The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Staff is expected to submit a "Controlling the Disposition of Solid Materials" rulemaking package to the Commission by the end of March. The proposal, however, has nothing to do with control. Specificially, it would permit the dumping of low-level radioactive waste into regular landfills, as well as into recycled materials such as concrete and metal. Landfills are known to contaminate nearby soil and drinking water, and recycled materials like concrete and steel are used throughout our cities and suburbs.
In addition to misleadingly entitling its rulemaking, the NRC Staff is moving to present this rulemaking to the Commission without making the recommendation immediately public, and without scheduling a Commission meeting to hear from staff and key stakeholders.
Don't let the NRC proceed in this manner! This is a regulatory agency whose number one priority is the protection of public health! The release of low-level waste into our communities is dangerous and unacceptable, and decisions of this importance should not be done secretly! We urge you to write the NRC Commissioners and:
(1) Oppose any effort to revive the degregulation and release policy,
(2) Ask that the Commissioners hold a public session to hear from key stakeholders and the Staff before deciding how to vote on the latter's recommendation,
(3) Ask that the Staff proposal be publicly released in advance of that Commissioner's meeting so that the process is transparent and stakeholders can meaningfully respond as to why the NRC should not embark on this dangerous rulemaking.
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