Nuclear Waste California

In New York, the showdown came last spring on a bridge southeast of Buffalo. When state crews tried to inspect a proposed site for a low-level nuclear waste dump, they were met by a mob that included a column of wheelchair-bound retirees and 10 men on horseback, who charged. In Nebraska, promoters of that state's planned radioactive dump were greeted by ranchers toting buckets of feathers and hot tar.

In New York, the showdown came last spring on a bridge southeast of Buffalo. When state crews tried to inspect a proposed site for a low-level nuclear waste dump, they were met by a mob that included a column of wheelchair-bound retirees and 10 men on horseback, who charged. In Nebraska, promoters of that state's planned radioactive dump were greeted by ranchers toting buckets of feathers and hot tar.

Re "Regan's ouster is L.A.'s loss," Current, Dec. 24 David L. Ulin boldly trumpets and then attempts to orchestrate the benefits of having Rupert Murdoch's fallen star -- publisher Judith Regan -- and their gutter press gang move here from New York. Alas, for those of us breathless at the prospect of such fresh meat to feed the beast of sleaze, Ulin's bang turns out to be merely a whimper of the "well, we don't have one" variety. But here's a thought for him on which to hang his disappointment: In the discussions on which states might benefit from the dumping of nuclear waste, California hasn't come up. Not yet. ROLAND STARKE Santa Monica

Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren's office refused to comment on why he chose not to file a lawsuit against the federal government for shipping nuclear waste into California (July 1). The reason for the refusal? "Attorney-client privilege." Well, Mr. Attorney General, the last time I checked, the citizens of California are your client, and it is our "privilege" to know your legal reasoning in this important matter. I guess I won't be voting for Lungren for governor this November--call it "voter-candidate privilege."

Removing a final barrier to shipments of foreign nuclear waste through California, state Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren has refused to file a lawsuit on behalf of the Coastal Commission challenging a federal plan to import the spent fuel. The first of five shipments of highly radioactive nuclear waste is slated to arrive in the Bay Area under U.S.

Twenty members of California's congressional delegation urged Gov. Pete Wilson on Thursday to personally intervene in the ongoing controversy over a proposed low-level nuclear waste dump in the Mojave Desert. In a letter to Wilson, the lawmakers--all of them Democrats--said it is still not clear whether taxpayers or the dump operator would be liable for cleaning up radioactive contamination if the facility leaks.

A proposed nuclear waste compact between California and Arizona has fallen victim to Democratic attempts to dump low-level radioactive material in Republican territory. Assemblyman Steve Peace (D-Chula Vista), a key participant in the political wrangling, said Thursday that there was little chance this year that the Legislature would ratify an agreement with Arizona that would have the effect of keeping other states from dumping their low-level nuclear waste in California's disposal sites.

The California Coastal Commission reluctantly agreed Tuesday to allow nuclear waste to be stored at the San Onofre power plant just south of San Clemente for 20 years. The federal government's inability to find a permanent repository for used nuclear fuel makes the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station one of a growing number of nuclear power plants facing the issue of what to do with their spent uranium rods, which will be radioactive for thousands of years.

The staff of the state's top coastal agency this week recommended approval of Southern California Edison's plans to store thousands of spent nuclear fuel rods at San Onofre nuclear power plant, at least until 2050. Environmentalists say the California Coastal Commission will be approving the creation of a coastal nuclear waste dump just south of the Orange County border, but the agency's staff says it has no choice under federal law.

Southern California Edison said Tuesday it would abandon plans to ship a decommissioned nuclear reactor to South Carolina this year and leave it at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station for now. Edison spokesman Ray Golden cited "delays beyond our control" in the utility's decision to leave the reactor vessel -- entombed in steel and concrete -- at the beachside nuclear plant just south of the Orange County line.

A seemingly ordinary transport ship is scheduled to steam into California waters next month, carrying a decidedly extraordinary cargo--highly radioactive nuclear waste from Asia. From the shores of the choppy San Francisco Bay, the load will travel by train 918 miles through densely populated cities, several narrow canyons and onward to Idaho, where it will come to rest at a federal storage site.