While we appreciate Old World Europe, we don't want its nuclear waste.

We urge our congressmen and senators to fight a move to bring tons of contaminated material from Italy to Utah.

EnergySolutions Inc. is seeking permission from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to import 20,000 tons of radioactive materials from Italy to a processing plant in Bear Creek, Tenn. There, the metal portion would be melted down to become shields for nuclear reactors. The rest -- stuff like paper, plastic or wood -- would be incinerated. Some of the radioactive ash would be shipped out to the EnergySolutions dump west of Salt Lake City.

This is low-level waste, meaning that in a mere 100 years it will be only minimally contaminated. But we don't want Utah to become be the nation's dumping ground, let alone the entire planet's.

EnergySolutions assures us that its staff closely inspects materials in Italy, and won't let anything too dangerous leave port. And it has already applied for an export license, to return anything that's too hot -- just in case, they say. It's merely a standard procedure. Nothing to see here, folks. Just move along.

We are in favor of expanding nuclear power as an energy source for America. But we have consistently argued that waste should be processed and stored at the site at which it was created. Cross-country -- now we're contemplating cross-globe -- shipping carries substantial risks. No precautions can guarantee safety on seas, rivers or highways.

Some environmentalists say that power plants make good spots for storage because they already have good security. Plus, a lot of low-level waste can be stored until it's less dangerous and can be thrown away.

"The reality is there aren't any good choices for radioactive waste right now, so they might as well leave it on site rather than contaminate new sites and transport it across the country, where there could be vehicle accidents," Michael Mariotte, executive director of Maryland-based Nuclear Information and Resource Services, said in a recent news report.

The dangers are compounded when waste must be shipped halfway around the world to New Orleans, then up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers and beyond, to Tennessee and eventually Utah.

So if waste generated in Utah should stay in Utah, we think it eminently fair to leave waste from Italian facilities in Italy.

It should be noted that the waste EnergySolutions typically handles is far less toxic than, say, nuclear fuel rods. It says that's all it's interested in. At the same time, the company has applied in the recent past for permits to acquire hotter waste. But even low-level waste poses a threat.

Utah should be protected now and forever from acquiring a reputation as a nuclear waste dump. Don't discount the damage a label can do. New Jersey's reputation for industrial pollution has stuck, despite the state's lovely sections. Ditto for Pittsburgh, a pleasant city of tree-lined streets that can't shake its image of a dirty steel town, which it hasn't been for decades. The same goes for other places that have been hung with an unappealing tag. All of Utah's natural beauty won't count for much if the state becomes a punch line for jokes about nuclear waste.

Utah should take steps now to head off this fate. It's slightly embarrassing that the congressmen turning rocks over in connection with this deal are Joe Barton, R-Texas, and Ed Whitfield, R-Ky. Yes, they're on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Utah's Washington delegation needs to join them and stand up against this Italian job before a single boatload of waste heads out to sea.

Do you agree?