Editorial: Nuke tests fall short

Wednesday, May 12, 2004 | 8:52 a.m.

Last year the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it would go forward with what it described as "full-scale" testing of casks that could be used to ship nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain. Within the past week the NRC has offered more details on just what it means by "full-scale" testing. In a May 5 memo the three NRC commissioners tell their staff they want the testing to be done on just one cask intended to be shipped by rail and they want the test designed in a way that will apply to all different types of casks. (The NRC wants the testing of the cask intended to be shipped by truck to occur after the Energy Department settles on a cask design for those vehicles.) The NRC says the testing, which it estimates will cost between $35 million to $40 million, should include a "realistically conservative" train going 75 mph and a "fully engulfing fire."

Nevada officials are upset by the NRC's testing plan, contending it doesn't go far enough. They're right. The casks should be tested to withstand long drops down steep embankments and be able to survive a variety of terrorist attacks, including shoulder-fired missiles that could puncture the casks. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., is drafting legislation that would mandate the casks undergo testing until their destruction and require simulated terrorist attacks as well. Reid and the rest of Nevada's congressional delegation understand the stakes involved of shipping high-level nuclear waste thousands of miles across the country.

All along the federal government has tried to cut corners to bury nuclear waste inside Yucca Mountain despite plenty of evidence that, geologically, it's just too dangerous to do so. The feeble testing plan the NRC is considering for evaluating nuclear-waste casks fits into this slipshod mind-set. Shipping high-level nuclear waste, because of its deadly nature, requires something far greater than one-size-fits-all testing. The NRC should re-evaluate its plan and demand that if the casks can't meet the toughest, most rigorous testing, then the Energy Department shouldn't get a license to build the dump. To do less is courting disaster.