Editorial: Regaining lost faith

Sunday, Jan. 14, 2007 | 7:16 a.m.

Americans' trust in government is fragile. Once it is broken, it is challenging to rebuild.

This clearly was illustrated last week as federal officials sought to quell the concerns of Nevada and Utah residents regarding the proposed Divine Strake explosion at the Nevada Test Site. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the National Nuclear Security Administration, which operates the Test Site, propose to detonate 700 tons of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil to help develop a bomb that demolishes underground bunkers containing military headquarters or weapons stockpiles.

The test was scheduled for June 2, but was postponed after residents and members of congressional delegations in Nevada and Utah demanded to know more about the explosion's residual effects - especially its potential for kicking up radioactive material left in the Test Site's soil from atomic bomb tests of the 1950s and '60s.

Previous stories by the Las Vegas Sun's Launce Rake say that the National Nuclear Security Administration considers an environmental impact study done in 1996 sufficient for determining that the test poses minimal risks. That assessment, along with information on how the test would be done and why it is needed was presented at meetings last week in Las Vegas and in Utah's Salt Lake City and St. George.

Residents wanted formal public hearings so they could comment directly to federal decision-makers. Instead, agency officials set up information boards and answered the questions of people who walked around and submitted their concerns in writing. The format did little, if anything, to earn residents' trust.

And trust is lacking because the government lied about health risks in the 1950s when radioactive fallout from atomic bomb tests showered Nevada and Utah. At last week's meetings, residents recalled parents with cancer and newborns with deformities from exposure to fallout that, at the time, the government said posed no risks.

The Bush administration, with its predilection for secrecy and one of the worst environmental protection records in history, doesn't lend much credibility. One Salt Lake City woman said that an environmental assessment by federal officials "means nothing" and "only encourages skepticism." Perhaps some confidence would have been restored if these meetings had been the public hearings for which residents and lawmakers have called.

Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman is conducting his own Divine Strake public hearings before the Feb. 7 deadline for public comment. Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons also should host such hearings. We have said all along that Nevadans must have the opportunity to voice their concerns in an open and public forum.

Last week's dog-and-pony shows won't cut it. When it comes to potential health risks from bomb fallout, residents have more reasons to doubt the government than to believe it.