Citizens will be involved with study that looks at options for waste
Citizen groups are hoping to be further ensured that a study funded by the Department of Energy (DOE) that looks at what to do with long-lived hazardous radioactive and chemical waste will be unbiased and objective through independent scientific review thanks to an agreement reached by the DOE and Citizen Action, a 16-member coalition advocating for clean up of a radioactive and chemical waste site known as the Mixed Waste Landfill at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL).
Jean Brocklebank of Living Rivers, and a Citizen Action coalition member, said: "We take Thomas Jefferson's admonition that we have not only rights, but responsibilities as citizens to be involved in our government's business."
The study, called a Corrective Measures Study (CMS), has been ordered by the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), and requires SNL to look at a full range of closure options for wastes disposed of at the dump over the course of 30-years as result of nuclear weapons development at SNL during the Cold War years.
Citizens have expressed concerns that the study conducted by SNL will reflect the DOE's preferred alternative for the waste which is to leave the long-lived waste buried as it is under plan called "accelerated clean up." Instead of actual clean up, the waste will be kept off-limits to the public by using signs, fences and other forms of land use restrictions, dubbed "stewardship," to prevent people from being exposed to toxic waste. DOE's stewardship program has been criticized by the National Academy of Sciences as likely to result in increased health risks to the public over the long-term. The landfill is currently located in one of Albuquerque's fastest growing urban areas over the city's sole source aquifer.
John Arthur, Manager for the Department of Energy Albuquerque Operations Office. U.S. Department of Energy, said due to his agency's contract responsibilities with Lockheed Martin his agency could not fund an independent CMS as requested by Citizen Action; however, he said he values the role of independent scientific peer review and will honor the request to fund an independent peer review of the study.
"This is a positive step, the first step in 3 years that shows the DOE is willing to work with the public on this issue," said Sue Dayton, a co-founder of Citizen Action. "I have a great deal of respect for Mr. Arthur in making this decision which is the right decision." |
