Yucca Mountain News Clips
Wednesday, May 7, 2003
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SierraTimes
May 07, 2003

Residents of Nevada Town Concerned Over Unguarded Nuclear Shipments

Report by J.J Johnson - Sierra Times.com

Pahrump, Nevada - While an upcoming drill by the Office of Homeland Security that includes a mock detonation of a ‘dirty bomb´ in Seattle goes forward, residents of a community 60 miles west of Las Vegas are concerned about unguarded radioactive shipments through their town.

Talk Radio of Pahrump

(www.pahrumpradio.com)´s directors first spotted the 4 radioactive shipments leaving Las Vegas heading west on State Rt. 160. Las Vegas has fought hard to prevent shipments from passing through the city of over 1 million people.

Geraldine (no last name given) was driving home from her job in Las Vegas on May 4, taking the uphill, curve laden 3-lane highway through the Spring Mountain Range toward Pahrump. “It was about 5:00 p.m. As I approached the hill I noticed four tractor-trailer rigs in front of me. Each rig had a flatbed trailer and was hauling a military green container,’ said Geraldine. “Each container was approximately fifteen feet long, eight foot wide and ten foot high. Two tractors were red, two were dark blue.’ She could not identify the trucking company hauling the radioactive cargo.

She immediately contacted KPAH, the internet radio station via two way radio. Harvey, the station owner, then prepared to take video footage once the trucks passed through on Highway 160 - the main road through a population of 30,000 in Pahrump, Nye County‘s largest community. “My partner was on her way back from Vegas and called me on the two-way radio to tell me she was driving behind the trucks,’ said Harvey. I drove down to the highway, from our station, and waited.’

As a battle rages in Nevada over Yucca Mountain, a proposed permanent nuclear storage facility in rural Nye County, much of the fight has been over guaranteeing the safe shipment of nuclear or radioactive materials to the site itself. It is during transit, many fear, the greatest danger lies from accidents, sabotage, and possible hijacking for the nuclear cargo.

Federal officials have warned that terrorist may attempt to use nuclear waste in efforts to manufacture a Radiation Dispersal Device, or crude “dirty bomb’.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulates the packaging, preparation and transfer of commercial nuclear material under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. The NRC issues certificates for radioactive materials packaging, including spent fuel casks, that verify compliance with safety standards. The certification essentially means that the cask will withstand severe transportation accidents with minimal chance of release of its contents. The NRC is the largest enforcer of U.S. Department of Transportation radioactive materials regulations, and has the lead role in investigating accidents involving NRC-certified packages.

Geraldine, who maintained a safe distance behind the fleet of trucks, said she began to notice disturbing maneuvers of the fleet´s drivers.

“There were three or four cars in front of me and as we approached the double lanes, they drove around the trucks. However, as I approached, the truck that was the second in line, pulled into the left hand lane, as though to pass the first truck,’ she said.

She witnessed that instead of passing, the truck stayed in the passing lane, blocking all traffic from passing for the next mile or so, until the top of the hill. This tactic is known in some circles as a ‘rolling road block‘.

“I was the first car and there were probably twenty cars behind me. Only traveling at thirty miles per hour gave me time to notice the trucks. There was a placard on the side of each trailer that read, “RADIOACTIVE’. There was one on the rear of each trailer also.’

The NRC also requires advance notification to state governors of spent fuel shipments, and enforces requirements for safeguarding shipments. NRC physical protection requirements for those shipping spent fuel include advance NRC approval of routes, Procedures to deal with theft or sabotage of shipments, Visual surveillance of the cargo during stops, Communications monitoring of the shipment, and two or more armed escorts through high population centers and one (unarmed) through other areas. No armed escorts were reported.

“It was more than enough to make me nervous,’ said Geraldine. “Yet, on further thought, the attitude of the one driver was rather disconcerting. Truck drivers normally stay in the right hand lanes and use their hazard lights while traveling slowly up a hill. That´s not just courtesy, it´s safety for the truck driver and the traffic coming up behind them.’

After they passed, KPAH associated tracked the fleet across the 92 mile stretch of State Rt. 160 “It took a while to catch up to them, as it seems that they were going faster than the 55 MPH speed limit.’ said Geraldine.

In a time of heightened security, Harvey got close enough to obtain photos, including a stopping point at the end of Highway 160 north of Pahrump at the junction of U.S. Rt 95, about 80 miles northwest of Las Vegas. “When they paused at the stop sign, I was able to get the close-up of the radioactive sign.’ Said Harvey. He also told The Sierra Times that a stopping point is the among the perfect places for an ambush to take place.

Nye County Sheriff Office Spokesman Bill Becht said Nye County had not been made aware of any hazardous cargo shipments in recent weeks. “The Nevada Highway Patrol handles those matters’, said Becht. The spokesperson from the Nevada Highway Patrol was unavailable for comment.

