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Nuclear power's future rests with restoring public confidence

IN THE WAKE of the accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, Congress and the public are taking a hard look at the facts of nuclear power.

The nuclear industry, together with the government agencies which regulate it, and those who have supported it such as myself, are on trial. The credibility of the assurances given about the safety of nuclear power has been called into question.

Before continuing to expand our dependence on nuclear power, we must undertake a broad-based and thorough study of the safety of nuclear power plant operations. The American people deserve an open, candid assessment, no matter how time-consuming the task may be.

The American public deserves a thorough and rigorous plan for nuclear waste disposal. To date, the federal government, which has major responsibility for the disposal of highly radioactive nuclear wastes, has failed to demonstrate that it can do the job safely.

The nuclear waste issue is of particular concern to the people of Illinois. We rely heavily on nuclear power. Moreover, Illinois currently handles large amounts of nuclear waste. A temporary storage facility at Morris contains highly radioactive, spent nuclear fuel from all parts of the country. These wastes will remain at Morris until a permanent storage facility is opened. Additional spent fuel will continue to collect in storage pools at reactor sites throughout Illinois. In addition, a low-level storage facility exists at Sheffield.

As the public's mistrust of federal nuclear waste management programs has grown, state governments have increasingly demanded the right to stop the construction of federal nuclear waste repositories within their borders. Although the federal government has technically preempted the states' right to control the siting of such facilities, states can use numerous other legal and political tools to stop construction of federal nuclear waste repositories.

In short, the current federal policy is in disarray, and must be revised. We must address several key points.

First, it is clear that states have legitimate concerns about the federal government's ability to construct and safely operate nuclear waste facilities. We must establish a process which allows states to raise their concerns and receive prompt, comprehensive answers.

Second, we must realize that it is in the national interest to develop a permanent nuclear waste storage facility. If state governments are given unlimited veto power, they may never approve a waste disposal site, regardless of its safety. Ultimate descretionary power must therefore remain in the hands of the federal government.

I recently introduced, with Senator John Glenn as cosponsor, legislation which attempts to balance these conflicting state and federal needs. Under my proposal, the federal government would be required to prepare detailed design and operating plans, together with safety and environmental analyses, prior to constructing a repository. The federal government would be required to prepare this material in close consultation with a panel of state and local government officials and members of the public from the state in which the repository would be located.

The completed plans and analyses would be submitted to the panel for final review. After a review period, the governor of the state, in consultation with the members of the panel, could formally object to the plans if he/she believed they did not adequately protect the interests of the state. Such an objection would block construction of the waste facility unless the plans were modified to respond to the objections, or unless the Congress passed a concurrent resolution supporting the proposed repository.

This legislation recognizes that the federal government has a legacy of incompetence to overcome in nuclear waste management. It provides a sensible and comprehensive plan for safe nuclear waste disposal and an avenue for the public to express its views regarding the location of a nuclear waste site.

If we deny the public such a role, we will continue to erode public confidence and doom the federal government's nuclear waste policy to continued failure.

July 1979 / Illinois Issues / 35