Letter to The Oklahoman, May 26th, 2002
By Grace Thorpe , National Environmental Coalition of Native Americans,


To The Editor:

Regarding "Dumping the Nukes, The Waste has Got to Go Somewhere" (editorial, May 16): Nuclear waste does not have to go anywhere. It's safer to keep it where it's generated. those who produce the waste and profit by selling nuclear energy should be responsible for their own waste. To produce something that can't be safely disposed of is criminal. To ship it to clean areas isn't fair to the people living there.

It doesn't make sense to ship waste to the Yucca Mountains in Nevada, which is an old volcano and within an earthquake zone. Also, the area isn't large enough to hold so much nuclear waste. Shipping the waste across the country from nuclear power plants in the east would be too risky, especially considering the threat of terrorist attacks.

I'm grateful to U.S. Rep. Wes Watkins, R-Stillwater, who voted against moving this toxic waste.

Grace Thorpe




Back to Yucca Mountain