Re: Anti-Nuclear Visit

["Dr. Marvin Goldman" <mgoldman@ucdavis.edu>]

>Dear Radsafers:
>
>I just received a visit from Ohio Citizen Action.   They were here to tell
>me about the dangers associated with the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1997
>(H.R. 1270) and how nasty the stuff from the high level waste "manufacturing
>plants" was.  They proceeded to tell me that citizens would be liable for
>the transportation, that the manufacturers gave up responsibility once it
>was on the road.  When the person doing the talking started telling me about
>an unsafe place called Yucca Mountain where this material would sit on
>trucks in the parking lot, I couldn't take it anymore.  I asked where she
>got her information from, and she said, "As I told you, we are a citizens
>action group that has done a lot of things for the citizens and we've been
>around for over 20 years."  I told her that didn't answer the question about
>where the information came from and that I thought she was misinformed.  She
>said it came from their research group in Columbus and she was 125000% that
>they were accurate.  Anyway, after several minutes of discussion, I asked if
>she would be willing to look at documentation that was contradictory to some
>of her "facts."  She said of course she would, because she didn't want to
>back something that wasn't true, but reiterated that she was 125000% sure
>she was right.  I'm hoping some of you out there can provide me with some
>information that she might believe.  Specific questions I have are:
>
>Is it true that the waste is going to sit in trucks for an unspecified
>amount of time until their disposition is determined, and will it then be
>moved again?
>
>Their pamphlet says the shipping casks have never been physically tested,
>only computer simulations have been done.  It goes on to state that they are
>only predicted to survive an accident at less than 30 mph.  I know I've seen
>films of shipping casks on trains crashing into walls - are these different
>casks?
>
>It also states that Chernobyl is estimated to have caused over 140,000 fatal
>cancers and an equal number of nonfatal cancers.  I know this has been
>discussed on Radsafe before, but can someone give me a more reasonable
>estimate, with documentation?
>
>They say it would cost 7 times more to transport the high level waste to a
>temporary storage site than it would to store it until a permanent facility
>can be built.  Any thoughts on this?
>
>Any other information or thoughts would be appreciated.  Thanks in advance!
>
>Liz
> ------------------------
>| Elizabeth Brackett, CHP|
>|  Sr. Health Physicist  |
>|    MJW Corporation     |
>|    (330) 644-3591      |
>|  brackett@bright.net   |
> ------------------------

You ask for a major position paper.  Let some one else summarize the waste
story; your visitors are grossly misinformed; but that's no accident.

Here are some quickies.
Regarding Chernobyl, it is a medical fact that except for leukemia, almost
all solid cancers in adults require about a 10 year latency following
exposure before showing up, especially at low doses.  So if there are
Chernobyl-cancers, they aren't yet here. There is no convincing evidence
that the estimates of thousands of cancers in liquidators and local
populations is related to Chernobyl exposures.  There have been no true
epidemiology studies completed.  Caveat emptor!

Second, massive thyroid doses to downwind children and infants have already
induced about 1,500 thyroid cancers (which I estimate will ultimately
exceed 5,000), and I think 3 fatalities.  Leukemias which should have shown
up by now in the 2000+ liquidators who really got high doses are not being
reported as yet, but there may be a few.  Of the 160+ workers and rescue
personnel dosed to the extent that they manifested acute radiation
sickness, 30 died, 2 more were killed, and over the next 10 years, only 1
died of radiation injury (not cancer).

This is from my 26 trips there, and the procession of 10 year post
Chernobyl conferences last year in Europe.  I have a summary paper in press
with all the 30 references, and I'll get it to you if you send me your
address.
mgoldman@ucdavis.edu