Nevada officials and nuclear politics

I applaud the Review-Journal for publishing the Feb. 5 commentary by Gary Duarte on Nevada and nuclear politics. He makes many valid points regarding the topic. But most of all, he asks whether our Nevada political representatives will ever become educated about nuclear technology. That is my question as well.

The uproar over the transport of plutonium to the Nevada National Security Site shows our representatives clearly need to be better informed. They must not be aware that U.S. submarines and aircraft carriers (as well as other vessels) are powered by nuclear fuel — and this fuel is manufactured and safely shipped across the country without incident.

Mr. Duarte is also correct in stating that experts supported the safety of the proposed geologic repository at Yucca Mountain. But poorly informed politicians stopped the project, which would have been a great benefit to the United States and Nevada.

I challenge our representatives to replace NIMBY with objective information about nuclear technology and to make decisions based on sound scientific and engineering knowledge.