BACKGROUND and
UPDATE: Radioactive Waste Dispersal into Consumer Goods and Raw Materials
Radioactive
wastes from the nuclear power and
nuclear weapons are being released into the general materials recycling stream
and used to make everyday household items, building materials, and more. There
is no limit on what can nuclear waste can go into—frying pans, belt buckles,
dental braces, hip replacement joints, tableware, toys, cosmetics, gardening
soil, bedsprings, seats, furniture, cars, building supplies, jewelry,
basements, buildings, playgrounds...
Rather
than prohibiting and preventing nuclear waste from getting into the marketplace
and daily-use items, ‘standards’ are being developed to dramatically increase
and legalize the amount of radioactivity
dispersed into the marketplace. The US Department of Energy (DOE), US Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC), US Department of Transportation (DOT), US Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
(TDEC), California Department of Health Services, the United Nations
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), European Commission & Euratom (European
atomic energy agency) and other nuclear nations’ governments and industries are
actively promoting radioactive “recycling” or dispersal.
The
materials being dispersed include radioactive metals, concrete, plastics, wood,
asphalt, soils, equipment, and more from
nuclear power and weapons fuel chain facilities. Once these materials enter the general recycling stream they are no longer
traceable to their sources. In the absence of sophisticated, expensive
detection equipment, the public will have no way of knowing which items may be
contaminated. Manufacturers and workers will be unaware if the materials with
which they are working are radioactively contaminated.
No Safe Dose and Prohibiting Contamination vs.
“Acceptable” Legal Dose
The
potential impact on public health is enormous because there is no safe
level of exposure to ionizing radiation.
Low-level radiation damages tissues, cells, DNA and other vital molecules,
causing programmed cell death (apoptosis), genetic mutations, cancers,
leukemia, birth defects, and reproductive, immune and endocrine system
disorders. Long-term exposures to low levels of ionizing radiation can be more
dangerous than short exposures to high levels. The practice of releasing and dispersing
radioactively contaminated materials in general commerce will result in random
poisoning.
The
regulatory and Congressional efforts, unfortunately, are now moving to set
legal contamination standards rather than prohibiting release of contaminated
materials. Your Congress-members and elected officials at every level need to
hear from you, now.
Government
agencies are legalizing dispersal of radioactive materials by setting “acceptable”
levels of exposure, which cannot be verified or enforced. Even if there was a
safe or legal level of radiation exposure, would you trust the DOE or other
government agency or the nuclear industry to release only as much contamination
as would lead to that dose?
In
1992, the US Congress revoked NRC policies that declared some radiation
exposures “below regulatory concern.” Current government efforts are dressing
up the rejected “below regulatory concern” policy by applying the environmentally
friendly sounding term “recycling.”
DOT is sneaking in radioactive transport deregulation
when greater control is needed.
The US Department of Transportation in 2001, published its final, updated rule on international
radioactive transport, but is waiting to adopt the section that would exempt
various amounts of every radioactive isotope from transport regulation until a
final decision is made for US domestic transport rules. From 2002 to 2003, the US DOT and US NRC
are in the process of adopting the same international exemptions for all
domestic nuclear materials transportation. Hundreds of radionuclides including
plutonium, strontium and cobalt would no longer require regulatory control
during transport if shippers claim exempt levels.
The upshot is that, unless public opposition is strong, DOT and NRC will stop regulating
nuclear transport into, out of, through and within the
Previous uniform international nuclear transport
regulations that require labeling and regulation of radioactive materials are
being changed around the world. The US and EURATOM are leading the way to allow
deregulated radioactive waste to move through commerce unimpeded, unregulated and
without public knowledge. Ironically, this reduction in radioactive transport
regulations is being approved at the very same time that governments claim they
want to keep better controls on nuclear materials to prevent dirty bombs. Won’t
it be harder to detect dirty bomb materials is all sorts of radioactive
materials are being routinely shipped unlabeled?
Internationally, the IAEA, through its affiliation
with the United Nations and its transport organizations (International Maritime
Organization and International Civil Aeronautics Organization), is working to
get all UN member nations to adopt the industry/Euratom/IAEA- developed
transport recommendations (referred to as TS-R-1 or ST-1), which will open the
doors between nations for international commerce in contaminated materials and
consumer goods. If the exemption tables in the IAEA recommendations are adopted
internationally, it will be even harder to prevent the growing spread of
contaminated household items and raw materials.
DOE is releasing contaminated materials other than some
metals, banned from release until after an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS). Draft EIS expected early 2003.
Although the Department of Energy (DOE) quietly
continues to release and ‘recycle’ some radioactive materials into general
commerce, there has been a halt, since 2000, on the release of some potentially
radioactive metal. An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is being carried out
by DOE’s Environmental Management Office to review some aspects of the DOE
radioactive "release" and "recycling" policy. DOE has still
not answered important questions about the conflict of interest and
predetermined outcome of the EIS. DOE wants the scope of the EIS to cover only
surface contaminated radioactive metal that is now in designated radiological
control areas, but the public is calling for a full review of all potentially
contaminated materials and wastes, not just metal in certain areas. The DOE’s
internal orders (5400.5) allow radioactive materials, including metals, to be
released into regular garbage or recycled into commerce without public
knowledge and/or meaningful record-keeping.
DOE has a "Center for Excellence" in
radioactive recycling based in and funded through its
NRC and Agreement States allow some radioactive waste
out now, and are working to legalize the routine with new “standards,” as well
as through individual exemptions, rulemakings, and license changes.
The NRC currently allows some radioactively
contaminated materials to be released, reused, “recycled,” or otherwise treated
as if they were not radioactive through provisions in licenses and case-by-case
evaluations.
States, like
NRC has
at least five efforts underway to legalize radioactive deregulation including:
1) NRC
is “scoping” regulations to legalize the “release” (they say “control”) of
radioactive materials. (
2) changes
in decommissioning requirements allowing “cleaned” sites to have more residual
contamination and give doses similar to operating reactors;
3)
reducing the “significance determination” for licensees when nuclear materials
are found offsite of reactors and outside of radiation control areas on reactor
sites (NRC meets regularly with Nuclear Energy Institute to make
industry-requested changes.[1]);
4) along
with the US Department of Transportation, NRC is relaxing transportation
regulations –exempting various levels of every radionuclide from regulation in
transit. (Final rule is expected to be approved by July 2003[2]).
5) adopting
highly technical and expensive procedures for identifying what is considered
radioactively contaminated and putting the burden of proof on the public.
Actions:
Get
Petitions signed and Resolutions passed to prohibit dispersal of radioactive
waste into daily commerce in the locally, regionally, nationally and
internationally.
Work
to pass state laws to protect residents and to reign in “regulators” who are
anxious to promote the nuclear industry agenda or adopt international and
federal provisions that do so.
Write
letters and articles for newspapers, newsletters, and to decision-makers at
every level.
Contacts:
►For
the greatest impact, your local, state and federal elected officials need to
hear from you!
►US
Representative ______, US House of
Representatives,
►both
Congressional
switchboard: 202-224-3121 and 202-225-3121.
(Calls
& faxes are better than mailing to Congress these days.)
►Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta, US Dept of
Transportation, 400 Seventh St. SW, Washington, DC 20590; Fax 202-366-7202; norman.mineta@ost.dot.gov
►Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham, US
Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC, 20585; Fax:
202-586-4403; The.Secretary@hq.doe.gov
►Chair, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
[1] NRC
meetings at
[2] See NIRS’ and multi-groups’ Transportation comments to DOT and NRC on NIRS website www.nirs.org.