Comemnts from a Friend: As I have often said, reliance on government agencies and regulations is a losing proposition. Always was and always will be. See below:
Gene Addesso
VP & Acting President
Roanoke River Basin Association
(919) 414-4591
VP & Acting President
Roanoke River Basin Association
(919) 414-4591
Virginia Uranium Mining
and Milling
A Prospective on
Government Regulation Reliance
Considering the issue of the lifting of the ban on uranium mining and milling in Virginia, one must ponder the outcome if that was to occur. Obviously we would have to rely on the series of Federal and States regulations and enforcement agencies to protect the health and safety of the environment and people exposed.
Importantly then is the question of whether these measures can adequately do the job. During the hearings so far by the National Academy of Sciences studying Uranium Mining in Virginia we have heard testimony to the fact that there are substantial gaps in regulation and experience in this matter. (William Von Till, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Jim Weeks, Mine Safety and Health Administration, and Geoff Fettus, Natural Resources Defense Council, at the meeting of the Committee on Uranium Mining, Washington, D.C, Nov. 15-16 2010).
Even with proper regulations and enforcement in place by government, past history has shown the lack of ability to prevent serious acts of pollution and contamination to our waters. During the past decade for example, a citizen's organization (Friends of the Staunton River) uncovered industrial pollution in the form of PCB's and mercury in the river and flowing into Kerr Reservoir. It turned out the VA DEQ was aware of the problem but made no public announcement or release of fish consumption advisements until the Friends of the River group blew the whistle. The source of the pollution was identified as an industrial complex of a company long gone from the area and an advisement on the consumption of certain species of fish out of Kerr Lake still exists to this day. There are countless numbers of incidents such as this throughout the nation, whereby the damage is done before anyone realizes it and years after the polluting industry had left the area.
While it is true we can use permitting fees, bonding monies and fines to act as mitigation for these acts as well as funds for remedial activities, but in most instances the damage done cannot be resolved for many years.
What good are fines when the perpetrator merely pays them and goes on doing business as usual. Some of these companies budget for, and then merely write off the cost of fines as a cost of doing business then recovering the amounts through their pricing of product. For example, look at how many mine explosions have happened after the mining companies had been cited for multiple safety violations and fined!
In my view, I don't want more regulation and frankly, I don't want more government. What we need is behavior by Industry to put in place only processes that will not pollute, contaminate or otherwise cause the need for remedies and recovery. Quite frankly the price is too high for them. I ask, is that too much to ask for?
Read all at :
https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/u/0/?ui=2&ik=8c0bd0ee1b&view=att&th=13ab846757e501a8&attid=0.1&disp=vah&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P8AH0WhaxubnHAqSV5O8jg3&sadet=1351889627003&sads=UYCCFqBRykBjLBb_AU8h6JUhZ4k&sadssc=1
Examples of failed Regulations:
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N.C. neighbors aghast to learn drinking water contaminated for years
WAKE FOREST, N.C. -- A Wake Forest community is in an uproar after learning the state of North Carolina knew a resident’s water had been contaminated with toxic chemicals and failed to alert other residents for more than six years.
“It makes me feel horrible,” homeowner Michele Hamilton said of unknowingly giving the toxic water to her kids. “They’re the most important things to me.”
The EPA called families in the community this past summer, saying their water is contaminated with a cancer-causing chemical called trichloroethylene, or TCE, and to not drink, bathe or cook with the water.
At the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Charlotte Jesneck’s division took the case.
“It looked to be that the contamination was confined to that well,” Jesneck said.
So in 2005, DENR moved on.
Through a Freedom of Information Act, NBC-17 obtained 800 pages from DENR’s files. Inside those pages, NBC-17 found dozens of red flags, including a two-page summary sent from DENR staff to senior managers in 2008 saying, “There are other wells along Stony Hill Road that should be sampled to check their status.”
Also in 2008 was a DENR letter, where the department admitted “the extent of the contamination has not been defined.”
DENR admits those warning sat in their files for years because they were focused on “bigger issues.”
http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/28/14728166-nc-neighbors-aghast-to-learn-drinking-water-contaminated-for-years?chromedomain=usnews#star24
Toxic water contamination aboard U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune
Welcome to The Few, The Proud, The Forgotten.
The purpose of this site is to help provide information about the toxic water contamination aboard U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.
