Nuclear Energy Information Service
P.O. Box 1637, Evanston, IL 60204-1637
Phone 847.869.7650 Fax 847.869-7658
neis@neis.org
May 28, 1998
Letter to the Editors
For immediate consideration
To the Editors:
On June 2 the U.S. Senate will vote on H.R.1270/S.104, an extremely important bill for Illinois, the nation and the environment.
Dubbed "Mobile Chernobyl" by critics, the bill is a nuclear industry attempt to panic- peddle a vote to prematurely and needlessly move nearly 18,000 shipments of "high-level" radioactive waste (HLRW) to an as yet unbuilt "interim" storage facility at Yucca Mt., Nevada, currently being tested for suitability as a permanent disposal site. Nearly 13,000 shipments would go through Illinois.
The trumped-up need for this bill -- "nuclear power plants running out of HLRW storage space" -- has been debunked soundly by recent study. Pro-nuke kooks would spend $2.3 billion of ratepayer money for this unnecessary storage facility. Using the same technology (dry-cask storage) at reactor sites would cost around $603 million -- nearly 400% less than what the nuclear industry proposes to spend.
Utility de-regulation will close many older reactors which the nuclear industry claims are experiencing "storage space problems," much the way the two ComEd Zion reactors were closed. With less HLRW produced, more space remains available for onsite storage, thus ending the storage "crisis" without having to prematurely move any HLRW.
Nuclear industry cheerleaders claim that Illinoisans should get something for the $1.4 billion we paid into the nuclear waste disposal fund. We agree. But just because we've collected it, doesn't mean we should spend this money stupidly and prematurely on a project proved unnecessary. Only fools -- and Congress -- think this way.
Nuclear industry claims that DOE is required to take immediate possession of HLRW were recently overruled by the U.S. Appeals Court, which told DOE and utilities to work out compensation for temporary storage between them. The nuclear utilities have rejected two DOE compensation offers to date, showing how unreasonable and unconcerned with public safety they really are.
Cheaper storage methods exist. The HLRW storage "crisis" is fictitious. What's the real reason for this bill? If it passes, financial liability for interim storage of HLRW passes from the nuclear utilities (where current law places it) to either ratepayers or the U.S. Taxpayers!
To paraphrase, "If it ain't broke, Mobile Chernobyl can't fix it." Mobile Chernobyl is a sham, a threat to people's safety and Illinois' environment. President Clinton has pledged to veto this severely flawed bill; last Spring Sen. Durbin and six other Illinois Representatives wisely voted against it. Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun should show the guts and intelligence to resist the nuclear industry lobbyists and do the same.
(426 words)
Respectfully,
David A. Kraft
Director
