Frank Murkowski

Mr. MURKOWSKI

Mr. MURKOWSKI. The Senator from Idaho makes a very valid point. Obviously, it is going to be shipped in. And it will be shipped in a container that obviously meets the Department of Defense criteria, environmental protection criteria, and the necessary criteria to ensure that the shipment is done in a safe manner and the interests of public health and safety are addressed, as has been the case in numerous other shipments, some 2,400 in the last 15 years.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. The Senator from Idaho is correct. That is the general location.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. I thank my friend. It is my understanding, then, there will be an attempt to get a time agreement so we can conclude disposition of all amendments at a time Monday that would be determined in a time agreement and that the leadership would affix a vote on those amendments which require it; is that correct?

Mr. MURKOWSKI. With that understanding, it gives the Members an idea of what we might anticipate for the balance of the day. Mr. THOMPSON addressed the Chair.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Let me advise the Senator from Tennessee, we are prepared on this side to accept his amendment. And I am not sure what the disposition is on the other side.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. The Senator from Idaho is correct, the court made that decision.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, we are somewhat optimistic that we are going to have a time agreement soon, and it is my understanding that the leaders are addressing that matter now, so I hope to have some information for Senators very soon. Let me make a few comments relative to accidents, which, of course, are of concern as we contemplate moving nuclear waste throughout the country. But let us take a look at facts because again we have been graced with a good deal of informed speculation. Let me refer first to the NEI fact sheet dated June 10, 1996, from the Nuclear Energy Institute, an objective evaluation on the question of accidents. The question was: Have there been accidents that exposed the public to radiation from spent fuel cargo? And the answer is on absolutely no occasion between 1971 and 1989 has any person been exposed to radioactivity or radiation from spent-fuel cargo or associated accidents. Let us talk about the accidents, Mr. President, because this is what it is all about. Seven accidents occurred in the movement of 2,400 shipments from 1979 to 1995 as indicated by the chart. None caused any release of radioactivity. The most severe of these, and it was severe, occurred in 1971 in Tennessee. We just heard from the Senator from Tennessee. We had a tractor trailer carrying a 25-ton spent-fuel shipping container swerve to avoid a head-on collision. It went out of control and overturned. The trailer with the container still attached broke free from the tractor and skidded into a rain-filled ditch. The container suffered minor damage but did not release any radioactive material. Now, how many chemical spills have we had where the tank car was broken open or spilled or punctured in some way? The difference between the two exposures are obvious. These are designed to withstand accidents, and they have. So again we can reflect on the rhetoric, but if we look at reality nothing is risk free, Mr. President, nor is nuclear transportation relative to high-level waste. A lot of people assume that if there is a penetration, there is going to be a calamity of some kind. Obviously, there would be radiation. But we have technology that addresses that radiation, just as it is addressed when the rods are taken out of the pools. You would think there is some magic here. These nuclear rods sit in the pools. What are in the pools? Water. They come out of the pools. They are exposed. They are placed in a cask. There is exposure there, but it is regulated and controlled. We have a statement by Mr. Robert M. Jefferson. Who is Mr. Jefferson? He was manager of the Transportation Technology Center at the Sandia National Labs in the early 1970's, distinguished in his knowledge and expertise on the matter of transportation of high-level radioactive wastes. I ask unanimous consent that his letter of July 16, 1996, be printed in the Record.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. It is my understanding the Department of Energy indicated that they would not appeal the ruling of the court.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. That is my understanding. The Senator from Idaho, I think, has projected the position very clearly, that is correct.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. The Senator from Idaho is correct. It is a figure in excess of $13 billion at this time.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. I have no objection.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. I ask unanimous consent the second vote be a 10-minute rollcall vote to accommodate Senators.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. First on the Bumpers amendment followed by the Bingaman amendment. I ask for the yeas and nays on both. Is there any objection to 10 minutes?

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I think my time is about up. I do not see anybody rising to speak on it. I think each Member should evaluate for himself or herself, relative to the question of whether or not there is a certain uniqueness associated with the Hanford site, the Savannah site, and the Oak Ridge site. I hope we would not have any more amendments coming up to address individual States, because I do not think they could fall under the same category. Mr. President, I ask that we vote first on the Bumpers amendment.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. I propose we split the time, and I reserve the remainder of my time for Members from those States.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. It is equally divided?

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. MURKOWSKI

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Will my friend yield for a unanimous-consent request from the leadership?

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote occur on or in relation to the pending Reid-Bryan second-degree amendment, No. 28, at 11 o'clock today.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. I thought it had been cleared.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. I certainly apologize, because I checked and asked, and they said it was. I withdraw the unanimous-consent request at this time and yield back to the Senator from Nevada.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. I will be happy to yield to my friend from Idaho.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on the Murkowski substitute.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.