Please feel free to register, look around our site and ask questions. We invite you to visit our Discussion page. We have also recently completed a referenced time line of events for the first half of the toxic water contamination aboard Camp Lejeune. Please review this important document and compare it to prior “official” Marine Corps versions found on the page.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is currently studying the effects of toxic exposure upon former residents of Camp Lejeune. Two separate water distribution systems aboard Camp Lejeune were found to be contaminated, the Tarawa Terrace and Hadnot Point water distribution systems. ATSDR has completed the water modeling for the Tarawa Terrace water distribution system and has determined the system was contaminated from June 1957 until 1 March 1987. The ATSDR water modeling for the Hadnot Point water distribution system is underway but has not been completed. Therefore, the beginning date of the contamination has not been determined for any of those areas that were historically served by the Hadnot Point water distribution system...
The water provided by the Tarawa Terrace and Hadnot Point distribution systems was highly contaminated with various chemicals, including the VOCs (volatile organic compounds) known as PCE (Tetrachloroethylene aka Perchloroethylene), TCE (Trichloroethylene), DCE (Dichloroethylene), Vinyl Chloride and BTEX (Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, and Xylene).These chemicals are either known or suspected human carcinogens. Many Marines, Sailors, their families and loyal civilian employees have been affected by the contamination in various ways including, but not limited to: liver cancer, kidney cancer, breast cancer, bladder cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, cervical cancer, lung cancer, leukemia, non Hodgkins lymphoma, liver disease, miscarriages, birth defects (cleft palate, heart defects, Choanal atresia, neural tube defects, low birth weight, and small for gestational age),etc. Unfortunately, many of these families still have not been notified by the USMC of the danger from their exposure. In 1987 Camp Lejeune was recommended for listing as a Superfund site on the National Priorities List (NPL) by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Camp Lejeune was officially listed as a Superfund site in 1989.
http://www.tftptf.com/
Revealed: Texas officials covered up dangerously radioactive tap water for years
By Stephen C. Webster
Friday, November 12, 2010 12:21 EDT
Texas officials charged with protecting the environment and public health have for years made arbitrary subtractions to the measured levels of radiation delivered by water utilities across the state, according to a series of investigative reports out of Houston.
Those subtractions, based on the test results’ margin of error, made all the difference for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ): without the reduction, demonstrated levels of dangerous radiation would have been in excess of federal limits for years.
This was being done in direct contravention of an order by the US Environmental Protection Agency, which told state regulators in 2000 to stop subtracting the margin of error.
Those subtractions, based on the test results’ margin of error, made all the difference for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ): without the reduction, demonstrated levels of dangerous radiation would have been in excess of federal limits for years.
This was being done in direct contravention of an order by the US Environmental Protection Agency, which told state regulators in 2000 to stop subtracting the margin of error.
Confronted by reporter Mark Greenblatt, TCEQ staffer Linda Brookins claimed that the radiation was “natural” and people shouldn’t be concerned. She also refused to read on camera the EPA’s order to stop subtracting margins of error from radiation test results.
Raw Story
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/12/texas-tap-water-contaminated-radiation-independent-tests-find/
Friday, October 10, 2008
Water agency kept uranium contamination secret: Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Metropolitan Water District knew of radioactive contamination at Hayfield site for 8 years. Agency says problem is not 'show-stopper.'
The Orange County Register
Southern California's largest water agency kept a groundwater project on its books for eight years without disclosing to key officials or the public that the site is contaminated with uranium and other toxic chemicals, an Orange County Register investigation has found.
Documents and interviews show that the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which provides water to 18 million people, knew in 2000 about a "major stumbling block" with the proposed Hayfield Groundwater Storage Program.
Water tests found that uranium contamination at Hayfield averaged roughly 16 picocuries per liter, with a high of 35 picocuries per liter, documents from 2000 show. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's limit for uranium in drinking water is 20 picocuries per liter.
Water from the Colorado River, a major source of Metropolitan's water, generally has 4 picocuries of uranium per liter. The five largest community water agencies in Orange County report uranium levels of 1.9 to 9.4 picocuries per liter, on average.
Documents and interviews show that the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which provides water to 18 million people, knew in 2000 about a "major stumbling block" with the proposed Hayfield Groundwater Storage Program.
Water tests found that uranium contamination at Hayfield averaged roughly 16 picocuries per liter, with a high of 35 picocuries per liter, documents from 2000 show. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's limit for uranium in drinking water is 20 picocuries per liter.
Water from the Colorado River, a major source of Metropolitan's water, generally has 4 picocuries of uranium per liter. The five largest community water agencies in Orange County report uranium levels of 1.9 to 9.4 picocuries per liter, on average.
