Don't let up on nuke fight

Deseret Morning News editorial
Published: Friday, Dec. 9, 2005 9:00 p.m. MST
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The state's roller coaster ride against a nuclear waste dump on the Goshute Reservation has taken some wild turns lately and suddenly started to slow down. However, it is unclear whether this is just a temporary stop to let a couple of people off. For that reason, the state and its congressional delegation can't afford to take chances. They must continue the fight.

Sen. Orrin Hatch announced this week that two of the six investors in Private Fuel Storage, the consortium that planned to ship high-level nuclear waste to Utah, have decided to back off. One, Xcel Energy, has put a hold on its investment. The other, Southern Co., completely pulled out.

Hatch suggested this marks the end to the PFS saga in Utah's western desert. But that seems a bit premature. It was indeed welcome news, but these types of problems don't disappear so easily, especially in a nation chock full of nuclear waste.

As a PFS spokesman said, plenty of other nuclear power utilities are looking for ways to dispose of their spent fuel rods. The Goshute site already has received federal approval for a license to store such waste. With Congress still far from approving a permanent nuclear waste repository, the "temporary" site in Utah remains attractive.

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That means the Utah congressional delegation needs to keep working on a bill that would create a federal wilderness area around the site, making it impossible to bring in shipments.

Hatch suggested his continued support for a permanent storage site in Nevada's Yucca Mountain helped him persuade Xcel and Southern to back off. Indeed, both companies apparently pulled away because they felt the Goshute site would not be ready in time and that more attention should be placed on getting final approval for Yucca.

But Yucca isn't any better of a solution than is the Goshute site. With the president's energy policy pushing for a continuation of nuclear production, the idea of creating ever-expanding storage sites for deadly waste is unworkable. Congress and the president would be better served by turning their attention toward fuel-rod recycling technology.

Meanwhile, the on-site storage of nuclear waste has worked well for decades. There is little reason to abandon it to create a transit and environmental disaster in Utah and Nevada.

Westerners can't afford to bequeath thousands of years of contamination to future generations, especially when the waste in question is likely to continue in an endless stream.

We applaud Hatch's announcement and the newfound reluctance of two PFS investors. But as for the state's wild ride on the nuclear waste roller coaster, it's best to still keep arms and legs inside.

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