Help Stop the Department of Energy's Plan to Leave Highly Radioactive Nuclear Waste in Leaking Underground Tanks

Senator Maria Cantwell's petition letter:

The Honorable Spencer Abraham
The Honorable Bill Frist
The Honorable John Warner

Dear Secretary Abraham, Leader Frist, and Chairman Warner:

We write regarding troubling provisions now included in the Fiscal Year 2005 Department of Defense Authorization bill (S. 2400), which would give the Department of Energy (DOE) authority to reclassify as "incidental" dangerous materials that have been for decades treated as high-level radioactive waste.

As you know, DOE today holds title to about 100 million gallons of high-level radioactive waste, stored in more than 250 leaky underground tanks in the states of Idaho, Washington, New York and South Carolina. This waste is the environmental legacy of our nation's World War II and Cold War efforts, and is situated dangerously close to the Columbia and Savannah Rivers, as well as the Snake River Aquifer. Already in Washington state, DOE estimates that a million gallons of this waste has seeped into the ground and a number of toxic and radioactive chemicals have reached the Columbia River. These bodies of water and their tributaries flow through multiple states and are relied upon by many sectors of our economy, including fishing, farming, shipping and recreational interests. In short, the health of these rivers is a federal concern -- not simply the province of any single state.

Still, it appears that DOE is intent on avoiding its responsibility to clean up the high-level radioactive waste that poses such danger to these rivers. The provisions now included in S. 2400 would give the Department the authority to redefine what constitutes high-level radioactive waste, lower cleanup standards and abandon an indeterminate amount of these toxic materials in place -- in contradiction of 30 years of law and 50 years of scientific consensus.

Even more troubling, this language was included in S. 2400 behind closed doors, without a single legislative hearing in the appropriate Senate committees. We believe the issue of nuclear waste cleanup -- and a shift of federal policy of this magnitude -- should be debated in the light of day, especially given its vast implications for public health and safety.

For these reasons, we ask that you withdraw your support and work to remove the high-level waste reclassification provisions now included in the Fiscal Year 2005 Department of Defense Authorization bill. Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

Maria Cantwell

CC:Senator Tom Daschle, Minority Leader
Senator Carl Levin, Ranking Member, Senate Armed Services Committe