Sam Gibbons: “the question of the day is can this Nation afford the cleanup cost of a nuclear waste accident under H.R. 45, the…”

“the question of the day is can this Nation afford the cleanup cost of a nuclear waste accident under H.R. 45, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1999. Well, a 1985 Department of Energy contractor report concluded that a severe accident involving a rail cask would result in the release of radioactive materials sufficient to contaminate a 42-square-mile area. If it occurred in a rural area, the estimated cost of cleanup would range from $176 million to $19.4 billion and would require up to 460 days to complete. Cleanup after a similar accident in a typical urban area would be considerably more expensive and time consuming, perhaps around $9.5 billion just to raze and rebuild the most heavily contaminated single square mile. Mr. Speaker, guess who picks up the tab for these expensive and deadly accidents? That is right. It will be the American taxpayer. Realize these figures cannot include the intangible cost of human life or the disastrous effects it could have on our children, our communities, and our homes. Before nuclear waste is shipped through my colleagues' districts, think about the consequence, and oppose H.R. 45. It is a bill we cannot afford to live with.”