[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 71 (Tuesday, May 22, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H2390]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NUCLEAR WASTE TRANSPORTATION
(Ms. BERKLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Speaker, every day our headlines read about how Vice
President Cheney thinks nuclear power is the answer to our Nation's
energy woes. I hope my colleagues and this administration heed my
warning, that unless we stop the Yucca Mountain plan, at least 77,000
tons of toxic, dangerous nuclear waste are going to be shipped through
43 States en route to Yucca Mountain.
It is a mathematic certainty that the continuing transfer of lethal
waste will result in perhaps hundreds of accidents and the potential
for catastrophe is very real. Governors and State legislators across
this country have emphatically said they do not want nuclear waste
traveling through their States. It is time that we listen to their
concerns and heed their warnings.
An accident in one's district could cost billions of dollars in
cleanup and the effects on our constituents would be disastrous. Let us
eliminate the dangers of this ``mobile Chernobyl'' by developing
methods to safely store the waste where it is currently located.
Please join with me in preventing a national disaster.
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