Benefits from fuel storage facilities:

In the article ``One Woman Fights Nuclear Dumping,'' Nov. 10, Grace Thorpe says that she was lured away from bingo and painting pots for two reasons: (1) She believes radioactive waste is ``the most lethal poison in the history of man'' and (2) a spent fuel storage site on an Indian reservation is ``environmental injustice.'' Neither claim can pass the test of scientific truth and ethical justification.

The storage of spent fuel is a clean, high-technology achievement that can benefit both native American tribes and our nation. A spent-fuel storage facility promises to be not only a long-term stable source of income for its hosts, but also a means to provide both professional and blue-collar local employment. A rising standard of living is our best defense against the greatest pollutant on our planet: poverty.

Wastes are an inescapable byproduct of the society we live in. They are dangerous to our health only if they are left lying around without proper management.

Native American tribes are to be applauded, not condemned, for voluntarily considering the scientific and economic merits of hosting an interim storage facility. Margaret N. Maxey, Austin, Texas Professor of Bioethics University of Texas at Austin

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