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US House Backs National Nuclear Dump Project
Washington (AFP) May 9, 2002 In a victory for President George W. Bush, the House of Representatives has voted to approve a plan that creates a giant national repository of nuclear waste in the western state of Nevada, over fierce opposition by local residents. But the 306-117 vote in favor of the plan has also opened another major environmental debate just weeks after Bush's failure to secure Congress' permission to drill for oil in an Arctic nature preserve in Alaska. The resolution adopted Wednesday expressed support for the president's decision to store tonnes of radioactive nuclear waste, coming mostly from the nation's 103 nuclear power plants, in tunnels drilled under Yucca Mountain in the western part of Nevada. "That nuclear waste is going to go somewhere," said Democratic Congressman John Dingell. "Right now it is scattered around the country in all kinds of places, and it's creating hazards for your constituents and mine." But Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn, who like most politicians in the state has been fighting the proposal tooth and nail, said the vote amounted to a lost battle but not the war. "We will continue our battle in the US Senate -- which has yet to vote on the bill -- and on a parallel track in the courts," he said in a statement. The governor predicted Yucca Mountain will become a national issue if 77,000 tonnes of nuclear waste begin traveling down highways past 123 million people in 43 states. The federal government has spent nearly 20 years and seven billion dollars studying the site and has determined that that there is no better solution for the nuclear waste problem. According to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, nuclear waste dumps scattered all around the country create a security hazard, particularly in the wake of the September 11 attacks. Currently 161 million people live within 120 kilometers (75 miles) of some nuclear dump, Abraham said. Spent radioactive fuel and nuclear waste are currently stored at more than 130 location all over the United States, according to industry officials. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Civil Nuclear Energy Science, Technology and News Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
Democrats Lambaste White House For Alleged Lapses In Reducing WMD
Washington (AFP) Jul 21, 2005Opposition Democrats in Congress blasted the George W. Bush administration Wednesday for what they said was a failure to fully protect Americans from the threat of weapons of mass destruction. |
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