Comments (43) | Add a comment
Democratic senator challenges energy chief on Yucca Mountain decision
Tools
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
Updated: Mar. 5, 2010 | 9:25 a.m.
WASHINGTON -- Energy Secretary Steven Chu came under more criticism Thursday for moving to terminate work at Yucca Mountain, but he said the government was "pouring good money after bad" by pursuing what he called an outdated nuclear waste project.
At a Senate hearing, Chu got his latest earful from Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. She demanded to know "who was consulted in making the decision that Yucca Mountain was not viable."
"You say that Yucca Mountain is not a workable option, but what seems to be missing is why," she told Chu, asking him repeatedly what science was used to back up the Obama administration's decision to end plans for the underground waste repository.
Murray said billions of dollars have been spent at the Hanford nuclear reservation in her state to clean up and begin packaging liquid nuclear waste for eventual disposal at the proposed Yucca site, but no consideration was given to residents there and other places where highly radioactive waste awaits removal.
"This is really disturbing to me," Murray said. "This leaves everybody just in complete limbo after 30 years of working on this."
Chu was at the hearing to discuss the DOE budget, a day after department attorneys filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in a move to withdraw a construction application for the waste site 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
On Wednesday, Chu faced similar criticism from several House members at a science hearing.
Most of the Capitol Hill complaints have come from Republicans. Murray became the first Senate Democrat to challenge the president and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., an engineer of the administration's policy.
Despite the scattered criticism, no groundswell has risen to reverse the decision to scrap Yucca and put future policy in the hands of a panel that begins work this month.
For instance, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said Thursday that he opposed shutting down the Nevada repository effort, but the Obama administration overall has made strides by supporting new loan guarantees for reactors and making quality appointments to federal boards dealing with nuclear energy.
It could not be learned whether Murray was taking her frustration to Reid, or giving him a heads-up that she was going to air her criticism.
Reid understands that "people need to do what they need to do for their home states," said his spokesman, Jon Summers. On the other hand, everyone knows where Reid stands on Yucca Mountain, and "the dump is not going to be built, period."
Previous administrations pressed on with Yucca Mountain, adapting the program when it encountered technical challenges. Chu told Murray that President Barack Obama wants a fresh start.
For instance, he said, when Yucca Mountain was found to have more fractures than expected, which might enable moisture to work its way into waste tunnels, managers came up with a fix that was a "multi-, multibillion-dollar titanium shield that's installed under the ground."
"As these things go on, you are beginning to think, 'Are you pouring good money after bad?' " he said. "I don't believe science is willing to say that Yucca Mountain is the ideal site given what we know today and what we believe we can develop in the next 50 years."
Comments
Terms & Conditions
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The Review-Journal does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please use the Report Abuse button.
Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 24 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
@ BR63
I will have to defer to the others regarding your question, because I doubt if my memory is any better than yours.
Plus, I found Mr. Green's comments so diffuse as to be difficult if not impossible to answer. It's hard to know what to say until he, or anyone else for that matter, gets more specific about what or how or why the scientific work on the 10,000 year limit was a lie.
Oh, wait, I forgot again. It was the NRC review that was supposed to answer those questions! Silly me...
If other states and agencies continue to raise objections like these, and Harry is unable to overcome them and decisively close Yucca Mountain once and for all, then that will simply demonstrate to his constituents that he is not the strong, decisive, skillful leader he claims to be. Not to mention, of course, that he has already claimed decisive victory even though objections like these keep coming.
On the other hand, suppose he does win, and decisively shuts Yucca Mountain down in the next month. Then that will simply give his constituents several months right before the election, to closely examine his senatorial record. And discover that he probably hasn't ever actually done anything for Nevada BUT crusade heroically against the demonic Yucca Mountain.
My personal cynical opinion is that the only Nevadans who have benefited from Harry Reid's tenure are probably casino owners and executives. Because he has been so successful in driving out high paying, high tech industries that might have competed with the casino companies and driven up the price of labor. Thanks to Senator Reid and his colleagues, the local labor market is now even more of a buyers market than ever!
The national evening news tonight said that Americans are starting to spend money in casinos again. Please remember that this does not automatically mean NEVADA casinos anymore. Thanks to Senator Reid, there are no solutions to this problem in the pipeline.
Water flows from Yucca Mountain to Las Vegas.
Transportation of nuclear waste is dangerous.
If an accident happened, it would end tourism to Las Vegas.
Earthquakes happen at Yucca Mountain.
Nevada doesn't use nuclear power.
Yucca Mountain being only 100 miles from Las Vegas is next door.
GUESS WHAT PEOPLE! All of the above statements are false.
If you believed any of the above, go back to first grade and start over.
Nevadans have been fighting against a toxic waste Yucca Mountain Repository for 30 years.
Anyone under the impression there is money to be made, as in a payout to Nevadans...that came off the table decades ago. So go pound sand.
I can only imagine what a disaster Yucca Mountain would be based on the science and packaging that Washington and SC are complaining about today, if it was initiated thirty years ago. Ridiculous. Not to mention elevated issues with security and terrorists.
I don't want toxic waste transported to my state. I don't want to be on the same roads. Period!
Dr. Chu--yeah what about that? What science was considered? Oh!
The political science of Harry Reid's ouija board! 50 years hence Dr. Chu--you will be looked upon, as a boob.
If we had a short term storage at the Repository at Yucca Mountain, then we would not have to worry about fractures, fractures are in every mountain, and ground in the world, what set this item apart is short term storage is in tight canisters, than cannot be opened, unlike the ads Harry Reid put the television during his campaign, of old tin barrels in an old shed somewhere back east, however to really understand what is going on, go visit the repository and see where we could put a newly designed small power reactor to produce power and not store it, instead use it to make electricty for our country, with more electric cars, etc., and the White House, wanting to shut wood and coal fired power plants, here to are sitting on a gold mine, and the Dems are turning their backs on us, vote for anyone but Harry Reid, arda.