Why we may each need a geiger counter in the near future

January 31, 2003

Below is from Jim Hightower, the radio commentator.

Alobar

Thursday, January 30, 2003

" 1001 USES FOR NUCLEAR WASTE "

If you've got lemons, make lemonade, right?

It's good to know that this kind of can-do, entrepreneurial thinking

has risen to the top ranks of government and industry. As recently

reported by Mother Jones magazine, the heavy thinkers at East

Tennessee Technology Park realized that the lemons on their sprawling

facility would make some mighty zesty lemonade, so they've quietly

begun the process to start squeezing and selling their product.

They have to be quiet about it because instead of lemons, what they

actually have is radioactive scrap metal. This " technology park " used

to go by another name: The Oak Ridge nuclear weapons facility. It

enriched uranium for America's nuclear bombs, and now it has tons of

contaminated metal on its grounds.

What to do with this radioactive waste? Until now, regulators have

required the corporate operators of Oak Ridge and other nuclear

facilities to dispose of it. But, our industry-friendly Bush

administration has come up with the bright idea of turning tons of

this stuff into a moneymaker. How? By selling what they call

" slightly-radioactive " scrap metal to recyclers who can then resell

it to manufacturers of consumer products.

But wait . . . doesn't this mean that things like baby strollers,

frying pans, bicycles, La-Z-Boys, jewelry, and whatnot could contain

radioactive material? Yes. Well, gosh, say those pushing this scheme,

that's correct, but -- HA,HA -- you can trust us because we're

rewriting the rules to declare that low levels of irradiated metals

are " safe. "

Well, are they? No. Scientists say that any dose of radiation, no

matter how small, is a risk to public health. To keep you from

worrying, however, the Bushites have a simple plan: They won't

require any labeling of products made from recycled nuclear metals.

Out of sight, out of mind!

This is Jim Hightower saying . . . If they strike you as being out of

their minds, call, Public Citizen: 202-588-1000.

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