U.S. House passes nuclear waste bill

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

U.S. House passes nuclear waste bill

WASHINGTON, March 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. House on Wednesday passed 
legislation to store the nation's hazardous nuclear waste from 
commercial power plants in the Nevada desert by decade's end, but the 
measure faces an almost assured veto by President Clinton. 

With a 253 to 167 vote, the House approved the plan to construct a 
waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev., as early as 2007. A similar 
bill overwhelmingly passed the Senate last month, but fell three 
votes short of a veto-proof majority. 

Texas Republican Joe Barton, shepherded the bill to passage but could 
not appease objections from the White House over how radiation 
exposure standards would be set and other issues. 

"To truly make progress, the President should work with us to find 
the best resolution rather than threatening a veto and forcing a 
compromise which doesn't solve the real problems at hand," Barton 
said in a news release. 

Energy Secretary Bill Richardson said in a statement that he "regrets 
an agreement with Congress was not reached on the nuclear waste 
bill," and recommended a veto. 

"It is unacceptable and the secretary recommends a presidential 
veto," said a DOE spokeswoman. 

If Clinton makes good on his veto threat, the problem of how to 
dispose of 400,000 metric tons of spent fuel from 80 reactors in 40 
states will not be settled in the near-term. 

The Clinton administration and House Democratic leaders objected to 
provisions negating language in the bill to have the Department of 
Energy (DOE) take ownership of the spent fuel in the years before a 
repository is built. 

The White House also was not satisfied with the final draft language 
on delaying until 2001 the right of the Environmental Protection 
Agency to set radiation exposure limits. 

The nuclear industry applauded the House vote, saying that if enacted 
the legislation would ensure the continued production of nuclear 
energy by settling the waste storage issue. 

"The Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act offers the President a 
historic opportunity to steer our nation onto the path of safe 
geologic disposal of used nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive 
waste," said John Kane, vice president of the Nuclear Energy 
Institute. 

DOE still must give final approval to Yucca Mountain as the permanent 
site for the commercial waste, which would also house some 
radioactive material from Defense Department programs. 

A departmental recommendation is due by 2001. 

Environmentalists believe Yucca Mountain is unsafe, citing concerns 
the area lies on a geographic fault line, that ground water seepage 
has occurred where the repository would be built and transportation 
of waste would threaten nearby Las Vegas. 

"Its a bad bill thats bad for the public's health and bad for the 
environment," said Ann Mesnikoff, Sierra Club spokeswoman.

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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 				                           
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Costa Mesa, CA 92626                                      

Personal Website:  http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/1205
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