Re: Closing of Brookhaven Reactor

["Schroeder, Gary L" <schroede@bnl.gov>]

Jack Bell said:

<<Of course I don't have the info that Richardson has, but based on his
apparent "shoot from the hip" approach to Paducah (he apparently made
the decision to compensate workers before a study had been done to
determine whether there was any basis for compensation), this impresses
me as another political decision.  I wonder if the retro-thinking that
has resulted in the down playing of the teaching of evolution has
started a general retreat and capitulation to the "perception is all"
forces!>>

As far as "perception is all" goes, I've included an excerpt from BNL
Director Jack Marburger's message to Laboratory employees regarding the HFBR
decision.  I think he sums it up quite well:

[snip]
Was the decision political?  Yes and no.  Politics played a role in the
first place when our federal legislators decided to oppose restart.  It
played a role when their colleagues decided to stand aside and let it
happen.  But DOE's failure to release a draft EIS that could lead the public
discourse in the right direction was critical.  Like Ed Lowe [a radio show
host], most people had only skimmed the news reports.  They saw the HFBR as
a threat to public health, and their minds would not be changed absent a
clear analysis by a credible third party.  The EIS was the only thing that
came close, and it might have provided the basis for an informed discussion.
Would it have been enough to encourage our Congressman's colleagues to deny
him the opportunity to prevent restart?  I do not know.  But last Monday's
decision closed the issue.
[snip]

Gary Schroeder
Environmental Services Division
Brookhaven National Laboratory
schroede@bnl.gov 
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