Posted on 09/26/2002 6:36:41 AM PDT by boris
Celebrities back ban on nuke waste
By Dana Bartholomew
Staff Writer
Music diva Barbra Streisand and a host of Hollywood stars have written letters strongly urging Gov. Gray Davis to sign a bill that would ban radioactive waste from San Fernando Valley and other urban dumps and recycling centers.
At least 16 celebrities endorsed letters encouraging the governor to sign Senate Bill 1970, a measure outlawing further dumping of nuclear waste at Sunshine Canyon, Calabasas, Bradley and other landfills. A spokesman for the governor said Davis has not yet taken a position on the bill and will either sign or veto it by the midnight Monday deadline.
"The possibility of exposing humans to radioactive waste through recycled materials is too great a risk to take with the public's health,' actor-director Rob Reiner of "All in the Family" fame said in a letter to the governor posted late Wednesday.
In a separate letter faxed to Davis on Monday, Streisand said: "Common sense tells us that radioactive waste must always be isolated from human surroundings and contact. I'm writing you to indicate my strong support for this bill."
Actors Robert Redford and Martin Sheen were also among 14 celebrities to send a letter to Davis on Friday urging approval of the measure.
The bill, known as the Radiation Safety Act of 2002, follows disclosure that low-level nuclear waste was dumped into nearby landfills or recycled into scrap that the celebrities said could be converted to spoons, zippers and children's strollers.
The waste included radioactive soil and debris from Rocketdyne's Santa Susana Field Laboratory in the hills west of Chatsworth at levels estimated by the U.S. Department of Energy to be the radioactive equivalent of two chest X-rays.
Lawmakers and anti-nuclear activists accuse the state Department of Health Services of deregulating the disposal of low-level radioactive waste by allowing the dumping of such contaminated materials in municipal landfills.
The deregulation was struck down by a Superior Court judge in April.
Rocketdyne officials maintain that current laws are adequate to safeguard the health of California residents.
"We're opposed to this bill,' said Dan Beck, spokesman for Rocketdyne Propulsion & Power, a division of the Boeing Co., in Canoga Park.
"It would have a tremendous impact to all the users of radioactive materials in California, including hospitals, universities and laboratories, as well as those engaged in radioactive cleanup.
"We believe current laws do a good job in protecting public health and in keeping manageable levels of radioactivity out of landfills," he said.
SB 1970, written by state Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Rosemead, would require the disposal of radioactive waste in facilities licensed and designed for radioactive refuse, thereby prohibiting their disposal into California municipal and hazardous waste dumps.
The bill would also bar the recycling of radioactive metals into any consumer products.
The letter signed by the 14 celebrities -- including actors Ed Begley Jr. ("St. Elsewhere') and Mike Farrell ("Providence') and comedian Howie Mandel -- urges Davis to sign SB 1970, stating "a veto of this bill would be unacceptable."
Also signing the letter are husband-wife actors Susan Clark and Alex Karras of the '70s sitcom "Webster," Academy Award-winning producer Marshall Herskovitz ("Traffic") and director-screenwriter David Zucker.
Musicians Jackson Browne, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Bonnie Raitt and Don Henley also attached their names to the list.
"Municipal landfills are designed for household garbage, not radioactive waste," said the letter. "Municipal landfills are for rotting cabbages, not plutonium from reactors.
"Spoons and children's braces shouldn't be made of radioactively contaminated reactor parts. Kids should be exposed to learning in their classrooms, not radiation."
Anti-nuclear activists said campaign contributions by Boeing and nuclear plant operators Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric could influence the governor's decision, an allegation the Governor's Office and Boeing officials adamantly denied.
"You would think it was a no-brainer for the governor to sign this bill,' said Dan Hirsch, president of the Committee to Bridge the Gap, which sued the state over the disposal of radioactive waste into urban landfills. "Radioactive waste is carcinogenic and should only be disposed in places designed and licensed for radioactive waste."
Sir:
How good it is to see top nuclear physicists such as Ed Begley, Jr., Howie Mandel, Bonnie Rait, Martin Sheen, and Rob Reiner speak out to protect us from Evil Nuclear Waste.
Especially heartening is that Dr. Robert Redford, the Nobel Laureate in Nuclear Physics, has joined the crusade. This, along with Professor Barbara Streisand's involvement, will certainly help citizens from worrying about stuff that's atomic.
We'll all sleep better at night, knowing that Graham Nash and David Zucker are using their expertise to protect us from radiation.
--Boris
Maybe the can next outlaw background radiation, cosmic rays, UV and radon!! Of course, this will require the elimination of the planet, sun and outer space.
I would argue that having a bunch of know-nothings support this bill will do it more damage than good.
I'm probably paraphrasing here, but allow me to quote that noted philosopher, P.T. Barnum:
Nobody ever went broke underestimating the American public.
To which TV executives and marketing consultants across the country say, "Amen".
I thought that was Mencken.
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