Nuclear waste site protest scheduled for Portsmouth

By MICHAEL GOOT

Democrat Staff Writer

PORTSMOUTH — Opponents of a plan to store nuclear waste deep in a mountain range in Nevada are staging rallies Friday and Saturday to make their voices heard.

Representatives from the Seacoast Anti-Pollution League, the New Hampshire Sierra Club, Citizens Action Network and Clean Water Action will gather at 11 a.m. by the railroad tracks on Maplewood Avenue.

Jenn Hicks, director of the Seacoast Anti-Pollution League, said the purpose of the rally is to raise awareness of a plan offered by President Bush to store nuclear waste in the Yucca Mountain in Nevada.

"Many people don’t know that this is going to happen," she said. "We’re trying to bring this information to the public."

Hicks said the group is worried that nuclear waste from Yankee Power Plant and Seabrook Station would be traveling through Seacoast communities on their rail lines if this proposal were to go through.

As it stands now, Gov. Kenny Guinn of Nevada, has vetoed the proposal. The U.S. Congress has the authority to override the state’s objections. The House of Representatives has already approved such a measure.

The Senate is currently waiting to take up action.

Hicks said that she has a problem that there has not been a firm plan in place as to how the material will be transported and what precautions will be taken.

"It’s unpredictable what kind of things can happen," she said.

She also said that there has not been enough testing to assure that radiation would not be leaking from the containers.

"There’s only been 40-some tests done out of 300 that have to be done," she said.

Also, some of the rail lines are not in good condition and there could be a derailment, she said.

On Saturday, members from the various groups will also be riding the Downeaster train on Saturday in Dover at 9:15 a.m. Various speakers will talk about the risk of transporting high-level nuclear fuel through Seacoast communities.

Hicks said the group wanted to ride the rails to drive home the point that this waste could be potentially traveling on rail lines.

Even if the proposal was approved, it would be about 15 years, before any nuclear waste would travel to Yucca, Hicks said.

Chris Nord, the New Hampshire spokesperson for Citizens Awareness Network, said he does not believe that Yucca Mountain is an appropriate place to bury this waste because the waste will not break down for thousands of years.

Also, Yucca Mountain is near a fault line and has been prone to earthquakes in the past, he said. Six or seven years ago, a Department of Defense building was partially destroyed because of an earthquake.

In a statement, U.S. Sen. Bob Smith said the vote in the Senate would simply begin the comprehensive permitting process. If the site does not meet the permitting and scientific requirements, it won’t get its permit.

"The vote expected in the Senate will allow us to start a process where comprehensive scientific analysis will determine if Yucca can be a safe depository. It is also during this time that the transportation issues will be fully dealt with," he said.