What’s the rush?

Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008 | 2:10 a.m.

We believe the Nuclear Regulatory Commission acted prematurely Monday when it agreed to consider the Energy Department’s application to build a permanent dump for the nation’s high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The department has not sufficiently addressed numerous scientific questions related to potential radiation exposure that could endanger the lives of hundreds of thousands of Nevadans and tourists.

The department hasn’t fully explained how the proposed dump site could withstand earthquakes, water infiltration or other acts of nature that could destabilize the mountain. The department also hasn’t offered sufficient proof that the nation’s rail system is capable of safely transporting nuclear waste through major metropolitan areas. Why not keep the waste where it is safely stored now instead of rushing through the application?

“We know this application is incomplete given the clear lack of a radiation standard to safeguard lives and our environment,” Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said in a statement. “That alone should have stopped the NRC from rubber-stamping a shoddy license application that raises more questions than it answers.”

As Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., correctly pointed out in a separate statement, Nevada now has an estimated four years to persuade the commission to reject the Energy Department request for a license to build the dump. “I am confident the commissioners will see the same bad information and evidence of mismanagement Nevadans already have and will reject the Energy Department’s plan to make Nevada the nation’s nuclear dumping ground,” Reid said.

We are now in the home stretch. Let down by the Bush administration and the majority of Congress, which failed to consider sound science in advocating the dump, Nevada must defend itself from this obvious public health hazard.

If ever Nevadans needed to mobilize on an issue, we can think of no better one than Yucca Mountain. We can be thankful the opposition to the dump has bipartisan support in this state. We should take advantage of that unity to let the commission hear our voices of opposition loud and clear.