Re: Transportation of spent PWR and BWR fuels

[RuthWeiner@AOL.COM]

In a message dated 11/20/01 3:37:35 PM Mountain Standard Time, dlochbaum@ucsusa.org writes:



> If your frustrated at bing unable to communicate with folks about 
>
> transportation issues, it would be better to revisit your messages than
>
> to attempt to recruit UCS as your mouthpiece.


Let me assure you, Mr. Lochbaum, that I in no way intended to use UCS as a "mouthpiece, " thank you.  I don't need a mouthpiece, because I do quite well without one.  Nor am I "unable to communicate with folks about 

transportation issues." As a professor with some 40 years' experience, about a thousand speeches to church, garden club, and civic groups, more than 100 publications, and four textbooks to my credit, I have no problem communicating.  I was not asking for your help in communicating, but asking for your straightforward technical response to questions.  I am also not frustrated, and I regret that I wsa so unclear that you misread my questions that way.  I have revisited my messages, and I truly have no idea why you should have interpreted anything as frustration.  


I was both straightforward and, as far as I know, courteous in my request.  Perhaps because English is not my first language I came across as abrupt.  If so, I apologize.  Believe me, this is written with no irony at all.


I have known Marvin Resnikoff for about 20 years, and am very familiar with his contentions that the testing regime in 10 CFR 71 is inadequate.  Though both he and Robert Halstead (whom I have also known for a long time) contend that NUREG/CR6672 is "flawed,"  they have yet to offer a point-by-point critique.  I take it that by referring me to Dr. Resnikoff you agree with his current and possibly future positions, so I won't bother you further with any questions except one three-part one.  I believe that this won't take much time to answer:


Does your organization, the Union of Concerned Scientists, use the term "mobile chernobyl" when referring to SNF transportation? If so, what characteristics of SNF transportation cause you to do so?  If not, have you repudiated this charactirization?


Once again, please do not interpret these three questions as any expression of frustrantion, any inability to communicate clearly, or even the remotest  desire to use UCS as a "mouthpiece,"in part because I question much of what I have seen of UCS's recent pronouncements on nuclear power.


Ruth Weiner, Ph. D.

ruthweiner@aol.com