August 2, 2001

ACTION ALERT!!

Tell the Department of Energy that Radioactive Waste is One Thing That Should NOT Be "Recycled" !

Right now, the Department of Energy (DOE) is developing a plan - under heavy pressure from the nuclear industry - to unload vast quantities of their radioactive scrap metal into municipal landfills and to "recycle" it into everyday household products and industrial materials.

It is well established that radiation is a health hazard, and that radiation exposures should be avoided and minimized. This DOE program would allow radioactive metals to be recycled without any restrictions, which would mean that any metal products that you come into contact with could contain rad iation. In essence, this would make all of us the guinea pigs in an experiment to determine the long-term health effects of repeated and unavoidable exposures to radiation. Since the radioactive metal would not be labeled, monitored or tracked ("unrestricted release"), it is highly unlikely that we would ever really know the results of this tragic, unnecessary experiment.

The process that would authorize DOE facilities to release the radioactive metals begins with the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS). This process has not had a promising start. The DOE initially contracted with a company called Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) to perform the PEIS. This company's history is riddled with conflicts of interest on the issue of radioactive recycling. Public Citizen and other groups pointed out this problem to DOE officials, and the contract has since been dropped. Many problems remain with the proposed scope of the PEIS, a nd the process surrounding its approval.

We need to let the DOE know that the public won't stand for the release of radioactive materials into everyday commerce and the general environment. Instead of spending their time and taxpayer money on finding a new contractor to perform the PEIS, they should commit those resources to finding safer containment methods for ALL radioactive wastes, and stop production of further nuclear waste.

The Notice of Intent for the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, as published in the Federal Register, can be found at: http://tis.eh.doe.gov/nepa/bbs/ftpup/fedreg/36562.pdf

Public Citizen's comments on the scoping for the PEIS can be found at: http://www.citizen.org/cmep/radmetal/commentsDOEscope.htm

Write to the DOE, and say "No Thanks!" to Radioactive Metals Recycling!

Here are some points to emphasize in your letter or e-mail:

· The public has clearly spoken out against radioactive recycling before, when the Nuclear Regulatory Commission tried similar schemes in 1986 and 1990, under the guise of labeling waste as "below regulatory concern." Whatever the language, the public is against the release or recycling of radioa ctive waste. A clear ban on such projects should replace any PEIS. · All of the DOE's published policy alternatives allow radioactive waste to be placed in municipal landfills and falsely categorized as "non-radioactive" when in fact it still contains radiation created at DOE facilities. This sort of word play is unacceptable, and the waste should be tightly reg ulated and maintained at DOE facilities. · If the PEIS process does continue, it should address all types of nuclear waste at DOE facilities, including soil, concrete, plastic, wood, paper, chemicals, equipment, and facilities/buildings. These materials are being released and recycled now, and this must cease immediately. · Policy alternatives that allow these materials to be reused or recycled only within the DOE complex must guarantee that the radioactivity will be contained for its entire hazardous lifetime, not released or recycled secondarily after a period of internal use. · The timeframe for comments on this PEIS is much too short, and falls mostly in summer, when schedules are irregular and many citizens are on vacation. The comment period should be extended to at least December 10, 2001. · The public scoping meetings for the PEIS began too soon after the publication of the Notice of Intent for the PEIS, and are being held primarily in nuclear-friendly locations, such as an atomic energy museum in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Furthermore, materials pertaining to the hiring of SAIC, and i ts eventual successor, to perform the PEIS, should be available for public review. The public meetings should be postponed, and when held, should be in cities and venues where critics of this reckless plan are at least as numerous as proponents with vested interests. The meetings currently planned are a sham.

Send your letter to:

Kenneth G. Picha, Jr. Office of Technical Program Integration, EM-22 Attn: Metals Disposition PEIS Office of Environmental Management U.S. Department of Energy 1000 Independence Ave., SW Washington, DC 20585-0113

Or via fax to "Metals Disposition PEIS" at: 301-903-9770

Or via e-mail to: Metals.Disposition.PEIS@em.doe.gov