Radiation

70+ organizations tell EPA to make radiation standards comparable to standards for other pollutants (radiation standards currently are far less protective); slam EPA proposal to weaken them even further. Press release. Letter to EPA.

100+ organizations call on EPA to withdraw its dramatically weakened radiation standards.

EPA has just issued new Protective Action Guides (PAGs) for dealing with radioactive releases. The new PAGs are much worse than the extremely weak PAGs Bush tried to push out in the last days of that Administration which Obama pulled back. Although EPA is taking comments on these PAGs for 90 days, they are effective immediately.

EPA dramatically weakening radiation protection. News release from NIRS & Committee to Bridge the Gap.

NIRS, Committee to Bridge the Gap, California Federation of Scientists and Los Angeles Physicians for Social Responsibility provided more detailed comments to NCRP criticizing the conflicts of interest by the NCRP report authors and unjustified shifting of focus of the report from cleanup after a radioactive terrorist attack to allowing extremely high levels of radiation in more common radioactive release scenarios. Charts are provided showing allowable increases in radioactive contamination up to MILLIONS of times higher than currently permitted.

NIRS comments to NCRP emphasizing the increased risk radiation poses to females and the essential role female health has for the population.