[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 57 (Monday, April 26, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E766]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       RADIOACTIVE WASTE CLEAN-UP

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. CHRIS CANNON

                                of utah

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 26, 1999

  Mr. CANNON. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to introduce legislation to 
clean up a 10.5-million ton pile of low-level radioactive waste from 
uranium mill operations just outside Moab, Utah. Currently, this pile 
sits 750 feet from the banks of the Colorado River, across the road 
from the Arches National Park, and threatens to contaminate the 
drinking water supply of 25 million people from Nevada, Arizona, and 
California.
  In the 1950's the Atlas Corporation was called upon to process 
uranium to meet the defense and commercial fuel needs of the United 
States. As a result, for decades these wastes have accumulated and 
today we have a pile of low-level radioactive materials that sits just 
outside of Moab, Utah and at the gates of the Arches National Park, 
where hundreds of thousands of people visit each year.
  This is not only an incredible eyesore among some of the most 
beautiful red rock cliffs in the country, but it poses a very 
significant environmental risk. As water leaches through this heap of 
tailings, it flows into the Colorado River, is swept downstream where 
it contaminates the sole drinking source for tens of millions of people 
in Nevada, Arizona, and California. These radioactive wastes threaten 
that delicate water supply and must be removed and relocated to a safe, 
secure location where neither public health and safety nor 
environmental degradation can occur.
  Currently, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has the responsibility 
for cleanup of this pile. Unfortunately, the NRC has determined that 
keeping this toxic mass in place is adequate. This simply is not the 
case. My legislation will transfer the jurisdiction from the NRC to the 
Department of Energy, where remediation and relocation can begin.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this sensible and 
conscientious legislation.

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