[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 40 (Monday, March 15, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H1261]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            OPPOSE H.R. 45, NUCLEAR WASTE POLICY ACT OF 1999

  (Mr. GIBBONS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, the question of the day is can this Nation 
afford the cleanup cost of a nuclear waste accident under H.R. 45, the 
Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1999.
  Well, a 1985 Department of Energy contractor report concluded that a 
severe accident involving a rail cask 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 cost of cleanup would 
range from $176 million to $19.4 billion and would require up to 460 
days to complete.
  Cleanup after a similar accident in a typical urban area would be 
considerably more expensive and time consuming, perhaps around $9.5 
billion just to raze and rebuild the most heavily contaminated single 
square mile.
  Mr. Speaker, guess who picks up the tab for these expensive and 
deadly accidents? That is right. It will be the American taxpayer. 
Realize these figures cannot include the intangible cost of human life 
or the disastrous effects it could have on our children, our 
communities, and our homes.
  Before nuclear waste is shipped through my colleagues' districts, 
think about the consequence, and oppose H.R. 45. It is a bill we cannot 
afford to live with.

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