The nuclear industry is the only industry that we are aware of which has a government program to guarantee disposal of lethal waste. We agree with the industry that the DOE has mismanaged the program. However, our solution is stop spending money on the program and insure that enough money is collected now to adequately cover future costs of a sound waste disposal program. We urge that the Nuclear Waste Fund Fee be indexed to inflation so that there will be adequate funds to cover the ultimate cost of nuclear waste disposition. There is no current sound solution for the nuclear waste problem.
Nuclear waste is one of the most dangerous substances created by humans.
One would expect that policies for dealing with this lethal material would be based on sound science and protecting public health. Instead nuclear waste policies in this country have been based on political expediency. The incredible problems faced by citizens living near former DOE weapons sites, such as Hanford, Washington should be a lesson to those who want to ignore science and public health. We believe that the current project should be stopped, as the proposed dump site at Yucca Mountain cannot meet current standards for containing the waste. In 1998, PIRG and more than one hundred environmental, consumer and safe energy organizations petitioned then-Energy Secretary Richardson to disqualify Yucca Mountain because it would not meet current standards for containing the waste.