A pharmaceutical lab that during the 80’s and 90’s was the
largest generator of low-level radioactive waste in
is finally undergoing a safety review. A
reporter from the OC register asked for the remediation plans that would be put
in place for this site last year but was denied the information due to
“homeland security” reasons. This in
itself sparked interest in the site and brought about the involvement of
several legislators. Although the
opposition states the exposure from the site has always been very low, “the
fact that they are having to dig up soil, not just clean up walls, tells [one
professor from UC Santa Cruz] that they leaked badly.” Lawmakers are trying to figure out whether
is shipping this waste to
the only state where it can be disposed of in municipal landfills, rather than
into the special facilities licensed by the NRC. They also are addressing the reasoning behind
refusing to release clean up plans, concerned that “security” is an excuse to
cover up improper waste disposal. The
review is planned to take a few months and costs $210,800. Hopefully this case will serve as an example
and deter others from hiding information that is so important to citizens.