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| The Nuclear Waste Debate Senators Murkowski and Bryan March 28, 1997 |
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Questions asked
in this forum:
Why Nevada? Aren't communities who produce nuclear waste responsible? Does the nation need an interim site? Why can't the waste stay at the nuclear plant? Are you concerned about possible protests? How safe is it to transport waste across the country? How long should they plan on storing waste safely? SENATOR BRYAN: How would this bill impact the Nevada population? Additional Viewer Comments...
NEWSHOUR LINKS:
November 22, 1996:
An Online NewsHour Forum on nuclear waste and health and safety issues.
June 10, 1996:
A NewsHour report on what to do with discarded nuclear warheads.
OTHER RESOURCES:
A NewsHour report on what to do with discarded nuclear warheads.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is the government agency in charge of regulating commercial nuclear power plants.
The Nuclear Energy Institute supports effort to pass S. 104.
The Critical Mass Energy Project is a nuclear watchdog group.
Yucca Flats Project - The Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management.
EPA's Yucca Flats
Why Nevada is Opposed to Yucca Flats - published by the State of Nevada Nuclear Waste Project Office.
Return to the @the Capitol Homepage.
General information, schedules and past Freshmen Forums.
Scrutinize the work of several major Congressional committees in online forums with the chairs and ranking members.
Follow the first year in Congress of Freshmen Reps. Kay Granger (R-TX) and Jay Johnson (D-WI)
When the Senate reconvenes after the Easter break, it will take up a controversial measure to establish a temporary site to store 15 years worth of accumulated nuclear waste. The proposed temporary site, located on the grounds the Nevada Test Site, would house the nation's nuclear waste until a permanent site, currently slated for Yucca Mountain, Nevada, is established. (Click here to learn more about the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1997)
The bill, S. 104, was introduced by Senate Energy Committee Chairman Frank Murkowski (R-AK) in January 1997. The bill quickly drew criticism from Nevada's two Senators Richard Bryan (D) and Harry Reid (D) and the promise of a veto from President Clinton.
"It is no secret both Nevada Senators will do what they feel they need to, to derail this important bill," Murkowski said during the floor debate on Thurday, March 20, 1997. "They consider it a political necessity to oppose it. The Nevada Test Site was used for decades to explode nuclear bombs. It helped win the cold war--now it can help us win the war on radioactive waste disposal. High-level nuclear waste is our legacy: Now it's our obligation to dispose of it. "
"It is instructive to remember exactly how we got into the fix we are in today --- in the fifteen year history of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, politics has triumphed over science," Bryan told the Committee members. "Purely political decisions and the establishment of politically expedient schedules and deadlines have resulted in a failed program which inspires confidence from neither its supporters nor its opponents. The bill before the Committee today is yet another attempt by the nuclear power industry to exalt politics over science, and is doomed to failure."
Our forum asks: Does the government have the right to force Nevada to accept the nation's nuclear waste? Should there be a single site for the waste? Is the former nuclear test site the best place for a temporary storage site? Has the debate over the site placed politics above safety and science?
Our guests are two key players in the debate, Senators Murkowski and Bryan.
Questions asked
in this forum:
Why Nevada? Aren't communities who produce nuclear waste responsible? Does the nation need an interim site? Why can't the waste stay at the nuclear plant? Are you concerned about possible protests? How safe is it to transport waste across the country? How long should they plan on storing waste safely? SENATOR BRYAN: How would this bill impact the Nevada population? Additional Viewer Comments...
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