Ward Valley Nuclear Dump
We fully concur with The Times’ editorial (“Message to Babbitt From the Mojave,” May 18) calling for an adjudicatory hearing to air all environmental and safety concerns regarding the proposed radioactive waste dump at Ward Valley. To proceed without a hearing would constitute a gross violation of the public trust.
Ample data suggest that the public can neither trust nor rely upon information supplied by U.S. Ecology, the proposed licensee and profiteer of the proposed waste facility. The radioactive waste policies of U.S. Ecology, formerly named Nuclear Engineering Co., are or have been under investigation in four states (Illinois, Kentucky, Nevada and North Carolina), where its activities have been curtailed or its licenses revoked. The state of Nebraska refuses to entertain U.S. Ecology’s application to operate a radioactive waste dump. The cleanup costs for U.S. Ecology-operated sites range from $100 million to $500 million.
A 1984 California Department of Health Services evaluation of U.S. Ecology concluded its operational procedures (including disposal techniques), design criteria, quality control and environmental monitoring were minimal.
With such a track record, would an individual citizen contract U.S. Ecology to perform work on his or her property? The answer is no. It is inconceivable that Gov. Pete Wilson would entrust the public safety to such an entity.
The Department of Interior may represent the last defense against an environmental disaster of inestimable proportions.
ROBERT C. WESLEY JR. MD
Co-President, Los Angeles Physicians
for Social Responsibility
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