[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 98 (Thursday, July 15, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H5797]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H5797]]
                              {time}  1015
                      YUCCA MOUNTAIN COURT RULING

  (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, last week the second highest court in the 
United States ruled that the proposed radiation standard for the Yucca 
Mountain project is inadequate to protect the health and safety of the 
American public and that the EPA knowingly ignored scientists' 
recommendations when formulating the standard. The Federal Court of 
Appeals found that the EPA blatantly disregarded the findings of the 
National Academy of Sciences that radiation levels will reach their 
peak in 300,000 years, and instead set a 10,000-year radiation 
standard. The gap between the science and the standard, a mere 290,000 
years.
  This ruling is the latest proof that the Yucca Mountain project is 
not based on sound science. When recommending the site to Congress, 
President Bush knew this radiation standard was not in keeping with 
scientific findings. Candidate Bush promised that he would not send 
nuclear waste to any proposed site unless it was based on sound 
science. President Bush reneged on his promise, ignored sound science, 
misled the people of the State of Nevada and approved the Yucca 
Mountain project. Thankfully, the court ruled in favor of science and 
the people of the great State of Nevada.

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