Sam Gibbons: “can this Nation afford the cost of cleaning up a nuclear waste accident? A 1975 DOE contractor report concluded that a…”

“can this Nation afford the cost of cleaning up a nuclear waste accident? A 1975 DOE contractor report concluded that a severe accident involving rail casks could and 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 cleanup cost of such an accident would range from $176 million to $19.4 billion, and would require up to 460 days. Cleanup after a similar accident in a typical urban area would be considerably more expensive and time consuming, perhaps $9.5 billion just to raze and rebuild the most heavily contaminated square mile. Realize these figures cannot include the intangible cost of a single human life or the disastrous effect it could have on the future of our children. Much more detailed studies are necessary to safeguard against accidents and their cleanup costs before we decide to ship nuclear waste through our districts. Think about it. Could our cities, local communities and States afford these horrific impacts? Remember that safety and science equals a sound solution.”