But Joe Strolin, Planning Division Administrator of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects, told Sierra Times that low level waste does not need notification. Shipments are frequent in rural areas [Of Nevada]´ said Strolin. “The only high level shipments across Nevada have taken place along the Interstate 80 corridor. I-80 travels across northern Nevada through cites which include Reno and Elko.

“The DOE (U.S. Department of Energy) tries to avoid any radioactive shipments through metropolitan areas when ever possible,’ Strolin said. The Sunday radioactive shipment was reported seen from Interstate 15, just south of the Las Vegas airport. “There is a notification protocol for high level shipments,’ he said. “The DOE should give states a 14 day notices of high-level shipments.’

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Las Vegas SUN
May 07, 2003

Editorial: Lots of questions for Yucca managers

LAS VEGAS SUN

A quality assurance worker was fired two years ago by a Yucca Mountain contractor after raising concerns and then questioning the manner in which the concerns were addressed. The Department of Labor reviewed the case and determined the worker was unjustly terminated. More recently, there have been conflicting accounts about what happened to three other employees of the same Yucca contractor who were part of a quality assurance review team. One of the members said they were reassigned after uncovering flaws in Yucca work procedures. The contractor disputes the allegation. And then there was this statement last month from a Nuclear Regulatory Commission manager: "Quality is not being built into the (Yucca Mountain) Project."

Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and John Ensign, R-Nev., have announced a May 28 hearing in Las Vegas on the quality issues surrounding Yucca Mountain. We hope the senators subpoena top managers of the Yucca project and compel them to give straight answers. Only 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, the mountain is being prepared by the Department of Energy to contain 77,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste for tens of thousands of years. On a project this dangerous, there simply cannot be an aura of mystery surrounding the issue of quality.

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Las Vegas SUN
May 07, 2003

Columnist Jeff German: Reid, Ensign set to show Yucca flaws

Jeff German's column appears Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays in the Sun. Reach him at german@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4067.

Spirits are high on Team Nevada as it prepares for its latest Yucca Mountain skirmish with the Department of Energy.

Nevada Sens. Harry Reid and John Ensign are holding a hearing in Las Vegas May 28 to expose what they believe is the DOE's inability to guarantee that the nearby project is safe to store high-level nuclear waste.

"I think it's a big deal -- very big deal," Reid said Tuesday.

We've seen hearings on Yucca Mountain before. So why is this one such a big deal?

Because for the first time, Team Nevada has a chance to bring forward whistleblowers who have knowledge of flaws in the DOE's quality assurance program at Yucca Mountain. Several workers have surfaced to voice concerns within the past year, some as recently as last week.

The quality assurance program is designed to preserve data collected over the years that supports the DOE's conclusion that Yucca Mountain is scientifically sound to accept the deadly nuclear waste. How well the DOE is able to prove that could determine whether the Nuclear Regulatory Commission gives the DOE a license to operate Yucca Mountain. The DOE has said it plans to submit its application by December 2004.

Reid and Ensign still are trying to figure out their witness list, but you've got to believe they want the testimony of a whistleblower or two. The hearing is being conducted under the auspices of the Senate's energy and water subcommittee, where Reid is the ranking Democrat. Other committee members, however, aren't likely to attend, which means there will be pressure on Reid and Ensign to present solid evidence or risk looking like they're grandstanding.

The senators have a chance here to start the process of unraveling the DOE's case for storing nuclear waste 90 miles from Las Vegas.

One potential witness would be James Mattimoe, a quality assurance manager who was fired after raising concerns about the project.

Members of an auditing team recently reassigned after uncovering flaws in Yucca Mountain work procedures also should qualify for the witness list. At least one auditor, 14-year Yucca Mountain veteran Don Harris, publicly spoke out about his reassignment and got his job back.

Any of these workers would provide dramatic fodder for the congressional record as to how far the DOE is willing to go to cover up its scientific failings. It wouldn't sound the death knell for Yucca Mountain, but it could give Team Nevada a chance to pick up momentum in a fight it's losing. Who knows? It might even encourage other Yucca Mountain workers who have knowledge of wrongdoing to step forward.

If the senators can't deliver the whistleblowers, the hearing will be viewed as just another in a long line of attempts to publicly embarrass the DOE. And it will give the federal agency even more confidence in its ability to steamroll Yucca Mountain through the licensing process.

But if Reid and Ensign can deliver, the hearing could set off a chain reaction that will prove what Nevadans have been saying all along -- the DOE hasn't played fair and can't guarantee that Yucca Mountain will be safe.

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Las Vegas SUN
May 06, 2003

Nevada files brief challenging constitutionality of nuclear dump

ASSOCIATED PRESS

LAS VEGAS (AP) - The state of Nevada has fired another shot in its constitutional challenge of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.

The state, Clark County and the city of Las Vegas in January filed an initial lawsuit in federal court contending that it was unconstitutional for the federal government to force a national nuclear waste dump on Nevada.

