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Let's not let C.T.Carley (Letter to the Editor, Oct. 31) avoid the obvious: Storing and recycling nuclear waste is definitely an exercise in handling radioactive material, regardless of the financial benefits a few well placed individuals would gain (individuals who would most likely never come into contact with the radioactive contaminated materials themselves!).
Of course, job creation is a desperate necessity, and, yes, the US has a long-term need for storing nuclear waste. However, "recycling" plutonium may just be a warm and fuzzy concept, used to bait and switch the real objective behind deep geologic repositories that would inject radioactive materials deep into Mississippi's substrate.
In fact, deep geologic repositories are the exact opposite of what a responsible engineer would specify for Mississippi, given the porous substrate materials and multiple aquifers just underneath our feet. Evidence, fact and reality have proven that the safety of deep geologic repositories are unverifiable since radioactive materials leech into the ground water systems used for drinking, irrigation and agriculture by residents and businesses, unverifiable since a 20-year latency period between radioactive poisoning and health symptoms (bone and skin cancers, kidney failure, miscarriages and birth defects) masks contamination.
The truth is that nuclear storage is an oxymoron and is never as safe as its industry proponents claim; Deep well storage is the wrong plan for Mississippi's geology; and, an agreement to store nuclear waste (or experiment in plutonium recycling!) is also an agreement to poison ourselves, our children, and people living "down river" with radioactive contaminates that cause death. And, since our underground water systems are regionally linked, the radioactive waste would also flow into creeks, the Mississippi River, and the Gulf of Mexico and specifically target those relying on these water systems for living needs and business production, namely rural farmers, fishermen, the poor of all races, and the more wealthy as they eat in seafood restaurants.
I am surprised that Mr. Carley, an MSU engineer, doesn't know better.