Ward Valley

So now GOP Sen. Frank Murkowski from faraway Alaska has gotten into the action over the proposed Ward Valley Radioactive Waste Dump (July 16). His expressed concern about present storage of radioactive waste “at various inappropriate sites around California” stems either from his ignorance or his disingenuousness. There are existing dumps to which such waste can be shipped.

I could point out a number of sites where such a dump could be established in Alaska. I would suggest that he could pick one such site within 20 miles of the Yukon River. That way we Southern Californians wouldn’t have to worry about our precious Colorado River water supply being jeopardized.

We need to heed the dangerous findings of the Congressional Research Service report. Nuclear reactor waste will include plutonium which has a half-life of some 20,000 years. Do we really want to take the risk of that poison getting into our water supply?

S. DELL SCOTT

Encino

Our physicians’ organization fears a public health disaster if Gov. Pete Wilson successfully sites a radioactive waste facility at Ward Valley. The dump will bury dangerous nuclear power plant waste, and will not, as Wilson misinforms, be primarily a repository for contaminated medical gloves and booties. Nuclear reactor operators and designers, according to a congressional study, will send 90% of the radioactive waste projected to go to the facility over its 30-year life. Medical institutions will account for less than 1% of the radioactive load.

Located 19 miles from the Colorado River, the source of drinking water for millions of Southern Californians, the Ward Valley dump could well cause additional cancers, leukemias and reproductive health problems. It is our medical opinion that prevention--stopping this ill-conceived project--is the best way to keep California healthy.

JONATHAN PARFREY

Exec. Dir., Physicians for