Controversy surrounds nuclear waste
by Claudia Aguayo, Outpost Contributor
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In this package: Rural Nevadans support Yucca Mountain plan Reno declares itself 'Nuclear Free Zone' On the web: |
The decision is in. About three-fourths of Nevada residents oppose the proposed Yucca Mountain project.
University of Nevada, Reno students from cities all over Nevada were asked what they think of the proposed plan, and the results aided in understanding just why the statistics reflect what they do.
"It's not a gamble I'm willing to take," said Jae Yi, a University of Nevada engineering student and 14-year Las Vegas resident.
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Yucca Mountain is currently the only site being studied to house 77,000 tons of the country's nuclear waste underground for the next 10,000 years. Andrea Fuhrel, another University of Nevada student and resident of Las Vegas said, "I don't want it here, but I don't know where else they should put it." |
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Workers inspect the inside of Yucca Mountain. Photo courtesy of U.S. Depatment of Energy. |
People are concerned with transportation accidents, earthquakes, volcanoes and irradiation of nearby residents, said Peter Chamberlin, director of planning for Inyo County, California. Chamberlin has spent some time studying the proposed site over the last four years.
"You're going to have to go right through (Las Vegas) to get the stuff there," Yi said.
The worst case scenario would be for one of the transporting trucks to turn over on I-15, Chamberlin said. "People wouldn't be happy if you turned Las Vegas into a self-lighting glass floor accident," he said.
Critics of the site also worry about the possible effects of earthquakes and volcanoes.
"Yucca Mountain is one of the most earthquake-prone areas there is," Yi said.
"There are many fault lines," Chamberlin said. "There are volcanoes too."
Disrupting the site could pollute the groundwater or cause the waste to surface, he said.
"People could get radiation poisoning and die," said Leslie Whittle, a University of Nevada student and life-long Las Vegas resident.
Nevada's senators have expressed the same big-city fears, and have been working against the proposed plan.
"Nearly every state and community in America is put at risk if nuclear waste is sent to Nevada," a February press release from U.S. Sen. Richard Bryan said.
In addition to the many health concerns involved, some Las Vegans feel they should not bear the burden of the country's nuclear problem.
"Why should we be the country's trash can?" Whittle said.
Bryan, in the February press release, said, "To be blunt, Nevadans did not create the civilian nuclear waste problems, and we want no part in solving it."
But Las Vegans who opposed the plan cited concern in trusting the government on all levels.
"I don't have too much faith in our government that they're going to build this thing correctly," Yi said.
Whittle said, "All the government cares about is the short-term effects -- the money."
Although Yucca Mountain is located on federally controlled land about ninety miles northwest of metropolitan Las Vegas and 376 miles southeast of Reno, there are several small rural communities that are relatively closer to the proposed repository site. These include Beatty, Amorgosa Valley, Pahrump, Indian Springs, Mesquite, and Caliente.
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Beatty is 18 air, and 45 highway miles from Yucca Mountain. It is bisected by U.S. Highway 95, a potential waste transportation route, Chamberlin said. Almost 74 percent of Beatty residents favored the site, according to a 1993 survey. This difference may be a result of the tendency of local rural residents to view a repository as a potentially important source of future economic growth activities. |
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A scientist installs a monitor that measures how much water is in the rock and how and where water vapor travels during a test. Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy. |
Student attitudes toward nuclear waste storage in Nevada reflect recent studies on public reactions to the site that show a distinction between the attitudes of rural and urban Nevadans.
A study published by various sociology professors across the country concluded that over three quarters of Beatty and Amargosa Valley residents said they would "definitely" or "probably" construct the repository if it were their decision, while about two-thirds of Las Vegas area residents said they would "definitely not" or "probably not" favor building the proposed Yucca Mountain waste repository.
The study also showed that 78 percent of Las Vegans were "very" or "somewhat" concerned with the health risks of the proposed site. The study showed that 91.7 of residents who opposed the site also felt that the government could not be trusted to disclose any problems.
More than 66 percent of Beatty residents believed that the site would bring with it economic prosperity, according to the survey.
The survey also showed that although residents nearest the site would be most at risk of any health problems, more than 66 percent of Beatty residents expressed little to no concern about the possible health and safety risks.
copyright 12/16/96