No More Nuclear Waste in Wisconsin

In February 2002, President Bush recommended Yucca Mountain as the site of the first potential high-level nuclear waste repository; experts are concerned there may already be too much waste to fill Yucca Mountain (in Neveda) and that another site will have to be selected. Additionally, the Bush Administration is pushing for more nuclear power and new plants; creating more waste increases the chance that Wisconsin will be asked to host thousands of tons of our countrys nuclear waste.

In the early 1980s, Wisconsins Wolf River batholith, a geological feature covering 5,800 square miles in northeastern Wisconsin, was proposed by the Department of Energy (DOE) as a potential site for large-scale nuclear waste disposal. However, in a newly released report called, Nuclear Waste and Wisconsin, Clean Wisconsin (an environmental advocacy organization) shows that the batholith contains many of the screening factors that should have disqualified the site. These factors include:
Proximity to populated areas in Shawano, Clintonville, and Waupaca;
Rivers, streams and wetlands within site boundaries; and
Contains protected lands such as the Nicolet National Forest and the Wolf National Wild and Scenic River.

When first proposed in the 1980s, public opposition was so great that an investigation into a Wisconsin nuclear waste dump was postponed until 2007 at which time the decision whether to build a second repository will be made. Again, Wisconsin is at risk from becoming the countrys next nuclear waste site, even though studies have shown that storing nuclear waste in the Wolf River batholith could expose our under ground water and Great Lakes to contamination.

Transportation routes to Yucca Mountain already put Wisconsin at risk. If a major nuclear waste storage site is also opened in Wisconsin, waste from around the country would be transported near Madison, Milwaukee, and Green Bay on its way to the batholith. Transporting large quantities of nuclear waste can pose a target for domestic or international terrorism.

We, the undersigned, are opposed to Wisconsin becoming the countrys next nuclear waste site. We also oppose building new nuclear plants or extending the life of old nuclear plants in Wisconsin because of the unavoidable risks to public health, the environment and Wisconsins tourism industry. Instead, we call upon our elected officials to promote clean energy and provide incentives for non-polluting technologies.