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Opponents of the proposed nuclear waste repository planned for Yucca Mountain, Nev., are engaging in a "deliberate campaign of misinformation directed at Congress and it will not work, Congress will not be bamboozled," said Jack Edlow, president of Washington, D.C.-based Edlow International Co., at a special press conference May 6 addressing Yucca Mountain issues. Edlow International has teamed with Atlanta-based NAC International, also involved in nuclear waste shipments, to form the U.S. Transport Coalition. The group was formed to counter what Edlow called a "steady stream of disinformation" from repository opponents. Anti-nuclear activists, the state of Nevada and certain members of Congress, have overstated the number of shipments needed to move the used nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive defense waste to the Southwestern facility, Edlow said. One of the myths Edlow cited is the claim that there will be over 110,00 metric tons of used fuel shipped over 38 years, when in fact Yucca Mountain is limited by statute to 70,000 metric tons, which is projected to be shipped over 24 years. "The fact is there will not be an armada of shipments to Yucca Mountain," he said. "In fact, the number of shipments to Yucca Mountain will be no more than a couple of hundred annually." It is expected that 63,000 metric tons, or about 90 percent of the used fuel, will be transported by rail, leaving 7,000 metric tons, or about 10 percent, being shipped by truck, Edlow said. Edlow pointed out that Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) has said there would be 50,000 to 100,000 shipments of nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain. "That would be like moving it kilogram by kilogram," Edlow said. NAC Vice President David Blee, co-chair of the coalition, agreed with Edlow, saying most of the Yucca shipments would be by rail, amounting to about one rail shipment a week. Edlow said that without rail linkage to Yucca Mountain there would be no repository there, since there is no economical or feasible way to ship the used fuel otherwise. "Rail is the vital way to ship the used nuclear fuel, the same as coal," he said. The security risk also would be minimal, given the required safeguards and security, Edlow said. "In fact, the number of [nuclear waste] shipments will represent an infinitesimal portion of the more than 300 million annual shipments of hazardous materials transported in the U.S.," Edlow said. The press conference was held ahead of the House of Representatives vote last week in favor of its Yucca Mountain resolution 306 to 117 (see story page 1). Edlow had predicted "We will win in the House by a substantial margin and we will win in the Senate by a large margin, if the leadership allows the vote." The coalition is planning a two-day transportation summit June 17-18 in Washington, D.C., with speakers scheduled to include Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham and Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge. The coalition Web site address is: www.ustransport.org.
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