New "Mobile Chernobyl" Bill Filed in the U.S. Congress: Ask Your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators to Say NO to Nuclear Waste Transport

House Resolution 45 (H.R. 45), the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1999, is the most recent attempt by the nuclear power industry to force the premature transportation of 8,000 casks of high-level nuclear waste over 30 years through Indiana to Yucca Mountain, Nevada.

With H.R. 45, the nuclear power industry intends for you, the taxpayer, to assume the financial and health risks for moving their nuclear waste across the country. Millions of Americans would be at risk from probable accidents involving high-level nuclear wastes and would be assessed billions in tax dollars for transportation and disposal costs.

The nuclear power industry refuses to compromise on this issue. 1999 will be its third attempt to pass "Mobile Chernobyl" through Congress. Moreover, last year industry attorneys refused to accept money from the Department of Energy to pay for storage of nuclear waste on site at nuclear power plants. Instead, the nuclear power industry wants the public to pay for the transportation and disposal of its wastes, which is much more expensive but relieves the industry of any responsibility for the waste.

Environmental and citizen groups expect the next "Mobile Chernobyl" bill to be similar to the last two. It will most likely:

• Order the Department of Energy to begin interim storage construction without approval of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and before a permanent solution is approved.

• Mandate the transportation of radioactive waste through 43 states, including Indiana, over the next 30 years. Based on current safety statistics, at least 15 accidents involving radioactive waste per year can be expected on U.S. highways and railways if the bill passes.

• Transfer title and liability of high-level nuclear waste from the nuclear power industry to taxpayers before a repository for the waste even opens. This means that the public will pay for transportation and disposal costs, and any liability incurred as the result of accidents. According to the Department of Energy, one bad accident could cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

• Preempt or diminish state and local environmental and safety laws and standards regarding nuclear waste transportation and storage and restrict public participation in developing and enforcing those laws and regulations.

New Developments

Since last year, there have been a number of developments on the Mobile Chernobyl issue:

• The Indiana House of Representatives passed House Resolution 56, urging Congress not to transport nuclear waste until the nuclear power plants have been shut down and the location of a permanent disposal facility has been determined.

• Ground water studies conducted by the Federal government demonstrate that Yucca Mountain will most likely not be able to contain radioactive waste. Scientists have found that water moves through the mountain much more quickly than expected.

• The Radiation and Public Health Project (formed by scientists concerned with public exposure to radiation) asserts that any additional radiation exposure, such as exposure to radiation along nuclear waste transportation routes, is of particular concern for a developing baby in the mother’s womb.

What You Can Do

Call or write your U.S. Senators and U.S. Representatives today. (see below) Urge them to vote against H.R. 45. Call newly elected U.S. Senator Evan Bayh. Ask him to continue his opposition to out-of-state waste by voting NO on H.R. 45.

U.S. Representatives Who Voted Against Consumer Interests In 1998

U.S. Representatives Who Voted for Consumer Interests In 1998

  U.S. Senate Anti-Consumer Vote In 1998 U.S. Senate Freshman In 1999

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