Nuclear Waste Site Found Appropriate

We need to applaud Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham’s decision to declare Yucca Mountain fit for the storage of nuclear waste as a much-needed push toward solving the waste problem (“Nevada Site Picked for Nuclear Waste,” Jan. 11). In this environment there is little objective information, with even the driest technical reports causing controversy. Yet all this rhetoric belies two facts. Leaving spent nuclear fuel scattered across the country at nuclear plant sites is poor environmental management and lousy economics.

Gathering the material in one, federally controlled site is cost-effective, assures the safe, monitored storage of the material and is required by contract between the government and the utilities. Current plans call for the spent fuel to be retrievable from the Yucca Mountain facility for at least 50 years, which would allow us to deal with the fuel in a different manner should more attractive options arise.

James E. Owens

La Canada