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ARCHIVED
INFORMATION
For
immediate release
July 9, 2002
Contact: Carlean Ponder,
202-544-5055
Elizabeth Chesnut,
404-524-5999
In
Yucca Mountain Approval, Senators Bow to Nuclear
Industry;
Fight Will Continue
Statement
of
Women's Action for New Directions/Women Legislators'
Lobby
The decision by the U.S. Senate to
give a green light to the potentially disastrous Yucca
Mountain nuclear waste dump is disappointing, but
we are pleased that more senators than ever - 39 -
voted against it.
Still, this outcome was not unexpected,
given that the nuclear industry spent millions of
dollars to buy ads, contribute to politicians' campaigns
and hire lobbyists to twist arms. In fact, senators
and senatorial candidates took more than $5 million
from the nuclear power industry in political action
committee contributions from 1997 through February
2002. With today's vote, lawmakers have not only succumbed
to industry influence but have again failed to check
the Bush administration's inappropriate coziness with
the energy industries.
Ahead of us are regulatory, legislative
and legal battles. We hope common sense will prevail,
because there are plenty of issues to be addressed:
-
It is unclear whether enough money will be appropriated
for Yucca Mountain to come to fruition. Already
the government has spent $7 billion on this white
elephant; today's total cost estimate is $58 billion
and tomorrow's cost will be more.
-
The Department of Energy (DOE) has not released
the routes it would use to ship the nuclear waste
to Nevada. This has enabled the administration to
avoid the wrath of concerned lawmakers who may not
yet know that these mobile Chernobyls could be coming
through their districts. When routes are finally
laid out, expect a huge amount of opposition from
affected communities and their representatives.
-
The DOE has estimated that nearly 300 crashes could
occur while this dangerous waste is being shipped
to Nevada. Yet, it is unlikely that emergency workers
would be prepared to adequately handle such potential
disasters. Further, the transportation casks have
not been fully tested to ensure they could withstand
realistically severe crashes. Also, the waste will
make a tempting terrorist target as it rolls across
the country; the Yucca Mountain scheme calls for
scattering dirty bombs all over the United States.
-
Even the government's own scientists confess they
cannot demonstrate that the proposed repository
will not leak and contaminate the environment and
drinking water supplies.
-
Yucca Mountain will not solve our waste problems
because the irradiated fuel must cool onsite for
years before being moved. Whether or not Yucca Mountain
is built, nuclear waste will always be scattered
at nuclear reactors throughout the country as long
as reactors continue to operate. Further, the total
volume of this country's high-level nuclear waste
is expected to exceed capacity at Yucca Mountain
before the repository can open.
We
applaud the efforts of WAND/WiLL members Barbara Boxer,
Dianne Feinstein, Debbie Stabenow, Hillary Clinton and
other Senate leaders on this issue. We hope they will
continue to lead the fight against what is, and always
will be, a terrible idea.
More
information on Yucca Mountain
WAND
is a national grassroots organization working to
educate women to act politically to shift excessive
Pentagon spending toward unmet human and environmental
needs. WiLL, the Women Legislators' Lobby, a program
of WAND, organizes women state legislators to make
the link between Capitol Hill policies and budget
priorities and the needs and challenges of local
communities and states.
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