George Will's column assuring readers that Nevada is the best place for a new radioactive waste site omitted important details. He failed to mention that the entire project is now jeopardized because of the U.S. Geological Survey's investigation into credible allegations that USGS employees falsified suitability study data on the proposed Nevada waste repository six years ago.

This hardly engenders trust from the citizens of the region. Secondly, although Will seems confident in assurances by the government that its site safeguards will function correctly, many of those potentially affected are already aware of unkept governmental promises at radioactive waste sites such as Maxie Flats, Ky.; West Valley, N.Y.; and Sheffield, Ill., as well as another site in Beatty, Nev., a few miles to the west of the proposed Yucca Mountain facility.

To add additional context to these exposure fears, it must also be noted that citizens of the region were assured in the 1950s that fallout from the atomic testing performed at the nearby Nevada test site posed no dangers. The government ultimately agreed to pay more than 8,700 residents of nearby areas who proved damage from radiation exposure resulting from the testing.

Gene Lewis
Greensboro