Seattlest: Secret "Science Lab" Under Ski Resort Not At All Suspicious

K

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 22:00:45 -0800

unless you're ironically quoting the story the government tried to sell everyone when they took over that land Yes, that's exactly it; my point being that Washington locals are perfectly justified in being wary of atom-twiddling projects in their backyard no matter how safe they are touted to be.

Courtney

Wed, 30 May 2007 12:51:25 -0800

But K, the whole Hanford thing only reiterates my point about governmental projects vs. core scientific endeavors (and to say that Hanford was intended for a "perfectly safe nuclear research facility" is definitely stretching the truth more than a wee bit unless you're ironically quoting the story the government tried to sell everyone when they took over that land--that place was always intended as a production facility to supply nuclear weapons). Plus no-one is trying to do anything like shutting an entire town down for this facility. Sigh. Has no-one heard of CERN?

K

Wed, 30 May 2007 12:38:50 -0800

It seems like just yesterday that a small E. Wa. farming town called Hanford was uprooted to build a perfectly safe nuclear research facility. For some reason, highly experimental atomic physics just didn't catch on as a regional development model. Hell, people in South Dakota literally live next to viable thermonuclear warheads. I'm not sure desperation is the same as enlightenment. On the desolate prairie, there's plenty of wind to throw caution to. Dinkville, South Dakota would probably have a "Nuke Days" celebration if they were selected as an A-Bomb test site.

Courtney

Wed, 30 May 2007 12:18:53 -0800

Well there were a few informed people, but mostly it was regarded as though a nuclear waste plant was being proposed there instead. The digging! The noise! It will ruin our water! The construction vehicles! It was a fairly uniform and instantaneous panic, and I say this as someone who absolutely loves the outdoors and does care deeply about wilderness protection. But I do have a level of trust for scientists that extends well beyond that for the government's typical "construction projects" and disregard for the environment. A county commissioner from Leavenworth had said this: County Treasurer Dave Griffith said the arguments being presented by opponents of the project are similar to ones expressed before the Asamera gold mine was built in Wenatchee. People were concerned about traffic, noise and environmental damage. "Yet, we never saw it. We never heard it," Griffith said. "The arguments made by opponents to try and stop this (lab) are not valid."That said, the new Stevens Pass location does not require nearly as much digging thanks to the pre-existing tunnel. It may indeed be a better spot, but what frustrates me the most is the Wallingford-esque smug satisfaction that Leavenworth residents must have had in feeling that they ran that project out of town.

James

Wed, 30 May 2007 11:24:28 -0800

Did Leavenworth object because of anxious, ill-informed concerns, or was it another variation on the "don't use construction equipment anywhere we can see it" attitude so familiar in this region? I couldn't tell from the Times article. If I lived in a town the size of Lead, I'd take to the streets to celebrate neutrinos, too -- not much else to do.