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------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Oct 1998 19:53:48 -0800
From: Shundahai Network <shundahai@shundahai.org>
Subject: (abolition-usa) DOE Secretary meets with Las Vegas Groups
For immediate release: Contact: Rick Nielsen, 796-5662
October 28, 1998 Reinard Knutsen,647-3095
Judy Treichel, 248-1127
ENERGY SECRETARY HEARS LOCAL CONCERNS SAYS YUCCA DECISION WILL BE BASED ON SCIENCE, NOT POLITICS
Bill Richardson, newly appointed secretary for the Department of Energy (DOE), took time out from his busy schedule to meet with representatives from four local activist groups and the Western Shoshone Nation on Monday evening at McCarron Airport. Richardson heard concerns regarding nuclear activities conducted at the Nevada Test Site (NTS), the potential repository at Yucca Mountain, groundwater contamination, and Western Shoshone land rights under the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley.
Richardson said that he would tour both NTS and Yucca Mountain while here was here. Rick Nielsen, executive director of Citizen Alert engaged Richardson in a lively discussion regarding the suitability studies ongoing at Yucca Mountain and potential groundwater contamination. "I am here to
review the site to try and make an assessment," said Richardson. "I don't know now what the outcome will be, but I can say it will be based on science not politics."
The question of what would disqualify Yucca Mountain as a potential site was also posed by Nielsen. Richardson said that he did not have a specific answer, but stated that if the mountain was found to produce adverse impacts to humans or the environment it would not move forward. "It seems clear to me that there are going to be impacts," said Nielsen, "even DOE admits that, it appears to hinge on what is acceptable and to whom."
Judy Treichel of the Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force presented Richardson with DOE documents that clearly show that department plans for Yucca Mountain will give people nearby doses of radiation from drinking water. "Any imposed dose is an adverse impact," said Treichel.
Ian Zabarte, representing Western Shoshone Chief Raymond Yowell, informed the Secretary that based on the Treaty of Ruby Valley, the DOE didn't legally own the land that comprises most of the NTS, including Yucca Mountain. "Yucca Mountain belongs to the Western Shoshone," said Zabarte. Zabarte also said that funding was needed for health studies related to the impacts of fall-out from nuclear testing on Native Americans.
Western Shoshone spiritual leader, Corbin Harney, told Richardson, "DOE has been poisoning our land and people since the fifties, you can't let this continue." Richardson said that he has encountered Native American impacts in recent visits at several other DOE weapons sites and is also concerned about their rights and treatment. The Secretary said he has appointed Chris Sterns, a Navajo, to be his point person to help address these concerns.
Other concerns discussed at the meeting included subcritical testing, moral and ethical responsibilities of nuclear weapons, the delay in a radiation standard for Yucca Mountain, funding for groundwater studies and state oversight, and public participation in the DOE decision making process. Reinard Knutsen of the Shundahai Network said, "The actions that the Shundahai Network take to get our message across are more radical because we have become disenfranchised by the public participation process."
Sister Rosemary Lynch, a Franciscan nun representing Pace Bene, a local peace and non-violence organization, told the Secretary, "you must carefully consider the ethics and basic morality of the decisions that you are called on to make and have the courage to act accordingly."
- -END-
Richard Nielsen, Executive Director, Citizen Alert, Las Vegas NV
