Effects of waste dump argued by both sides By Micfci Haller Senior Reporter After a Lincoln meeting to organ ize the Nuclear Right to Vote Initia tive Friday, representatives from both sides accused each other of spreading false information. Sam Welsch, executive director of Nebraskans for the Right to Vote, is circulating a petition that asks for Nebraska to withdraw from the waste compact. The compact includes Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Lou isiana and Arkansas and demands statewide and local voting approval to have any waste site located in the slate. Welsch said the cost of withdraw ing from the Central Interstate Low Level Radioactive Waste Compact has been exaggerated by proponents of the compact. Welsch said Nebraska can with draw from the compact and avoid the financial penalties by paying mem bership dues for five years. Assum ing Nebraska’s membership is not revoked, he said, Nebraska would pay only S25.000 a year, or a total of S125,()00. The largest projected penalty, Welsch said, would be $1.5 million. Currently, commercial low-level waste is going to three sites around the nation: Barnwell, S.C.; Bade, Nev.; and Hanford, Wash. Welsch said the change to 12 or 13 compact regions building their own sites was a political result. He said the plan was not well implemented and should have resulted in only four or five new waste sites. The change to interstate compacts has resulted in an increase in the number of areas that could be con taminated by nuclear waste. Larry Grimm, radiation safety officer at the University of Nebraska Lincoln, questioned whether that was the effect of the petition. Grimm said that, according to an attorney he had talked with, the peti tion would require a low-level site to be built at the two nuclear power plants at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and at UNL. Welsch said U.S. Ecology’s plans for the nuclear waste site may seem wonderful, but in the contract, still unsigned, U.S. Ecology has a clause that allows it to modify its plans. “If we go along with U.S. Ecol ogy, I’m sure we’re going to be vie limsofbaitand switch,’’Welsch said. Welsch announced the end of the meeting for non-petitioners and said the intent of this meeting was not to debate. He said he’d be interested in such a debate, but he didn’t have time to organize one. After the meeting, Grimm rebut ted several of Welsch’s statements. “He’s spread such disinforma tion,” Grimm said. When the proposal for a nuclear waste site first came up, the oppo nents of the site asked for an above ground site with bunkers and other safety features, Grimm said. When U.S. Ecology came up with a new plan, they changed their tune, Grimm said. “What they (U.S. Ecology) are offering is truly, truly a Cadillac in disposal,” Grimm said. Grimm said he opposed a state wide vote to approve the site. “I know' for a fact that the public doesn’t understand the issue very well,” he .said, but once the public has been educated, the vote would be OK. “Once they come to the realiza tion that it won’t kill them, they won’t care,” he said. Grimm said he opposes the initia tive “because I think it’s unsafe.” He said even the best scenario presented by the initiative offers no extra safety, but could mean “a hell of a lot more money.” In the worst scenario, it could be less safe, Grimm said. Storage on the site of nuclear power plants would mean the waste would be on a flood plain, increasing the chance that waste would come in contact with water, Grimm said. i efe^ “A special gift for a 9 JfWfL special valentine. 9 Ta I Pamper Yourself Basket_ jj£| 11> I Fins collection of toiletries so she can relax and enjoy! H U Sweet Champagne Bouquet_ B . fw_^ Luscious imported french chocolates and balloons above! EG!FT$ (WTfiEQ(| Sweetheart "Snack for Two”_*20" ■M '• ^ Have a romantic snack with this basketful of gourmet goodies" M Valentina “Balloon Bououat"_!8!L 9 488-GIFT A mylar and latex balloon bouquet with chocolates below" J H Visa/MasterCard Cltywlde delivery or shipped anywhere III Delivery fee $2.25 Gifts On The Go displayed at E-Z Mail 70th & A Clocktower vVvvv^sJvQ.Qju!vvrcrvPvL(r(r(r(r(r(r(P(r(r(r(r(r(r(rv v / ^ ^ Cp ^ CP Cp Cp Cp Cp Cp ^ Cp v 5 $20 CASH !> $ \) paid for new donors on first donation at Lincoln Plasma {> Corp. Read, relax, or study while donating the life-saving <' substance used for medical research and routine medical care. New donors accepted daily 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM and {> jfc 8:30 AM to 2:30 PM.