Singers Urge Halt To Plans For Nuclear Storage Facility

Singers Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne and the Indigo Girls on Wednesday urged Congress to reject legislation creating a temporary storage facility in Nevada for tons of nuclear waste.

Appearing at a news conference at the foot of Capitol Hill, the entertainers said the transportation of nuclear waste across the nation’s highways would be dangerous to the public.

“We all think the transport of nuclear waste is an insane idea (and) that the American people, if they were only informed about it, would be outraged,” Raitt said, calling herself a “town crier.”

Legislation creating a centralized nuclear waste storage site in the Nevada desert cleared the Senate earlier this year and was approved by the House Commerce Committee last week, paving the way for action by the full House in the coming weeks.

While House approval is likely, it is still uncertain whether Congress could override a promised presidential veto. The singers, who met Tuesday with White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles, said administration officials reiterated the president’s veto pledge.

The nuclear industry contends a permanent waste repository is a must because little on-site storage space is left for spent nuclear fuel at nuclear power plants.

“Nuclear is here to stay, and it’s a terrific deal for the American people,” said industry spokesman Steve Kerekes.