Whistle-blower to help Nevada in Yucca Mountain battle

Under terms of a contract approved Tuesday, Szymanski will be paid $48,000 over the next two years as a expert witness and consultant for the attorney general's office in state litigation against the U.S. Energy Department.

During the 1980s, Szymanski issued a report that recommended against using Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste repository. He found there was evidence of past geothermal activity at the proposed site, located 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

Under his theory, if waters again rise they conceivably could breach the repository and corrode casks holding high-level nuclear waste.

The Energy Department is conducting studies to determine if Yucca Mountain is a suitable place to send radioactive waste from the nation's nuclear power plants.

Gov. Bob Miller said Szymanski came under fire by the Energy Department for his views and ultimately left his job.

Miller, chairman of the Board of Examiners, said Szymanski clearly is the expert on Yucca Mountain and should be hired by the attorney general's office.

"He has worked extensively on our behalf," said Miller, an ardent foe of the repository.

Bob Harmon, an attorney general's office spokesman, said Szymanski has testified in the state's behalf in recent years as an employee of Trac Inc. of Boulder, Colo., a consulting firm.

The state Agency for Nuclear Projects, which has spearheaded efforts by Miller and others to fight putting nuclear waste in Nevada, had a previous contract with Szymanski for about $80,000 per year. The agency, however, has run into financial problems and may not have money to continue in operation after this year.

The attorney general's office has sued the Energy Department in an effort to get about $5 million a year in federal funds to operate the Agency for Nuclear Projects.

archive