Wednesday July 8, 11:19 am Eastern Time

Texas examiners reject proposed nuclear dump site

AUSTIN, Texas, July 8 (Reuters) - Two Texas hearing examiners have rejected a proposed low-level nuclear waste dump in far West Texas, saying the agency that will build the facility did not adequately address how the waste dump would affect the quality of life in the area.

Kerry Sullivan and Mike Rogan of the State Office of Administrative Hearings also said that the State Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Authority also did not adequately determine whether a fault under the proposed site poses an environmental hazard.

The examiners' report has been sent to the three-member Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission whose final decision is not expected soon. The commission staff already has recommended that a license be issued for the waste dump.

The waste dump is proposed to be built near Sierra Blanca, a town with a population of 700 and about 90 miles southeast of El Paso near the Rio Grande. Critics of the facility contend that Sierra Blanca was chosen because of its largely poor Hispanic population, but backers of the project have rejected that notion.

The waste dump is part of a Congressional effort to allow for low-level nuclear waste from Texas, Vermont and Maine to be buried at the site. The dump to be built on a ranch outside Sierra Blanca would hold radioactive waste from utilities, hospitals and universities.

Texas Gov. George Bush, who has tentatively backed the waste dump site, said he was ``troubled'' by the examiners' findings. He said he's always maintained that if the site is not proven to be safe, he would not support it.

The governor urged the licensing authorities to review the recommendation but make their decision based on sound science and the health and safety of Texans.