[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 53 (Tuesday, April 29, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H1911]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      NUCLEAR WASTE CLEANUP COSTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 21, 1997 the gentleman from Nevada [Mr. Gibbons] is recognized 
during morning hour debates for 1 minute.
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, can this Nation afford the cost of cleaning 
up a nuclear waste accident? A 1975 DOE contractor report concluded 
that a severe accident involving rail casks could and would result in 
the release of radioactive materials sufficient to contaminate a 42-
square-mile area. If it occurred in a rural area, the estimated cleanup 
cost of such an accident would range from $176 million to $19.4 
billion, and would require up to 460 days. Cleanup after a similar 
accident in a typical urban area would be considerably more expensive 
and time consuming, perhaps $9.5 billion just to raze and rebuild the 
most heavily contaminated square mile. Realize these figures cannot 
include the intangible cost of a single human life or the disastrous 
effect it could have on the future of our children.
  Much more detailed studies are necessary to safeguard against 
accidents and their cleanup costs before we decide to ship nuclear 
waste through our districts. Think about it. Could our cities, local 
communities and States afford these horrific impacts? Remember that 
safety and science equals a sound solution.

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