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Chat with Chic, April 16, 1987

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jhp000226-050
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    Chat Chic A Report from Washington FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Mike Miller April 16, 1987 (202) 224-6244 By U.S. SENATOR CHIC HECHT Marcoule, France -- For the past week, I have been touring the facilities of the European nuclear power industry with the other members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. It's been quite an education. The tours of power plants, waste treatment centers, storage sites, and transportation facilities in Sweden and France have confirmed what I knew all along -- that the United States needs to take a long, hard look at our nuclear power industry. The Europeans handle their nuclear waste safely, effectively, and efficiently -- with no political fallout, no permanent underground storage of hot waste, and at a fraction of the cost. Believe me, when my colleagues and I get back from this eye-opening trip, the Department of Energy will have a lot of questions to answer. After seeing how things work in Europe, I'm more convinced than ever that there are many alternatives for dealing with nuclear waste that DOE has yet to consider. I'm going to make sure they know that we in Nevada are tired of their political excuses and scientific double-talk. Before the bureaucrats at DOE can expect the State of Nevada to even consider hosting a high-level nuclear waste repository, they'd better be able to explain why all the other options haven't been looked at -- and why the safe, less expensive methods which work in Europe wouldn't work as well in the United States.