Nation IN BRIEF : NEW MEXICO : Los Alamos Sued in Radiation Exposure

Neighbors of the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, charging that they are being exposed to unchecked releases of radiation, sued the Energy Department facility for failure to comply with the Clean Air Act. The challenge, brought by Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety, is widely seen as a test of the federal government’s promise to open the operations of the nation’s nuclear weapons complex to public scrutiny and bring the Energy Department’s facilities into compliance with national environmental standards. The lab, managed by the University of California Board of Regents, could face fines as high as $4 million a day if a federal judge in New Mexico rules in favor of the citizens’ group. Santa Fe attorney Carol Oppenheimer, who filed the suit, said that citizens living near the facility have been concerned since a 1992 audit by the Environmental Protection Agency found that the lab had released more radioactivity into the surrounding area than the allowable limit.