Deregulating Radiation: The NRC's Fatal Error

In May, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued new regulations that increased permissible levels of radiation exposure near "nuclear sites" in US communities.

"Today's NRC action allows deadly amounts of radiation to remain on sites of retired nuclear reactors and other contaminated facilities," said Bill Magavern, director of Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy Project. "In the Orwellian world of the NRC, the agency would declare a site 'clean' even if it had a radiation level that would kill one out of every 286 people exposed to it."

"The NRC, because of its coziness with the nuclear power industry, continues to treat radiation as a privileged pollutant," charged Mary Olson of the Nuclear Information & Resource Service [NIRS, 1424 16th St. NW, No. 404, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 328-0002, http://www.nirs.org].

In 1986, the NRC tried to minimize radiation monitoring by exempting nuclear operators for any radioactive pollution deemed "below regulatory concern." This attempt to deregulate nuclear poison caused a public outcry and, in 1992, Congress ordered the NRC to revoke the policy.

In 1993, however, the NRC and its industrial clients returned with a proposal for a new standard, the Enhanced Rulemaking on Residual Radioactivity (ERROR).

The proposed rule, Now under debate in Washington, the proposed rule would allow owners of contaminated facilities to abandon the sites even if the remaining radiation in "unrestricted" sites could expose people to as much as 25 millirems annually. (The NRC's own statistics indicate that one out of every 1,144 people exposed to 25 millirems over a lifetime will die.)

According to NIRS, "unrestricted" use includes "farming, homes, daycare centers and other uses - i.e., anything." There are thousands of these sites around the US.

The NRC also has failed to adopt standards for protecting groundwater from radioactive contamination, as urged by the EPA, which proposed an individual exposure level of only 15 millirems and a limit of 4 millirems per year in groundwater.

At "restricted" sites, meanwhile, radiation levels as high as 100-500 millirems would be permitted. These exposures, however, are in addition to normal "background" radiation. When background radiation is factored in, the 500-millirem exposure could kill one in every 57 people who receive lifetime doses.

According to NIRS' analysis, a "restricted" site emitting 500 millirems per year could comply with the NRC's new cleanup standards by "simply fencing in the area or planting obstructing bushes."

What You Can Do: Contact EPA Administrator Carol Browner, EPA, Washington, DC 20460, and urge action on protecting public health and upholding provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Contact your elected representatives [Capitol switchboard: (202) 234-3121] and urge them to resist corporate attempts to remove polluter liability from the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, the law that governs the Superfund program.