>FOIA request seeks Yucca Mountain earthquake info
>
>July 3, 2002
>
>Public Citizen Requests Documents Used by DOE to Assess Impact of Recent
>Earthquake Near Yucca Mountain
>
>Earthquake Questions Loom as Senate Vote Nears
>
> WASHINGTON, D.C. - Citing the "curious" nature of the Department
> of Energy's rapid determination that a June 14 earthquake did no damage
> to facilities at the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump project, Public
> Citizen filed a Freedom of Information request with the DOE to obtain all
> of the documents related to that assessment.
>
>"How could the DOE have assessed that no damage was done to the entire
>compound within several hours of the earthquake?" said Tyson Slocum,
>research director with Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy and
>Environment Program (CMEEP). "Since Yucca Mountain sits on one of the
>most seismically active areas in the U.S., we need to make sure that the
>government is taking the time to review every nook and cranny to ensure
>that safety is not being compromised."
>
>The DOE issued a press release the same day as the earthquake, stating
>"there was no damage to any Yucca Mountain Project facilities, structures
>or the underground Exploratory Studies Facilities."
>
> "This rush to judgment is symptomatic of the larger problems with
> the DOE's Yucca Mountain proposal," said Lisa Gue, policy analyst with
> CMEEP. "The site recommendation, soon to be voted on by the Senate, is
> dangerously premature at best."
>
> Opponents of the Yucca Mountain proposal have long argued that a
> nuclear waste dump should not be located in an earthquake zone due to the
> potential danger of high-level radioactive waste leaking into the
> surrounding environment. In 1996, an earthquake near Yucca Mountain
> caused nearly $1 million dollars in damages to the Yucca Mountain Project
> facilities. In addition, the General Accounting Office found 293
> unresolved scientific and technical issues with DOE's repository
> proposal, and the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board has called the
> technical basis for the proposal "weak to moderate."
>
> The Senate is expected to vote on the proposed Yucca Mountain
> nuclear waste dump early next week. The U.S. House of Representatives
> voted in favor of the dump in May. A copy of the letter may be found at
> http://www.citizen.org/cmep/energy_enviro_nuclear/nuclear_waste/hi-level/yucca/articles.cfm?ID=7960
>
>
>Tell Congress not to let the nuclear industry dictate dangerous
>radioactive waste policy! Go to www.yuccapetition.org and sign our online
>petition opposing the Yucca Mountain nuclear dump.
>
>Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program