Without taking into account the fact that the current use of 31 sites throughout the United States requires shipping the dangerous materials over short distances, and the centralized location at Yucca Mountain will require some shipments to travel 2,000 miles or more, the government has spent $7 billion over two decades studying Yucca Mountain as the preferred site for the proposed dump. At the same time, the government has expended only $200 million to determine how to get the wastes to the site.

``They're trying to downplay transportation because they know once the American people realize their homes lie on these transportation routes they'll be outraged,'' said Kevin Kamps, an anti-nuclear activist.

Although some in the Senate are pushing for the Yucca Mountain site to be approved BEFORE a transportation plan is in place, Nevada legislators are fighting hard to see a plan first. In fact, legislators from around the nation are raising questions about the shipping of radioactive materials through their states. They have every reason to be concerned. In spite of the testing done on the shipping containers, that have triple-walled sides of lead and steel up to 15 inches thick, the containers can still be pierced by a missle, high explosive, or any device that can create temperatures in excess of the 1475 degree limitation of the containers. ( Keep in mind that the brush fire in Arizona's northeastern region was burning at over 2,000 degrees!)

"They spent taxpayer dollars to perpetuate a fear factor that is totally unrealistic," said former Republican Nevada Gov. Bob List, a lobbyist for the Nuclear Energy Industry, which favors the repository. "The truth is that it is highly unlikely this material will ever come through Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Valley or Clark County. The governor will not allow that to happen." The key word in the former Governor's statement is "UNLIKELY." He isn't saying that the waste won't EVER pass through the densely populated, and growing, city of Las Vegas. He says it is "unlikely." In fact, studies have been conducted by both independent sources and Nevada that show that Southern Nevada's population, the fastest growing in the country during the past decade, would drop by 11,294 people if Yucca Mountain is built. The loss would be more than eight times greater if there were an accident involving the release of radioactive material, according to the report.

The local economy would lose $185 million a year, and a total of $5.6 billion over the life of Yucca Mountain, if the repository is built, the study projected. If there were an accident, the loss would be $1.4 billion annually and $68.1 billion over the life of the project.

Disposable income, the money a person retains after taxes, would drop $136 million in one year and more than $4.7 billion over the life of repository if it is built, the study said. The losses jump to $686 million a year and $42.1 billion over the life of the project if there were an accident.

To find out more about the Yucca Mountain project from the government's perspective, click HERE

To find out more about the Yucca Mountain project from concerned citizens in Nevada, click HERE

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