommittee. "In my fight against plans to ship nuclear waste to Nevada, I have been reminding members of Congress and the public of the terrible vulnerability of the tracks that carry hazardous material. This is not just a Nevada issue, but a national issue that needs our support."

The bill does not specifically name nuclear waste or single out Yucca Mountain, but Porter said, "when I think about the hazards of Yucca Mountain, I am talking about the transportation of that waste across the country and those issues that impact the transportation of all hazardous materials."

Porter held a hearing in Las Vegas earlier this year that focused on the nuclear waste issue. Subcommittee Chairman Jack Quinn, R-N.Y., said today that hearing helped the committee members get a better understanding of the issue. Porter said a lot of the research that had been done for the hearing and other research on general railroad security helped the bill get done today.

Porter co-sponsored a bill Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., introduced last year that calls for a comprehensive study on the risks of transporting high-level nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain by train, truck or barge. Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., and four other House members have co-sponsored the bill, but no further action has taken place.

Today's bill would provide $350 million for hazardous shipment security, intelligence and information on rail security threats, additional railroad police and train tracking, and improved communication technology. It would also use $10 million for a unified railroad emergency operations center and $1.5 million for signal system improvements.

"All of these interact with that piece of legislation," Porter said, referring to the earlier Nevada bill.

The Nuclear Energy Institute maintains that spent nuclear fuel shipments have taken place for years with no release of radiation so moving the waste to Nevada poses no additional threat. NEI official have said it prefers "dedicated trains" that would ship the waste since only a few cars would hold it. The Energy Department, however, has not decided whether waste will be shipped by trains moving only spent nuclear fuel or among cars on trains unrestricted in what they can carry toward Nevada.

Specific plans on security, shipment routes and carriers are still being decided by the department.