Public Citizen - Nuclear Information Resource Service - US Public Interest Research Group - Sierra Club - Alliance for Nuclear Accountability - Friends of the Earth - Safe Energy Communication Council

CONTACT: Dec. 1, 1998
Auke Piersma, Public Citizen, 202-546-4996, ext. 318
Mary Olson, Nuclear Information Resource Service, 202-328-0002

Environmental, Consumer Groups Meet with DOE Secretary Richardson to Urge Disqualification of Yucca Mountain as Proposed Nuclear Repository

WASHINGTON, D.C.-- Environmental and consumer representatives met with Energy Secretary Bill Richardson today to urge that he obey the law and abandon Yucca Mountain, Nev., as the proposed repository for thousands of tons of highly radioactive waste. The meeting was in response to a petition signed by 219 environmental organizations.

"Secretary Richardson was very gracious in listening to our arguments about why Yucca Mountain is unsuitable for the long-term storage of nuclear waste and why it makes no sense to ship this extremely dangerous material across America's roads and rails to a site that cannot safely protect the American public from radiation," said Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook.

The Department of Energy is set to release a Viability Assessment of the Yucca Mountain site within the next several weeks, but a final decision on whether to open the nuclear waste repository is not scheduled before 2001. Claybrook said the organizations requested that Richardson subject the Viability Assessment to peer review and public hearings. Richardson agreed that the Viability Assessment does not constitute a final decision on the repository.

"We are happy to hear that the secretary in reference to our concerns is taking this issue very seriously," said Anna Aurilio, staff scientist at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

The final decision on the site carries enormous significance both for Americans who live near Yucca Mountain, which is 90 miles north of Las Vegas, and for highway users who will be exposed over 30 years to 100,000 truck shipments of high-level nuclear waste through 43 states, with the likelihood of hundreds of accidents.

"Nuclear waste is a major concern to millions of citizens across the country. This is not just a Nevada issue anymore," said Michael Mariotte, executive director of the Nuclear Information Resource Service.

The petition, filed with the DOE on Nov. 18, cites scientific information that should trigger disqualification of the site under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) and the DOE rules that implement that law. The NWPA states that a repository site must be disqualified at any time during the site characterization process if any disqualifying condition exists. The petition establishes that the DOE now has scientific evidence that two disqualifying conditions exist, and it raises concerns about three other serious concerns.

Using chlorine-36 as a tracer, residues from rainwater less than 50 years old have been detected at the level of the proposed repository. This significant discovery contradicts earlier models of rainwater flow (travel time to the water table). Also, evidence shows that significant amounts of radionuclides are likely to migrate into off-site supplies of groundwater that is currently suitable for human consumption and crop irrigation. These facts indicate that the site meets the conditions for disqualification for two guidelines. Additional concerns including seismic activity, volcanism and human intrusion also are raised in the petition.

"Communities with DOE nuclear waste sites know what it is like to have radioactive waste leaking into the groundwater and know that Yucca Mountain should be disqualified," said Brad Morse of the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability.

The DOE is under pressure from the nuclear industry to approve the repository, but the groups say it would be much safer to leave the waste where it is now. Using the time available to search for better options prevents the bad mistake of dumping it in Yucca Mountain.

"We look forward to Secretary Richardson following his tradition of protecting public health and safety," said Steve Pedery of the Sierra Club's Global Warming and Energy Program. "He should say no to Yucca Mountain."