The parties filed a 61-page opening brief supporting their contention late last week in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

It is based on the principles of federalism and state sovereignty, state Attorney General Brian Sandoval said in a statement.

"At the heart of this case is the question whether there are any constitutional limits on Congress' authority to arbitrarily single out a state and to force it alone to shoulder a burden for the benefit of all other states," Sandoval said.

A federal government response is likely within the next few weeks.

The lawsuit has been filed against the United States, the Energy Department and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham.

Nevada has other federal lawsuits pending against the decision to locate the nation's waste repository 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, including one challenging the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's rules for licensing the dump.

Hearings are scheduled to begin in September, and Nevada officials hope the court will consider all the cases together then.

Information from: Las Vegas Sun

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Boston Globe
May 07, 2003

Nuclear plant owners seek funds over stalled cleanup

By Edward Ortiz, Globe Correspondent

OWE -- Yankee Atomic Electric Co. last month boosted its request for damages from the US Department of Energy to $191 million, for failing to remove 533 spent fuel rods from the decommissioned nuclear plant.

Company officials say the money, triple what it demanded when it first filed suit four years ago, could help reduce electric rates and force the DOE to live up to its 1982 promise to remove the nuclear waste at the Yankee Rowe plant.

The money is also needed, Yankee officials say, to provide the added security required since Sept. 11, 2001, and to cover the cost of storing the waste until 2010, the soonest the DOE says it can remove the spent fuel to the Yucca Mountain repository in Nevada.

The suit, which is expected to be brought to trial later this year, is the result of a landmark US Court of Appeals decision three years ago that allowed utilities to sue the DOE for failure to remove used nuclear fuel as promised in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. Under terms of that agreement, the DOE was to have created a single repository for the nation's nuclear wastes.

It was also to have taken possession of Yankee Rowe's waste on Jan. 31, 1998, said Kelley Smith spokeswoman for the Yankee Atomic Electric Co. -- a consortium of nine electric companies that has owned Yankee Rowe for the last 31 years.

''The DOE's failure to take this waste is costing electric ratepayers more money, and it also means that spent fuel must sit and continue to be protected in a post 9/11 environment,'' said Smith.

Yankee Rowe, the third oldest nuclear facility in the United States, shut down its reactor in 1991 because of doubts about the safety of the reactor. The 2,000-acre plant, which cannot be fully decommissioned until all the waste is removed, is in the Deerfield River Valley amid some of the steepest mountains in the Berkshires. ''The location of these plants was chosen for cooling purposes. They were never studied for use as long-term nuclear waste storage,'' Smith said.

As long as the DOE drags its feet on removing the waste, the costs of storage will come out of the pockets of electric utility ratepayers, Smith said. And they've already paid into the National Waste Fund created by the government in 1982 to finance waste removal.

''Every single dime for storage must be collected from the ratepayer,'' she said. ''In essence they're paying twice.''

To date, $21 billion has been paid into the National Waste Fund by states with nuclear plants, and electric customers from Massachusetts have paid $206 million since 1983, according to figures from the Nuclear Energy Institute.

The share of decommission costs for Yankee Rowe is spread among the nine owners of the plant, with each paying its share relative to its percentage of ownership. Massachusetts Electric Co. holds 34 percent of Yankee Rowe. Since utilities are legally allowed to pass decommissioning costs to the consumer, Massachusetts Electric ratepayers in the state shoulder the largest burden of decommissioning costs.

Massachusetts Electric will collect 18 cents per month from ratepayers from 2004 to 2011 to cover the decommissioning of Yankee Rowe, said company spokeswoman Jackie Barry. The utility also collected 17 cents a month on the typical electric bill during 2000, she said.

If Yankee Rowe prevails at the Court of Federal Claims, where its suit will be heard, any damages awarded may be credited to electric ratepayers.

Two other New England nuclear facilities -- Maine Yankee and Connecticut Yankee -- are also seeking claims from the DOE, as are other facilities across the country.

In New England, the combined damages they're seeking come out to more than $700 million; the national total is $5 billion nationally.

''The DOE is dealing with 21 of these court cases so far,'' said Charles Miller, spokesman for the Department of Justice, which is handling the suit for the DOE. Miller did not elaborate on how long such a trial could last.

But it will be years, if ever, before the Yucca Mountain repository in Nevada, which the state has long tried to block, will be ready to accept nuclear waste, said spokesman Neil Sheehan of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

''It's going to take us several years for us to review that application'' for the Yucca Mountain repository, Sheehan said. ''It will be the most involved technical and complicated application we've ever looked at.''

Until then, Yankee Rowe will remain a makeshift nuclear waste storage facility.

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State of Nevada
Agency for Nuclear Projects
www.state.nv.us/nucwaste/
nwpo@nuc.state.nv.us
775-687-3744
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