眾院通過在內華達州興建大型核廢料儲存場
(中央社華盛頓十日法新電) 儘管地方居民強烈反對，美國眾議院今天以三０六票對一一七票通過一項在美國西部內華達州建立一個大型國家核子廢料儲存場的計劃，這也是布希總統的一大勝利。
不過布希總統希望國會同意在阿拉斯加州極地自然保護區開採石油的議案，幾週前剛遭眾院否決，如今眾通過在內華達州成立核廢料儲存場，可能引起另一場有關環保問題的激辯。
週三通過的決議案，支持布希在內華達州的育加山底下穿鑿地道，存放這些大部分來自全國一百零三座核能電廠的放射線核廢料的決定。
民主黨眾議員丁基爾說：「核子廢料到處漂泊，目前它分散於全國各地，對你、我的選區都構成傷害。」
不過內華達州州長吉恩與其他大部分政客一樣，都全力反對這項議案，他說，眾院表決結果有如打了一場敗仗。
他在聲明中說：「我們將繼續在參院中全力翻案，同時訴諸法律。」
吉恩直言，如果七萬七千噸核子廢料由高速公路運送，經過一億二千三百萬人口的四十三州，最後運抵育加山脈的地道，育加山的環保問題將成為一個全國的問題。
聯邦政府已花了將近二十年時間與七十億美元經費，研究核廢料的最終去處，最後決定，除此之外沒有更好的解決辦法。
據美國能源部長亞伯拉罕說，目前在全國各地打游擊式的棄置核廢料，造成嚴重的安全問題，尤其是去年發生九一一恐怖攻擊事件後，安全問題特別令人擔憂。910510
[圖：育加山Yucca Mountain]
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U.S. House backs Bush on Yucca nuclear storage plan
Thursday, May 09, 2002
By Thomas Ferraro, Reuters
WASHINGTON — The House rejected Nevada's safety concerns Wednesday and endorsed President Bush's decision to bury deadly nuclear waste from across the country in the state's Yucca Mountain.
On a vote of 306-117, the Republican-led House approved a resolution to override Nevada's veto of the project to build the nation's first permanent nuclear waste storage facility 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The House sent the measure for needed concurrence to the Democratic-led Senate.
"This (Yucca Mountain) is our best option," said Rep. Rick Boucher, a Virginia Republican and a member of the Energy Committee. "We have no realistic alternatives."
Senate Republican leaders predict their chamber will also approve the $58 billion project with the help of Democrats from states with nuclear reactors and mounting radioactive waste.
But Senate Democratic leaders said they have a chance of stopping the plan. "We're cautiously optimistic," said Senate Majority Whip Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat.
The battle pits Bush, his allies in the nuclear power industry, and others who want greater energy independence against Nevada, hundreds of environmental groups, and Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, a South Dakota Democrat who has vowed to do what he can to stop the project.
Despite federal claims to the contrary, the state of Nevada contends it would be unsafe to store nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain as well as to transport it there from more than 100 nuclear power plants across the country. Opponents say the project would be ripe for accidents and become a target for attacks. Supporters argue it would be safer to bring all the nuclear waste to a single secured site in a low-population area.
More than a decade ago, federal authorities began focusing efforts to build a waste depository in Nevada after lawmakers from other areas fended off attempts to target their states.
SENATE VOTE EXPECTED IN JULY
The Senate is expected to vote around July 1 on whether to override or sustain Nevada's veto, Reid said.
Between now and then, both sides intend to increase their lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill with opponents also airing television ads against it in selected states.
Noting $4 billion in studies, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham told reporters shortly before the House vote that the project would be safe. "We have been able to demonstrate the safety of the site," he said. "It is time to move forward."
But in the House debate, opponents repeatedly cited a recent congressional General Accounting Office report listing 293 unanswered safety and technical questions about the plan. "These questions should be answered before we proceed," said Rep. Shelley Berkley, a Nevada Democrat. "We wouldn't get on a plane if the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) said it had 293 unanswered questions about it."
Abraham said all questions would be answered before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission decides on issuing a license. He said the House vote showed the chamber "overwhelmingly agrees that the final determination ... should be made by the independent experts" at the commission. "I believe that it does, and I believe the NRC will ultimately approve Yucca Mountain."
Last month, Republican Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn vetoed Bush's decision earlier in the year to accept an Energy Department recommendation to build the depository in the Nevada desert. He has also challenged the project in federal court. Under 1982 federal law on nuclear waste disposal, a governor may veto the president's plans to put a depository in his or her state. But the veto can be overridden by Congress.
Nuclear power plants produce more than 20 percent of the country's energy, and many waste storage tanks are nearly full. The government has faced lawsuits for failing to meet a 1998 deadline to open a permanent nuclear waste storage site.
The proposed site would permanently hold 77,000 tons of radioactive material and would open in 2010.
Copyright 2002, Reuters
All Rights Reserved
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