EPA has quietly proposed to raise the allowable levels of radioactivity in drinking water following a nuclear emergency to hundreds of times their current limits. The Safe Drinking Water Act establishes Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL’s) for specific radionuclides. But now EPA proposes allowing people to drink water with concentrations of radioactivity at vastly higher levels.
EPA has proposed these new drinking water standards for its Protective Action Guides (PAGs), which would apply to any release for which a protective action might be required. Under the proposal, no actions to protect the public would be taken even if radioactivity in drinking water were dozens or hundreds of times higher than Safe Drinking Water Act levels. The drinking water PAGs would not be for the immediate phase of an emergency, but for the intermediate phase–after the release had stabilized–and lasting up to several years.
Look no further than the current water crisis in Flint, Michigan to understand concern that the EPA will not act to protect public health in an emergency. In this case, the EPA is attempting to ensure that it would not have to act decisively to protect public health!
Act below to demand that the Office of Management and Budget reject this ridiculous proposal and that EPA withdraw it from consideration!
There is no specific deadline for this action, however it is believed that OMB intends to act quickly on it, so please take action now, and please spread the word to your friends and colleagues. Please use the icons above to share this action page before sending your letter. As always, we encourage you to edit the sample letter to highlight your own concerns.