Public Hearing to Consider Nuclear Waste Shipments Through St. Louis and the Midwest

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Wednesday January 19, 11:49 am Eastern Time

Company Press Release

Public Hearing to Consider Nuclear Waste Shipments Through St. Louis 
and the Midwest  

CARSON CITY, Nev.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 19, 2000--On Thursday, 
January 20th, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will hold a public 
hearing on a matter involving the transportation of thousands of tons 
of deadly radioactive wastes through the St. Louis metro area, the 
State of Missouri, and other states over a period spanning three 
decades. ``Because DOE has not publicized the true intent of the 
hearing, affected communities and individuals may not be aware of it 
or of federal program behind it,'' said Bob Loux of the Nevada 
Governor's Office.  

At the January 20th hearing, to be held at the America's Center, 701 
Convention Plaza from 11 am to 2 pm and from 6 pm to 10 pm, DOE will 
take public comments on the proposal to construct and operate a 
repository for spent nuclear reactor fuel and high-level radioactive 
waste at Nevada's Yucca Mountain. Because of the locations of nuclear 
power plants and defense nuclear facilities that would ship spent 
fuel and highly radioactive wastes to a Nevada facility, the St. 
Louis area would be heavily impacted by Yucca Mountain-related 
transportation. In a preliminary review of DOE's draft Environmental 
Impact Statement for the Yucca Mountain project, the Nevada Agency 
for Nuclear Projects found that:  

---  Under the least impacting scenario, between 2,700 and 4,600 rail 
shipments of spent nuclear fuel and more than 1,700 rail shipments of 
defense high-level radioactive wastes would pass through St Louis and 
Kansas City. There would be an average of 3 rail shipments per week 
every week for at least 25 years.  

--   In addition to the rail shipments, between 670 and 1,010 truck 
shipments from Florida nuclear reactors would also travel through St. 
Louis on I-70 and I-270.  

--   Under a shipping scenario where most of the spent fuel and high-
level waste is shipped by truck, between 18,600 and 27,600 shipments 
would impact the St. Louis metro area on I-70 and I-270, an average 
of 2 truckloads per day every day for 24 to 39 years. Maps showing 
nuclear waste shipping routes are attached as files and can also be 
found on the web at:
http://www.state.nv.us/nucwaste/trans/images/16-1.gif and 
http://www.state.nv.us/nucwaste/trans/images/18-1b.gif .  

--   Under either scenario, the number of shipments through St. Louis 
will substantially exceed the total number of such shipments 
nationally during the entire history of the U.S. nuclear power 
industry.   

--   Studies by the State of Nevada indicate that these shipments are 
vulnerable to severe accidents and could become attractive targets 
for sabotage and terrorism. -0-   

Nuclear waste transportation expert Robert J. Halstead will be 
available for media interviews before, during, and after the hearing. 
Halstead can be reached at (608) 742-3973 or through the Nevada 
Agency for Nuclear Projects at (775) 687-3744.  

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
ICN Biomedicals, Inc.				E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 				                           
ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue  		E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com          	          
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Personal Website:  http://www.geocities.com/scperle
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com

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