Editorial: ‘Make up more stuff ’

Saturday, April 2, 2005 | 9:26 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

April 2 - 3, 2005

On Tuesday a House subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., will hold a hearing into allegations that scientific records involving the Yucca Mountain project were falsified. Last month the Energy Department disclosed the existence of e-mails sent by U.S. Geological Survey employees working on the Yucca Mountain project's quality assurance program, messages that discussed fabricating scientific information about how water moves through the mountain. On Friday the Associated Press disclosed the content of some of the e-mails, which, to put it simply, are chilling.

"I don't have a clue when these programs were installed. So I've made up the dates and names," a U.S. Geological Survey employee wrote in one e-mail. "This is as good as it's going to get. If they need more proof, I will be happy to make up more stuff." In yet another e-mail, the AP reported, the same employee wrote to a colleague about what appear to be his sentiments about quality assurance: "In the end I keep track of 2 sets of files, the one that will keep QA happy and the ones that were actually used."

How damaging the e-mails are to the Yucca Mountain project's credibility -- and its future -- can't be overstated. After all, a federal employee is blithely discussing tampering with scientific work that goes to the very heart of whether Yucca Mountain can safely contain nuclear waste. If, as Nevada officials have contended, water can travel more rapidly through the mountain than the Energy Department asserts, then there is a real likelihood of the water corroding the canisters holding the nuclear waste, enabling the deadly substance to escape. Such a finding would be a show-stopper, resulting in Yucca Mountain being unable to receive a license to operate from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

When Yucca Mountain eventually meets its demise, we'd suggest that a fitting epitaph could come from one of the aforementioned e-mails. Our favorite: "If they need more proof, I will be happy to make up more stuff." We can't think of a more apt description for the absolute disregard for science at Yucca Mountain.