More on the Texas Sierra Blanca waste site

["Bernadette Baca" <Bernadette.Baca@tdh.state.tx.us>]

It's great to see the support/debate for the Austin poll on Sierra 
Blanca within our RADSAFE community.  However, I found some other 
interesting 'news' about the site that might interest the group.


09/08/98   INFOBEAT.COM

08:43 PM ET 09/06/98

Mexico says plans for U.S. nuclear dump look safe

  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico retreated from its harsh
criticism of a proposed U.S. nuclear waste dump near the border
Sunday, saying the proposed site looked safe and posed no threat to
its citizens.
   A rare joint statement by the ministries of foreign affairs, the 
environment and energy said experts at Mexico's National Nuclear 
Safety Commission had studied detailed U.S. information about the 
dump and decided it was safe. ``Our experts concluded ... 
the dump represents no threat whatsoever to the population and the 
environment of our country if the construction and operation are 
carried out according to plan,'' the joint statement said.            
``Our National Water Commission ... concluded that, given the 
information, the dump did not represent a threat of pollution to 
underground water aquifers or rivers on national soil,'' it added.    
    Mexico has complained bitterly during the past two years 
about plans by Texas to build a dump for low-level nuclear waste in 
the town of Sierra Blanca, just 20 miles from the border, saying it 
amounted to ``ecological racism'' against Mexicans.            
    U.S. and Mexican environmental groups have also called the plan 
racist because they say it unfairly targets a poor, largely Hispanic 
community with little political clout. But Sunday's statement struck 
a different note, defending the need for industrialized nations to 
dispose of their waste.   The only note of disapproval in the 
three-page statement was a mention that the dump did not help foster 
a good neighbor policy.    
   The U.S. Senate last week voted to allow Vermont and Maine to ship 
nuclear waste from hospitals and research labs to south Texas. The 
plan will go to President Clinton for his signature.  Mexico's 
Foreign Ministry has sent 14 diplomatic notes of protest to the U.S. 
government, saying the dump violates the spirit of a 1983 border 
agreement that described the region as a shared ecosystem.     
Mexican senators said last week they were considering taking the 
issue to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, 
Netherlands, for resolution.

         ^REUTERS@

Bernadette Baca
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TDH - Bureau of Radiation Control     
Uranium Licensing Project
1100 West 49th
Austin, TX 78756 - 3189
(512) 834 - 6688  ext: 2206
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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with my point of view.  Therefore, use at your own risk and humor.

mailto:Bernadette.Baca@tdh.state.tx.us

"Beneath this chaos is a really big mess." - Jim Davis
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