U.S. Chamber Pulls Out All Stops For Yucca Mountain

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Chamber of Commerce rolled out a multi-state radio ad campaign to secure a Senate vote in favor of President Bush's plan to designate Yucca Mountain a permanent nuclear waste site and urged listeners to call their senators.

"The plan would store the waste safely in the remote Nevada desert and get it out of our communities," the ads — which began running in a dozen states this week — point out. "It's a common sense plan."

"Senators must hear that the citizens of their state want a permanent — and secure — site for nuclear waste," said William Kovacs, U.S. Chamber vice president for environment and regulatory affairs. "Pro-business activists are mobilizing across the country to educate lawmakers, challenge the nay-sayers, and tell the facts about storing nuclear waste."

Years of geological and water tests, and six miles worth of drilling in the site have shown it to be extremely secure and a superior alternative to the current 131 above-ground facilities in 39 states, according to the Chamber.

The Yucca repository, which would sit 800 feet below the surface of the desert in Nevada, has also met or exceeded EPA standards tests for volcanic activity, earthquakes, radiation leaks, and water corrosion. The mountain sits 90 miles from Las Vegas under federally restricted airspace, making it the safest option for waste.

"We are sending a clear message to the Senate — power plants are not permanent storage sites," said Kovacs. "Two decades of research prove that a specially designed, underground site at Yucca Mountain is the safest and most secure way to dispose of spent nuclear fuel from power plants and from our armed forces."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region.

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