Re: Anti-WIPP article lacks critical thinking

[Susan Gawarecki <loc@icx.net>]

Polly,

The Manhattan Project of the 1940s was essentially the beginning of
applied nuclear physics.  In a war-time situation, no one was thinking of
the long-term effects of disposing of radioactive wastes into pits,
trenches, impoundments, and streams.  Our hindsight of the situation is
certainly much clearer.  I am as appalled as anyone by the contamination
at the various DOE sites but the past can't be undone.  We can only make
the best possible decisions now, given our budgetary and technical
resources.

You speak of "containment in place" and certainly we are facing a great
deal of that, due to economic constraints alone.  But there is a large
quantity of TRU waste and high-activity low-level waste that is
inappropriate for disposal in Tennessee's climate (55 inches of rain a
year), hydrogeologic setting (groundwater within several feet of the
surface), and proximity to population centers.

I, too, would like to see more Defense Program dollars reprogrammed for
clean-up.  I'm appreciative, though, of the steps that DOE has taken to
date to reduce its weapons stockpile, eliminate underground nuclear
testing, begin disposing of excess special nuclear materials, and assist
our former enemies in abating the threat from their own nuclear arsenals.
How about applauding progress when it occurs, instead of continuing
unrelenting criticism?

Knowing many of the Environmental Management program people in Oak Ridge,
I can also attest to their commitment to properly remediate the
contamination.  While they are not the ones who made the mess, they suffer
the criticism for not being able to accomplish their work due to factors
beyond their control--low budgets, bureaucratic delays, lack of support
from Headquarters, political agendas, and in some cases obstructionism by
state and federal regulators.

I'm glad that the CPEO list is available for a thoughtful exchange of
ideas on this subject--the country needs to come to a consensus regarding
how to appropriately clean up these highly contaminated sites.

--Susan Gawarecki

==================================================
Susan L. Gawarecki, Ph.D., Executive Director
Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee, Inc.
136 South Illinois Avenue, Suite 208
Oak Ridge, Tennessee  37830
Phone (423) 483-1333; Fax (423) 482-6572; E-mail loc@icx.net
VISIT OUR UPDATED WEB SITE:  http://www.local-oversight.org
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