[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 59 (Friday, May 10, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E766]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              YUCCA MOUNTAIN REPOSITORY SITE APPROVAL ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. LYNN C. WOOLSEY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 8, 2002

  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this 
resolution to allow nuclear waste to be deposited at Yucca Mountain. 
And, I commend my colleague, Rep. Shelley Berkley, for her leadership 
on this issue.
  The nuclear power industry and its White House allies are licking 
their chops at the prospect that Yucca Mountain will be approved as a 
dump site. They will try to sell this development as proof that the 
issue of nuclear waste has been solved, While the industry may claim 
that nuclear power and its waste are safe, the fact remains that 
Americans don't agree. They understand that nuclear waste management 
will continue to be a cause for concern even if the Yucca Mountain site 
is approved.
  Burying radioactive nuclear waste is a bad idea . . . whether in 
Nevada or somewhere else. Aside from exposing Nevadans to the unknown 
effects of having radioactive waste in their backyard, the current plan 
will put our entire country at risk as waste travels through 
communities to reach the dump site. Accidents happen in every industry, 
but nowhere else are the consequences so severe, and so far-reaching as 
in the nuclear industry. The undeniable truth is that transporting 
waste over road or rail in order to bury it involves great, 
unjustifiable risks to human health and the environment. Even worse, 
the risks have only increased since September 11 as no one can deny 
that a traveling caravan of nuclear waste would be a prime terrorist 
target.
  For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to vote against H.J. Res. 87.

                          ____________________