Stop the Ward Valley Nuclear Dump
US SENATE ENERGY COMMITTEE TO VOTE ON
S.1596, WARD VALLEY LAND TRANSFER BILL
CALLS TO US SENATORS NEEDED
SUPPORT SENATOR BOXER's OPPOSITION
LETTERS NEEDED TO CLINTON URGING VETO
Senators Murkowski (R-AK) and Johnston (D-LA) have introduced S.1596 to transfer Ward Valley, Calif. from the U.S. Dept. of Interior to the Calif. Dept. of Health Services to bury radioactive waste primarily from the nuclear power industry. It is scheduled for "mark up" and vote by Senate Energy Committee Weds 3/13/96. HR 2334 is a similar House bill.
The bills appear designed to exempt the transfer from national environmental and land management laws and to bypass the democratic right of judicial review.
Because the site is on federal Bureau of Land Management land, it is a federal issue, despite the claim that states are responsible for new dumps. The Interior Dept. must comply with numerous federal laws including National Environmental Policy Act, Federal Land Management Policy Act, Endangered Species Act and consult and confer with the leaders of the Native American nations in the region.
U.S. Department of Interior ordered tests at Ward Valley because a nearly identical desert waste dump at Beatty, Nevada was discovered to be leaking. Radioactivity has migrated offsite (to at least 10 feet of the water table!) much faster than expected. The same company, U.S. Ecology, would dump at Ward Valley.
U.S. Ecology now admits to dumping liquid waste at Beatty but promises not to do that at Ward Valley. Even if they limit dumping of liquids at Ward Valley to the 1% of volume allowed, there's enough rainfall at the site to cause as much or more radioactive migration from Ward Valley.
The National Academy of Sciences study of Ward Valley did not give the site a "clean bill of health" as Senator Murkowski claims. Page 2 of the report states that the panel "did not take any position on the overall suitability of the Ward Valley site for LLRW [radioactive waste] disposal facility" and that "...this evaluation...does not constitute approval ...of the site."
The nuclear power industry generates the majority of the radioactivity needing a dump. Long-lasting, intensely radioactive wastes from the including plutonium, cesium, strontium, and iodines will be buried in soil trenches just 18 miles from the Colorado River. Medical wastes are short-lived and do not need a reactor dump to be managed responsibly. Ex: Iodine-129 from nuclear reactors is hazardous for over 160 MILLION YEARS. Iodine-131 used for thyroid imaging and therapy is hazardous for just 80 DAYS.
California Governor Wilson, a strong dump proponent, has been responsible for much of the delay at Ward Valley. He sought to avoid independent analysis and public input on the project, reneged on a commitment to hold adjudicatory hearings and withdrew from negotiations with Interior on conditions for a transfer. Now he has requested Congress to take swift action.
S. 1596:
*Overrides US Interior Department commitment to carry out scientific tests that could further disqualify the site for use as a radioactive dump. It forces the transfer despite already existing scientific evidence that waste could contaminate the water supply.
*Further endangers one of the most robust portions of the population of threatened desert tortoise species by placing a radioactive dump in prime critical habitat.
*Violates US responsibilities to Native American nations and threatens the cultural, financial, environmental and public health of Native American and other communities in the region. The 5 Colorado Native Nations have formed an alliance to prevent the radioactive dump.
*Is corporate welfare for nuclear power---Taxpayers and residents will pay and suffer from accidents and leaks.
*Threatens contamination of the Colorado River, water-supply for the Southwestern US and Northwestern Mexico, with plutonium and other radioactive elements. No amount is safe and several pathways for leakage have been identified, most, if not all, via Native American land.
Actions Needed:
1. Contact Your SENATORS :
To Vote NO on S.1596 and Support Senator Boxer's opposition/filibuster.
2. Contact PRESIDENT CLINTON:
To VETO S.1596/HR 2334 if passed.
3. Contact Your U.S. Representative:
To Vote NO on H.R. 2334.
And ALERT Your Networks to make contact!
US SENATE/HOUSE switchboard: 202-225-3121 or 224-3121
WHITE HOUSE: 202-456-6797; fax 202-456-2883;
e-mail address: president@whitehouse.gov
-30-
< Return to Previous Page
|
