Posting from Bay Area Nuclear Waste Coalition

["R. Russ" <rruss@stanford.edu>]

Following is an email I received from the Bay Area Nuclear Waste Coalition.
I'm not sure whether this meeting of the Nuclear Waste Advisory Group has
been mentioned here in RADSAFE but thought some folks - especially in the
bay area - might find it interesting. Note: opinions expressed below are not
necessarily my own nor do they reflect those of my employer..

Ray Russ
SLAC OHP Group

---- begin forwarded message -----------



Subject: Nuclear Waste Advisory Group to Meet in SF 3/23

Please Post Please Post Please Post Please Post Please Post Please Post
Please Post

IMPORTANT MEETING OF GOVERNOR'S ADVISORY GROUP ON NUCLEAR WASTE AT UC
EXTENSION (55 LAGUNA IN SF) ON THURSDAY, MARCH 23

COME AND TAKE PART IN THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD

Dear Friends and Colleagues --

Please attend the following meeting about nuclear waste containment in
California.  Many activists are taking part in these public meetings to
make sure that the proposal for a nuclear waste dump at Ward Valley will
not be revived by either the governor or the nuclear industry.  We also
need to make sure that the Advisory Group tasked by the governor to
recommend nuclear waste containment policies does not suggest another hole
in the ground designed to leak near some minority community.

NO MORE WARD VALLEY DUMPS!

On Thursday, March 23, the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Advisory Group
chaired by UC President Richard Atkinson will meet from 12 noon to 5:00 pm
at Richard Hall at the University of California Extension Campus located at
55 Laguna (cross street Waller) in San Francisco.  For more specific
directions call (310) 473-8168.

The public is invited to attend and, in fact, public scrutiny and
involvement in the Advisory Group process has influenced the Group to
consider more environmentally sustainable and socially just alternatives to
the nuclear power industries policies of dumping their wastes in shallow,
unlined trenches.  Nuclear waste policies of the past has resulted in the
contamination of the environment with serious repercussions for targeted
populations and future generations.

This meeting would be an excellent opportunity for classes on sociology,
environmental studies, conservation issues, environmental and public policy
to attend a decision-making process with far-reaching implications.

There will be a public comment period at the end of the meeting.

WE ask that the Advisory Group recommend:

* A moratorium on nuclear power generation and the production of long-lived
and highly dangerous wastes.
* An annual survey of LLRW generators in California since there is not
reliable information to date.
* All radioactive wastes should be reduced at their source.
* All radioactive wastes should be isolated from the biosphere for as long
as they remain a threat to public health.
* Short-lived wastes from hospitals, biotech, universities and industry
should be stored in highly-engineered facilities on-site of generation
until they decay to safe levels and that the generator retain liability for
the waste.
* Long-lived wastes from nuclear power plants be stored at the power plant
sites in interim highly-engineered storage facilities for 20 years at a
time while other more permanent solutions are explored.  Generators should
retain liability for the waste.
* No more dumping in landfills designed to leak.
* No more dumping on minority communities.
* All costs for radioactive waste containment should be the responsibility
of the generator, not the taxpayer.
* The public has a right to know and decide policies that affect their
health and well-being.

For more information call the Bay Area Nuclear Waste Coalition at (415)
752-8678 or (415) 868-2146 or San Francisco Bay Area Physicians for Social
Responsibility at (510) 845-8395.

To receive directions to the UC Extension Center or to send your comments
in writing call (310) 473-8168 or email: dwilson1@ucla.edu.

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