Senate approves Texas low-level nuke waste dump

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

Wednesday September 2 2:11 PM EDT 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate agreed Wednesday to 
allow Vermont and Maine to ship low-level nuclear
waste to a new dumpsite in Texas despite objections the town was 
chosen because it is poor and mostly Hispanic.

The planned site is in Sierra Blanca, a sparsely populated west 
Texas town just a few miles from the Mexico border. It would
be the latest in a series of U.S. regional disposal sites for low-level 
nuclear waste from hospitals, utilities and research labs.

The Senate's 78-to-15 approval means the plan will now go to 
President Clinton for his signature.

The Sierra Club, the League of United Latin American Citizens and 
religious groups opposed the legislation, complaining that it
unfairly targeted a poor community with little political clout for the 
nuclear waste dump site.

But supporters -- including some residents of Sierra Blana -- have 
said the project would create much-needed jobs. The town
is already home to a waste disposal site used by New York City for 
its treated sewage.

Maine and Vermont will each contribute $25 million to build the low-
level nuclear dump site.

Sen. Paul Wellstone, a Minnesota Democrat who led the 
opposition, called the choice of Sierra Blanca ``the path of least
political resistance.'' Wellstone also expressed concern that the 
site could evolve into a national repository in the future.

Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe, a Republican, said the plan was 
simply intended to follow through on Congress' 1980 law that
asked states to cooperate with each other in taking care of low-
level nuclear waste. Currently, 41 other U.S. states have
entered into regional agreements to dispose of the waste.

The pact was already approved by state legislatures in Texas, 
Maine and Vermont. The U.S. House overwhelmingly approved
the plan in July. 


------------------
Sandy Perle
Technical Director
ICN Dosimetry Division
ICN Plaza
3300 Hyland Avenue
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Office: (800) 548-5100 x2306 
Fax:    (714) 668-3149
  
sandyfl@earthlink.net
sperle@icnpharm.com

ICN Dosimetry Website:
http://www.dosimetry.com

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

"The object of opening the mind, as of opening 
the mouth, is to close it again on something solid"
              - G. K. Chesterton -

The opinions expressed are solely, absolutely, positively, definitely those of the author, and NOT my employer
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