[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2316]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                           RADIOACTIVE WATER

  (Mr. GIBBONS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GIBBONS. Madam Speaker, safe, clean drinking water is something 
that many people often take for granted. Unfortunately, Nevadans may 
not have the luxury of assuming that their drinking water is safe or 
clean anymore. Recently, groundwater tests near the Nevada test site 
showed levels of radioactivity that were 25 times higher than allowed 
under the Federal safe drinking water standard. EPA studies have 
confirmed that due to the high volcanic activity in Nevada, 
radioactivity from deep within the earth's surface has surfaced and 
entered the groundwater supply.
  This is a real and serious environmental threat for Nevada, the 
Nation's third most seismically active State. Yet, Madam Speaker, there 
are some who still support the development of a permanent nuclear waste 
repository at Yucca Mountain, which is located right in the middle of 
this volcanic activity. I for one will not support risking the health 
of millions of people and millions of children who merely want a cold, 
nonradioactive glass of water to drink.
  I yield back the dangerous and illogical plan to shift nuclear waste 
to Nevada.

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