Serious Programmatic Failure (Deer Story)

[Kai Kaletsch <info@eic.nu>]

I will be digging up my garden in a few month, releasing vast quantities of

radon and causing both short lived and long lived radionuclides to enter the

food chain. In addition to the acute release of these radiotoxins, loosening

the soil will contribute to the chronic release of these same deadly

materials for months, if not years. This is a serious programmatic failure

on my part and, because the public demands zero impact of all human

activities, I should not be allowed to operate.



Public perception is important, but we should guide public perception

instead of simply reacting to it.



Kai



----- Original Message -----

From: "William V Lipton" <liptonw@DTEENERGY.COM>

To: "Vincent A King/KINGVA/CC01/INEEL/US" <KINGVA@INEL.GOV>

Cc: <radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu>

Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 1:14 PM

Subject: Re: Where the Deer and LNT-lope play?





> So what you're saying is that it's  acceptable to operate so as to produce

> contaminated soil, and then to let that contamination remain long enough

to

> enter the food chain.

>

> Of course it's acceptable, NOT!!!

>

> I hope that other potential environmental pathways, eg. reentrainment as

> airborne contamination, have been evaluated and remediated, as

appropriate.

>

> The opinions expressed are strictly mine.

> It's not about dose, it's about trust.

> Let's look at the real problem for a change.

>

> Bill Lipton

> liptonw@dteenergy.com

>

>

> Vincent A King/KINGVA/CC01/INEEL/US wrote:

>

> > Contaminated sites are fenced and posted to keep out people who can read

> > the signs.  Having animals fly/crawl/burrow/leap under, over, and around

> > these fences is not an indication of a "serious programmatic failure."

It

> > is inevitable.

> >

> > Furthermore, if these sites are posted and fenced because of surface

> > contamination, then detecting those materials in the environment

(including

> > the four-legged, antlered part of it) is not surprising, it is expected.

> > Those familiar with environmental science, which environmental activists

> > typically are NOT, know this.

> >

> > Failure to detect the transport to the environment (if it is at

measureable

> > levels) would be a programmatic failure.  That obviously did not occur

> > here.  Failure to model transport of environmental contaminants to human

> > exposure would be another, but I'll wager that such modeling is

extensively

> > documented for this site as well.  Failure to recognize anomalies and

> > investigate the cause of the variance would be yet another programmatic

> > failure (but again, that is not indicated in this case).

> >

> > I guess one could post armed guards to shoot the next deer that tries to

> > jump the fence, but that seems somewhat extreme, especially considering

> > that the radioactive material and concentration being discussed will

have

> > zero health impact on them.  Deer don't worry too much about

hypothetical,

> > one-in-a-million chances of cancer based on LNT models since they will

die

> > from more "natural" causes (like our "deerly departed", two year old

> > road-killed fawn) long before the latent period for postulated cancer

onset

> > is reached.  (Personally, I'd choose to stay inside the fence if I were

a

> > deer...I'd live longer!)

> >

> > In short, programs that detect and track movement of contaminants in the

> > environment and that are forthright about reporting their results do not

> > qualify, in my opinion, as experiencing "serious" failures.

> >

> > Vincent King,

> > Idaho Falls

> >

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