Re: Why nuclear is 'no-win' in the US

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@ix.netcom.com>]

Bill Lipton said the following:

> The problem is not the actual dose, but that the Laboratory allowed an 
> environmental release to occur for so long before taking any action.  We have 
> lost the public trust, and it will take a lot of work to start to get it back. 

> Before this situation can begin to improve, we must recognize the errors, and 
> find ways to correct the problems and prevent any recurrence. 

Bill is absolutely correct. The public, the regulators, the workers 
themselves, when they look at a situation, don't really care that the 
problem encountered didn't pose a serious, or even a moderate 
radiological event. The concern has to do with the fact that it 
occurred in the first place. The regulators will still cite a facility 
for the "potential to have caused" a release, an exposure that 
exceeds the regulatory limit, an abnormal situation, a transient, 
etc. This is what Bill was pointing out. The fact that it happens, 
and happens again is the real issue. In my opinion, too many of us 
take the course that if the results of the incident are minimal, no 
real action is necessary to prevent recurrence. This is a serious 
mistake.

Too many issues out there; the BNL environment, the fact that the 
Japanese Reprocessing facility had been leaking for 30 years, the 
Hanford site and its history of leaks, Rocky Flats, an environment 
where it seems that management is just not interested in fixing 
problems .. this is what the public sees.

We are our own worse enemy, and the public is reacting to our 
displayed insensitivity to what the real issues are. We tend to fix 
the symptons, and not worry about the root causes. Then we wonder why 
the same problems keep happening, over and over again... 

------------------
Sandy Perle
Technical Director
ICN Dosimetry Division
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Office: (800) 548-5100 x2306 
Fax:    (714) 668-3149
  
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