by: Michael Zabrodsky

It is billed as "Bump The Dump."

Tomorrow night at 7, the 10,000 Maniacs are scheduled to play for the Concerned Citizens of Allegany County, at The McLane Center, Alfred University.

The show is a benefit dedicated to stop construction of a low-level nuclear waste dump site proposed for Allegany County.

Under federal Law, all states must have a place to store low-level radioactive waste by 1993. Five sites were chosen throughout New York by the state Low-Level Radioactive Waste Siting Commission in September.

The commission plans soil tests and other evaluations to help narrow down the number of sites to two or three by next spring.

The state panel said they hoped to start testing in Allegany County earlier this week, but failed because protesters were camping in the area to prevent state officials from doing the inspections.

State police filed trespassing charges Wednesday against members of a field team from the state commission.

Protest organizers said they were ready to block inspection of two other potential dump sites in Allegany County Thursday if the field team returned.

In nearby Cortland County, 100 miles east, 20 protesters were arrested on disorderly conduct charges when they refused to allow a state inspection team to leave one of two potential sites there.

According to 10,000 Maniacs member Steve Gustafson, "It just seems that when the federal government decided that each individual state had to deal with it's own low-level nuclear waste, it became a little closer to home - the fact that they're going to put this nuclear waste dump in 40 miles from us (Jamestown)."

Gustafson said the band found out about the proposed dump site while in Buffalo in September. Two women from Alfred University attended a concert and brought the news to their attention.

The band was asked to perform due to their liberal, political and environmental views and their roots in the southern tier. Songs such as Poison in the Well, The Big Parade, Please Forgive Us, and Hateful Hate demonstrate the band's concern for war, justice and a safe earth.

"We have done benefits before to raise money for the Boys Club and for our friend Billy Carpenter who was injured in a boating/swimming accident a couple of summers ago," the bassist said.

"We have donated money to the United Way and organizations like. that," Gustafson said. "We just thought it would be a good idea, maybe, to take it a little further and make people aware. I don't know if we will raise a lot of money for this. The organization involved is hoping we can, so they can use the money to pay legal fees.

"The real sad thing," he said, "is that we have any sort of nuclear waste that we have to deal with. Certainly through medical research, low-level nuclear waste happens - different kinds of therapy and things like that. If there were just that amount and just that little, I don't think it would be much of a problem. "

U.S. Rep. Amo Houghton, R-Corning, is pushing for a delay in the plan.

"There are several issues and concerns that remain unaddressed," Houghton said. "Specifically, the mishandled soil analysis across the state, the potential for seismic activity in the area, the improper assessment of bedrock conditions in the region and the vulnerability of the Genesee River aquifier.

Houghton said, "As a result, we are going to ask the Governor and the commission to delay a decision until what we perceive to be important questions are answered."

Gustafson agreed.

"Apparently there is a fault line that runs from Toronto (Ontario) through Lake Ontario through the middle of the state," Gustafson said. "People are concerned that any movement in the earth at that point could cause breakage and leakage. It could get into the streams and water table and poison people."

Gustafson said the site chosen happens to be on of the lowest populated and lowest income per capita in the state,

"A high percentage of this waste comes from New York City which is the most highly populated and probably the highest income per capita. Maybe Gov. Cuomo should put the waste in his back yard," Gustafson said.

Gustafson said he read in The New York Times that the state expects to send about 100,000 cubic feet of waste a year to the dump or the equivalent of four tractor-trailer loads a week.

He quoted the newspaper, "This waste includes, fluids, resins, machine parts, clothes, reactors, hospitals and companies licensed to handle radioactive materials. Some of this waste that goes to the dump will lose its contamination within months and some won't lose it's contamination for years."

"The residue for low-level radioactive waste lasts for 300 years - 15 generations," Houghton said. "That's half again as long as this country has been in existence. This is a critical condition decision and important issue for the citizens for Allegany County."