[ RadSafe ] Fwd: [New post] Obama lifts permissable levels of radiation in drinking water!

[Roger Helbig]

Is PEER fear mongering or really for people's health?   The fact that
Nuclear-News had to get the report from Global Research is in itself
somewhat telling.

Roger Helbig
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: nuclear-news <comment-reply at wordpress.com>
Date: Sat, Sep 27, 2014 at 3:36 AM
Subject: [New post] Obama lifts permissable levels of radiation in
drinking water!
To: rwhelbig at gmail.com


Christina MacPherson posted: "Obama Approves Raising Permissible
Levels of Nuclear Radiation in Drinking Water. Civilian Cancer Deaths
Expected to Skyrocket
http://www.globalresearch.ca/obama-approves-raising-permissible-levels-of-nuclear-radiation-in-drinking-water-civilian-cancer-de"
Respond to this post by replying above this line

New post on nuclear-news

Obama lifts permissable levels of radiation in drinking water!

by Christina MacPherson

Obama Approves Raising Permissible Levels of Nuclear Radiation in
Drinking Water. Civilian Cancer Deaths Expected to Skyrocket
http://www.globalresearch.ca/obama-approves-raising-permissible-levels-of-nuclear-radiation-in-drinking-water-civilian-cancer-deaths-expected-to-skyrocket/5331224

Rollback in Nuclear Radiation Cleanup By Global Research News,
September 19, 2014 by Public Employees for Environmental
Responsibility (PEER)

The White House has given final approval for dramatically raising
permissible radioactive levels in drinking water and soil following
"radiological incidents," such as nuclear power-plant accidents and
dirty bombs. The final version, slated for Federal Register
publication as soon as today, is a win for the nuclear industry which
seeks what its proponents call a "new normal" for radiation exposure
among the U.S population, according Public Employees for Environmental
Responsibility (PEER).

Issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, the radiation guides
(called Protective Action Guides or PAGs) allow cleanup many times
more lax than anything EPA has ever before accepted. These guides
govern evacuations, shelter-in-place orders, food restrictions and
other actions following a wide range of "radiological emergencies."
The Obama administration blocked a version of these PAGs from going
into effect during its first days in office. The version given
approval late last Friday is substantially similar to those proposed
under Bush but duck some of the most controversial aspects:

In soil, the PAGs allow long-term public exposure to radiation in
amounts as high as 2,000 millirems. This would, in effect, increase a
longstanding 1 in 10,000 person cancer rate to a rate of 1 in 23
persons exposed over a 30-year period;

In water, the PAGs punt on an exact new standard and EPA "continues to
seek input on this." But the thrust of the PAGs is to give on-site
authorities much greater "flexibility" in setting aside established
limits; and
Resolves an internal fight inside EPA between nuclear versus public
health specialists in favor of the former. The PAGs are the product of
Gina McCarthy, the assistant administrator for air and radiation whose
nomination to serve as EPA Administrator is taken up this week by the
Senate.
Despite the years-long internal fight, this is the first public
official display of these guides. This takes place as Japan grapples
with these same issues in the two years following its Fukushima
nuclear disaster.

"This is a public health policy only Dr. Strangelove could embrace. If
this typifies the environmental leadership we can expect from Ms.
McCarthy, then EPA is in for a long, dirty slog," stated PEER
Executive Director Jeff Ruch, noting that the EPA package lacks a
cogent rationale, is largely impenetrable and hinges on a series of
euphemistic "weasel words."

"No compelling justification is offered for increasing the cancer
deaths of Americans innocently exposed to corporate miscalculations
several hundred-fold."

Reportedly, the PAGs had been approved last fall but their publication
was held until after the presidential election. The rationale for
timing their release right before McCarthy's confirmation hearing is
unclear.

Since the PAGs guide agency decision-making and do not formally set
standards or repeal statutory requirements, such as the Safe Drinking
Water Act and Superfund, they will go into full effect following a
short public comment period. Nonetheless, the PAGs will likely
determine what actions take place on the ground in the days, weeks,
months and, in some cases, years following a radiological emergency.

Christina MacPherson | September 27, 2014 at 10:36 am | Categories:
radiation, Reference, USA | URL: http://wp.me/phgse-i4u

Comment    See all comments

Unsubscribe to no longer receive posts from nuclear-news.
Change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions.

Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser:
http://nuclear-news.net/2014/09/27/obama-lifts-permissable-levels-of-radiation-in-drinking-water/

Thanks for flying with WordPress.com