Under the plan, EPA would permit radioactive waste to be disposed of in landfills designed and permitted only for chemical waste, industrial waste and municipal garbage.
A coalition of environmental organizations, including the Nuclear Policy Research Institute (NPRI), the Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS), the Sierra Club, and Public Citizen, sent a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Leavitt warning that this action “could significantly harm the environment and public health.”
“The EPA’s proposal is to deregulate radioactive waste pure and simple,” said Diane D’Arrigo, nuclear waste project director at NIRS. “We are calling on Administrator Leavitt to urge him not to begin his term at the EPA by permitting nuclear power and weapons wastes to go to dumps not intended for radioactive material.”
EPA will be accepting public comments on the matter through March 17, 2004.