🚀 go-pugleaf

On Tue, 06 Jun 2000 21:26:45 GMT, none (Quarks like a duck) wrote:

>greige@bigpond.com (Greig Ebeling) wrote:
>
>>The Las Vegas Sun, is not a scientific reference.  The article
>>contains no verifiable information, it is nonsense.
>
>>On Sun, 04 Jun 2000 19:10:59 GMT, none (Quarks like a duck) wrote:
>
>>>greige@bigpond.com (Greig Ebeling) wrote:
>>>Radioactive water alarms Nye officials
>>>
>>>Today: March 02, 2000 at 11:15:52 PST
>>>
>>>BY MARY MANNING
>>>LAS VEGAS SUN
>>>>
>>>Nye County officials are taking a serious look at the
>>>radioactive>contamination discovered in a ground-water sample off the
>>>Nevada
>>>Test Site and expect to have more results in a week, County
>>>Manager Jerry McKnight said Wednesday.
>>>
>>>"Good science dictates that we verify these initial results,"
>>>said Les Bradshaw, manager of the Nye County Department of Natural
>>>Resources and Federal Facilities.
>>>>
>>>Nye officials revealed Wednesday that radiation in ground water
>>>has been found outside the Nevada Test Site in amounts 25 times
>>>higher than the federal drinking water standards.
>>>
>>>Increasing their concern is the type of radiation found. Two
>>>types of radioactive particles--alpha, which is found in several
>>>sources including plutonium, and beta, which causes skin>burns--make
>>>it harder to pinpoint the source of the nuclear>contamination.>
>>>
>>>If the radioactive source came from one of the 928 nuclear
>>>weapons experiments from Cold War activities there, it would be>the
>>>first time radiation has been found outside of the Test Site, which is
>>>located 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
>>>>
>>>The Department of Energy's monitoring program has never found
>>>radiation outside of the Rhode Island-sized nuclear proving
>>>grounds. In 1998 DOE scientists discovered plutonium that
>>>traveled on microscopic particles about a mile away from an
>>>underground nuclear bomb crater on the site.
>>>>
>>>Sens. Harry Reid and Richard Bryan, both D-Nev., called
>>>Wednesday's announcement another surprise. Reid said he would
>>>discuss the issue with Energy Secretary Bill Richardson today.
>>>
>>>Reid had planned to meet with Richardson about including Test
>>>Site workers in legislation that would compensate those harmed by
>>>exposure to radiation and toxic chemicals.
>>>>
>>>The senator said the radiation found in the ground water
>>>indicates why most Nevadans oppose a high-level nuclear
>>>repository at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
>>>>Yucca is the only site under consideration as a national dumping
>>>>ground for 77,000 tons of highly radioactive wastes from
>>>>commercial reactors and defense activities.
>>>>
>>>>"It's really important we accelerate the surveillance and
>>>>monitoring at the Test Site," Reid told the Sun. "And it shows
>>>>why we're opposed to Yucca Mountain. We need to know more."
>>>>
>>>>Bryan agreed with Reid.
>>>>
>>>>"This appears to be part of a growing pattern of radioactive
>>>>migration from the Test Site," Bryan said. "More importantly,
>>>>this discovery once again raises the credibility question for the
>>>>Department of Energy."
>>>
>>>
>
>It was verified by DOE

The article does not say that the DOE has even looked at the
preliminary data, let alone verified it.  It could be a crock, we have
only the Sun to advise us on the issue.

I look forward to the peer-reviewed study.


...Greig