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- Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive,alt.activism
- Path: sparky!uunet!wupost!news.miami.edu!mthvax.cs.miami.edu!mont!pencil.cs.missouri.edu!rich
- From: jcm@plex-1.ann-arbor.mi.us (John Martin)
- Subject: EPA WORKS TO WEAKEN THE CLEAN AIR ACT
- Message-ID: <1992Dec14.191400.8388@mont.cs.missouri.edu>
- Followup-To: alt.activism
- Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
- Keywords: EPA, NRC, non-reactor facilities
- Sender: news@mont.cs.missouri.edu
- Nntp-Posting-Host: pencil.cs.missouri.edu
- Organization: Plex-1, Michigan's Public Access Usenet Gateway (Ann Arbor).
- Distribution: us
- Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 19:14:00 GMT
- Approved: map@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
- Lines: 56
-
- The EPA is proposing to rescind the new 1990 Clean Air
- Act air emission standards for all NRC licensed non-reactor
- facilities on the grounds that the less stringent NRC
- regulations may provide an "ample margin of safety." These
- facilities include uranium fuel cycle plants, uranium mills,
- hospitals, medical research facilities, radiopharmaceutical
- manufacturers, laboratories, universities, and industrial
- facilities (over 6,000 facilities). Many who live near such
- non-reactor facilities are concerned that the NRC's
- traditional coddling of the nuclear industry and its poor
- past regard for public safety puts local communities at
- risk.
-
- Comments concerning the proposed rescinding of the rule
- must be received by the EPA on or before January 14, 1993.
- A public hearing concerning this proposal will be held in
- Washington, DC at 10 am on January 14, 1993 if a request is
- made. Contact the EPA, Fran Jonesi at 202-233-9229.
-
- The NESHAP rule (40 CFR Part 6, Subpart I) would limit
- radionuclide emissions to any member of the public in any
- given year to 10 millirems and to no more than 3 mrems from
- radioiodines. The current NRC standard is 100 mrem for the
- general public. The proposed rule would force facilities to
- use control systems, to maintain effluent monitoring data,
- and to report monthly if out of compliance. The new NESHAP
- rule gives citizens the right to take legal action to compel
- compliance.
-
- These NESHAP rules were originally written to include
- both nuclear reactors and NRC-licensed non-reactor
- facilities, but in 1991, the EPA suspended the NESHAP rules
- for reactors. Recently, however, the US Court of Appeals
- for the DC Circuit Court ruled the EPA's action to be
- illegal. Temporarily, at least, these reactor facilities
- must meet the stricter air standards of the new Clean Air
- Act rather than the less stringent NRC standards. The
- January hearing will decide if the EPA can do for local non-
- reactor facilities what they did for reactor facilities in
- 1991.
-
- For more information regarding this hearing, contact
- Dora St.Martin, Citizens for Safe Waste Disposal, Ann Arbor,
- Michigan. 313-996-0649.
-
- ======
- I'd really appreciate it if someone out there could upload
- this note to Econet. Please send me e-mail first, though,
- so that we can make sure that only a single copy winds up
- there.
-
- --
- --
- John Martin
- jcm@plex-1.ann-arbor.mi.us
-
-