Re: Manhattan Project Legacy

[RuthWeiner@AOL.COM]

In a message dated 6/5/03 5:33:19 AM Mountain Daylight Time, liptonw@dteenergy.com writes:


> So what you're saying is that it's ok to bury radioactive and hazardous waste without any environmental assessment and without any records,  and to then sell the land to an unsuspecting buyer without disclosing this; so long as there's no specific regulation saying you can't.  When the material is discovered, no problem, just tell them that, "... maybe there IS actually no health threat."  Did I overlook something? 



No.  That is not what I said.  To repeat:


There was no legislation regarding disposal of hazardous material, or the environmental impact of such disposition, before 1970.   I meant, of course, that such legislation and/or regulation could hardly have been anticipated in 1950.  


I also said, perhaps the buried material does not pose a threat.


"The dose makes the poison."  What is the activity of the buried material?  If it is relatively low activity, and low specific activity, well then, maybe there is no health threat (or a negligible threat).


"If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools..."  Rudyard Kipling, in "If"


Ruth

Ruth Weiner, Ph. D.

ruthweiner@aol.com