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Nuclear Waste: Shipments Are Main Concern, Las Vegas Mayor Says By Mike Nartker The waste shipments are “like a big old … baby out there waiting to be blasted,” Goodman told Global Security Newswire. “Nothing could be done to satisfy me as long as [nuclear waste] is transported.” An accident is inevitable during one of the more than 90,000 planned shipments of spent nuclear fuel to the Yucca Mountain repository from sites around the United States, Goodman said (see GSN, Feb. 4). If waste from one shipment leaks, it could contaminate a 42-square-mile area, he added. “One of the shipments isn’t going to make it and that’s going to be a disaster,” Goodman said. There are also concerns that terrorists could attempt to attack shipments, Goodman said, adding that he is not satisfied by U.S. Energy Department claims that shipping casks are robust enough to withstand such an attack. “I’ve seen too many Afghanistan movies where terrorists had … missiles with two-mile accuracy,” he said. Goodman said he has been trying to convince the mayors of cities along planned transportation routes of the dangers posed by the shipments (see GSN, Feb. 22). Already, mayors in Missouri and California and the mayor of Denver have expressed opposition to Yucca Mountain, he said. Religious leaders and entertainers, such as Las Vegas legend Wayne Newton and pop culture icon Charo, have also been contacted to help with the anti-Yucca Mountain public relations campaign, Goodman said. Charo is “cuchi-cuching against it,” he said, and “the message is catching on.” Goodman said he is serious about his oft-quoted claim that he will arrest any truck drivers who attempt to transport nuclear waste through Las Vegas. Once the drivers are arrested, Las Vegas towing companies have offered to tow the shipments outside the state, he said. Truck drivers “would wish they had never come through Vegas,” Goodman said, flashing his diamond-decorated, law-enforcement badge (made by the same company that made frontier lawman Wyatt Earp’s badge, according to the mayor). Supporters Disagree Meanwhile, Nevada supporters of the Yucca Mountain plan said that Nevada politicians are only exploiting popular prejudices on the issue. “The mayor is in the right place for entertaining,” said Bill Vasconi, a former Nevada Test Site employee and independent Yucca Mountain advocate. “I would be comfortable if state officials attacked substance, not progress.” “State politicians have created a bogeyman from scratch,” said Bill Phillips, a nuclear physicist and independent Yucca Mountain advocate. “Politicians are demagogues and play on people’s fears to gain votes.” With Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn’s expected veto of Yucca Mountain, the battle will move into Congress where Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.), a Yucca Mountain opponent, could play a decisive role in determining whether the plan moves forward (see GSN, March 7). The Yucca Mountain vote will “zip right through the House” but “could fall apart in the Senate,” Goodman said, adding that Reid is influential enough to persuade enough senators to defeat the plan. Reid has more power and influence than many people believe, Phillips said, agreeing that the senator could block the Yucca Mountain plan. “I hope he doesn’t have” the needed clout, Phillips said. “But I think he does.” Vasconi, however, said he believes Reid would not be able to derail Yucca Mountain plans in the Senate. There are about 40 states with temporary dry-cask spent-fuel storage sites — enough states and senators who want to get rid of their waste, he said. Do Local Residents Care? For most Nevada residents, Yucca Mountain is not an issue, Vasconi said, adding that public meetings on the issue have been sparsely attended. Yucca Mountain ranks “14th, 15th on people’s list of concerns,” he said. If Nevada residents do have negative views on Yucca Mountain, it is because they are not informed enough on the technical aspects, Vasconi and Phillips said. “Most people believe what the senators tell them, that it’s bad for them,” Phillips said. Goodman said Nevada residents are well informed on the issue, and any talk of benefits to the state from the Yucca Mountain waste repository is misguided. There are “no benefits when one life can be lost,” Goodman said. “The people of Las Vegas are 100 percent behind me.”
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