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Nuclear
Power & Weapons Waste In |
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If
our federal government has its way, radioactive materials will soon
find their way onto store shelves and into our homes and workplaces
with no warning or labeling. Radioactive waste from nuclear
power and weapons could be “recycled” into everyday household items
like toys, cookware, cars, furniture, medical equipment, buildings,
and roadways. Radioactive soils, concrete, asphalt, metal, piping,
plastic, wood, tools, equipment and more from nuclear power reactors
or weapons production could be ‘deregulated’ and sent to places
never intended to receive them. Trash dumps or burners would bury
or burn radioactive materials with household garbage like packaging
and food scraps. Metal, plastic and other recyclers would (probably
unknowingly) mix and melt radioactive materials with clean ones
to be used to make new products. Contaminated concrete and asphalt
could be crushed and used for roadbeds and building site preparation.
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BE SAFE: Prevent “Recycled” Radioactive Materials From Invisibly Poisoning Consumers |
BE SAFE's FOUR PRINCIPLES
1. HEED EARLY WARNING SIGNS
2. PUT SAFETY FIRST Government agencies, such as DOE and NRC, are already quietly releasing and recycling some radioactive materials into general commerce and regular garbage without public knowledge or meaningful record keeping. We must join forces to stop radioactive waste from entering the marketplace and environment where people would come into routine daily contact. We must put safety first and stop these misguided radiation “recycling” and deregulation proposals. 3. EXERCISE DEMOCRACY In 1992, in response to a national public outcry, Congress revoked similar policies that attempted to declare some nuclear waste “below regulatory concern (BRC).” Current government efforts are dressing up the rejected BRC proposal by applying the environmentally friendly term of “recycling.” We don’t buy it and our elected officials should not either. Government and industry must put public safety first by stopping the unnecessary production of radioactive wastes, and improving the methods of isolating waste that has already been created.
BE SAFE Platform is coordinated by the Center for Health, Environment & Justice. Contact us at CHEJ, P.O. Box 6806, Falls Church, VA 22040, 703-237-2249, or 518-732-4538, or visit www.besafenet.com |
4. CHOOSE THE SAFEST SOLUTIONS More Information. Contact Nuclear Resource & Information Service at www.nirs.org or email dianed@nirs.org for more information. Visit www.citizen.org/cmep. Join the Campaign to Stop Nuclear Waste Dispersal into the Marketplace and Unlicensed Dumps. Get petitions signed. Get commitments from manufacturers and recyclers not to take or use nuclear waste in their facilities. Email dianed@nirs.org. Act Locally. Contact your local officials and ask them to pass Resolutions to oppose “recycling” nuclear waste into consumer products and dumping in landfills and incinerators. Act Nationally. Your Letters Count: Write letters urging the federal government to halt any policy initiatives to “recycle” nuclear waste into consumer products.
BE SURE to send
copies to your elected officials Join
BE
SAFE. Your
Vote Counts. |
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References:
The New Scientist,
October, 1997 [NS]; Morris, M. Knorr, R. The Southeastern Massachusetts
Health Study 1978-1986, Report of the Mass. Dept. of Public
Health, Oct. 1990 [SMHS]; Gardner et al. “Results of Case-control
Study of Leukemia and Lymphoma Among Young People Near Sellafield
Nuclear Plant in West Cumbria,” BMJv. 300. Feb. 17, 1990 [BMJv];
Southwest Research and Information Center, “Uranium Legacy,”
The Workbook, v. 8, no. 6, Albuquerque, NM 1983 (SRIC].
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BE SAFE PlatformIn the 21st century, we envision a world in which our food, water and air are clean, and our children grow up healthy and thrive. Everyone needs a protected, safe community and workplace, and natural environment to enjoy. We can make this world vision a reality. The tools we bring to this work are prevention, safety, responsibility and democracy. Our goal is to prevent pollution and environmental destruction before it happens. We support this precautionary approach because it is preventive medicine for our environment and health. It makes sense to:
We choose a "better safe than sorry" approach motivated by caution and prevention. |
Platform Principles HEED EARLY WARNINGS PUT SAFETY FIRST EXERCISE DEMOCRACY CHOOSE THE SAFEST SOLUTION |
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Take precautionary action to
protect
our health from nuclear waste recycling. |