Nevada's Lawyer Says Science Will Prevail in Yucca Mountain Fight LANL Issues Comments on NMED's Corrective Action Order
Egan says that the knowledge that science does not support the Yucca Mountain decision persuaded the Department of Energy (or DOE) to adopt lax safety standards that may not protect the public from highly radioactive material, but would allow for disposal at Yucca Mountain. Egan and Nevada's Attorney General, Frankie Sue Del Papa, charge that because Yucca Mountain's geology is unsuitable for the waste, DOE shifted reliance to engineered containers, which violates the intent of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act to rely on the natural features of Yucca Mountain to contain the waste. Egan also said that the state intends to show that DOE's 10,000-year regulatory period for safely containing the waste contradicts the findings of the National Academy of Sciences that recommends a one million year containment period. Joe Davis, spokesperson for DOE Secretary Abraham, says, "Both on scientific and legal issues, we have a strong case for moving forward." However, Del Papa is confident that Nevada will prevail, saying, "We remain convinced that the fight is winnable. It is far too soon for the public to be discouraged." * Los Alamos National Laboratory (or LANL) this week released its rebuttal to the draft Corrective Action Order issued by the New Mexico Environment Department (or NMED) on May 2nd. The 145-page comment states that the order, "does not support a finding of imminent [and] substantial endangerment associated with [LANL]." LANL claims that, prior to May 2nd, NMED "continually reassured the public to the contrary." According to Jim Holt, LANL's assistant director for operations, it was previously believed that LANL's environmental management and cleanup strategies had the full support of NMED. The order requires LANL to mitigate damages from the release of hazardous waste or other constituents that may pose a threat to human health or the environment. Although LANL estimates that complete remediation could take as long as 40 years, NMED's order provides a framework that reduces that time by half. James Bearzi, of NMED, said, "this is our sincere attempt to accelerate [the cleanup process]." LANL responded that both its efforts and those of NMED would be better served by focusing on the cleanup program already underway at LANL. However, according to a 1997 DOE Inspector General's report, of the $360 million spent by LANL for cleanup by 1995, a mere 20% was spent on actual cleanup, such as moving contaminated soil, indicating that a regulatory response by NMED was required. A representative of NMED said that the department will respond to comments received from LANL and others, including CCNS, in 30 to 60 days. Read CCNS's comments to NMED's Corrective Action Order for Los Alamos National Laboratory.
|
