American Notes ENVIRONMENT

The Federal Government has spent $1 billion since the 1960s in the search for a site that is environmentally -- and politically -- safe to bury high-level radioactive wastes from nuclear reactors. When it became apparent that the Department of Energy was dawdling over a hot issue, Congress in 1982 ordered DOE to get a deep nuclear dump in operation by 1998. Last year the department narrowed its candidates to three Western sites: Deaf Smith County, Texas; Yucca Mountain, Nev.; and the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington. The deadline of 1998 looked easily attainable.

But last week DOE announced that it was arbitrarily postponing activation of such a site for an additional five years, until 2003, when some 40,000 tons / of the waste will have accumulated. The proclaimed reasons: DOE needs the extra time for more research, to consult with states and Indian tribes, to meet licensing requirements. As with the federal deficit, it appeared that DOE has succumbed to a classic Washington cop-out: if a problem is difficult, let the next generation deal with it.