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Re: Yucca Mountain Testimony





Excellent information, Dr. Gawarecki - thanks for the links.



The comments by the president of Public Citizen raised a question in my

mind:  what, in all honesty, do the opponents to Yucca Mountain want to

accomplish?



Their stated goal is to "stop" the project. (If they did, I wonder if they

applaud the DOE for acting wisely or criticize it for wasting all that

money spent on it so far?  Hmmm.)



Let's say everyone saw the wisdom of their position and said "Fine, you

were right all along.  No more work, no more money spent, no Yucca Mountain

site."



Then what?



Well, eventually, nuclear plants would have to find someplace for spent

fuel or stop producing it.  ("Good! says Public Citizen; we want to stop

them, too." We'll ignore for now what will happen when we lose 20 percent

of our electricity. )



So where do they want the spent fuel that exists now?  Transportation is

out - far too dangerous they say, besides there's nowhere to transport it.

I guess it stays where it is.  Oh, but isn't this the same spent fuel

that's far too dangerous to keep at these terrorist-vulnerable sites

(according to the same groups)?  If that's also true, then what?



Where do you want it, Ma'am?



So, my question to Public-Citizen-Unplug-Salem-No-Nukes-ad-infinitum is

this: If not Yucca Mountain, what storage site or other disposition do YOU

suggest for spent fuel that will satisfy you as safe enough, since the

other alternatives do not? (Having been to the area, I'm trying to imagine

a site more remote or with better geological characteristics than Yucca

Mountain, and not coming up with much, but I'm sure you know since you so

clearly state that this answer is wrong.)



Spent fuel exists, and it isn't going to disappear by magic (although it

eventually does by radioactive decay).  And apparently you think it is an

unacceptable risk to us all, although those who work most closely with it

have done so for a long time without injury or undue anxiety.



We're all waiting for the right answer - what is it?



(Norm, if he's still monitoring, can feel free to pass this question on to

whomever he wants and relay their response back to the rest of us.  But I

wouldn't hold my breath.)



Vincent King,

Idaho Falls









                                                                                                     

                    Susan L Gawarecki                                                                

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                    Sent by:                      cc:                                                

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                    04/19/2002 02:44 PM                                                              

                    Please respond to Susan                                                          

                    L Gawarecki                                                                      

                                                                                                     

                                                                                                     









Yesterday the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on

Energy and Air Quality held a hearing to Review the President's

Recommendation to Develop a Nuclear Waste Repository at Yucca Mountain,

Nevada.  Below please find the prepared testimony available for

witnesses speaking before the Committee.



Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham

http://energycommerce.house.gov/107/hearings/04182002Hearing505/Abraham859print.htm





Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (R-NV)

http://energycommerce.house.gov/107/hearings/04182002Hearing505/Berkley927print.htm





NRC Commissioner Greta Joy Dicus

http://energycommerce.house.gov/107/hearings/04182002Hearing505/Dicus858print.htm





Jeffrey Holmstead, EPA Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation

http://energycommerce.house.gov/107/hearings/04182002Hearing505/Holmstead860print.htm





Jared Cohon, Chairman, Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board

http://energycommerce.house.gov/107/hearings/04182002Hearing505/Cohon862print.htm





Gary Jones, Director, GAO Natural Resources and Environment Team

http://energycommerce.house.gov/107/hearings/04182002Hearing505/Jones865print.htm





Laura Chappelle, Chairwoman, Michigan Public Service Commission

http://energycommerce.house.gov/107/hearings/04182002Hearing505/Chappelle925print.htm





Joe Colvin, President and CEO, Nuclear Energy Institute

http://energycommerce.house.gov/107/hearings/04182002Hearing505/Colvin861print.htm





Jim Dushaw, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

http://energycommerce.house.gov/107/hearings/04182002Hearing505/Dushaw864print.htm





Joan Claybrook, President, Public Citizen

http://energycommerce.house.gov/107/hearings/04182002Hearing505/Claybrook857print.htm





Thanks to Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) for the above announcement

and links.  ECA is the membership organization of local governments that

are adjacent to or impacted by Department of Energy activities.  To add

your name to its list serve, please e-mail server@energyca.org.  For

more information on ECA, visit the ECA Web Site at

http://www.energyca.org.

--

.....................................................

Susan L. Gawarecki, Ph.D., Executive Director

Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee

We've moved!  Please note our new address:

102 Robertsville Road, Suite B, Oak Ridge, TN 37830

.....................................................

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