Politics Affected Nuclear Waste Site Decision, Papers Indicate

The Energy Department considered the political implications of at least six courses of action before deciding to postpone selection of a high-level nuclear waste site in the East, department documents indicate.

The department eventually chose an option that, according to the internal documents, “would give a great deal of political benefit to DOE” from eastern states, although it was likely to be perceived as “program mismanagement” and would result in “severe political backlash” from potential dump sites in the West.

The documents were released Thursday by Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), who called them the “smoking gun” that proves his contention that the department’s decision to abandon the search for an eastern dump site was motivated by election year politics.

“These documents show that the department put politics first, not science, in making its decisions,” Markey said.

Postponement Explanation

Energy Secretary John S. Herrington announced on May 28 that the department intended to postpone indefinitely the selection of an eastern dump site because work on selecting a western site was progressing satisfactorily and there was some question of whether a second site would be needed.