Mildly Radioactive Waste Goes To California Landfills

Date: December 5, 2002

Source: News Room

For at least a decade, the state of California has allowed mildly radioactive waste from old nuclear sites to go to recycling plants and city landfills not licensed to handle radioactive material of any type. But landfill owners, nearby residents, and elected officials were never notified of the state's policy, which is only now becoming public after a lawsuit and questions from concerned state lawmakers. Opponents are looking to determine where the state has allowed the waste--mostly soil, concrete and metal with residual traces of radiation--to be disposed of. But the California Department of Health Services counters that it did not keep detailed records on slightly radioactive trash because officials never considered it contaminated enough to pose a health hazard.

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