From Heal Utah;

"There is little doubt that arrival of railroad cars packed with depleted uranium (DU) to EnergySolutions has been a blow to the public interest. But the 5,000 drums from Savannah River only represent the tip of the iceberg. An additional 700,000 tons of DU at Department of Energy sites will also soon require a disposal path.

Now is the opportune time for all of us to weigh in and to help shape the regulations that would ensure better protections from the rest of the country's enourmous stockpile of DU.

OUR REGULATORS HAVE A PROPOSED A NEW RULE WHICH WOULD PUT INTO PLACE TOUGH NEW STANDARDS BEFORE ANY MORE DU COULD BE BURIED IN UTAH. A HEARING TO TAKE COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC HAS BEEN SCHEDULED. PLEASE PLAN ON ATTENDING TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT!

WHAT: Public Hearing on a proposed rule surrounding depleted uranium

disposal.

WHEN: Tuesday, January 26th, 6pm

WHERE: Utah Department of Environmental Quality, 168 North 1950,

Room 101 in Building #2, Salt Lake City.



_Everyone who attends will receive a "No DU" button. _



If you would like to make a comment, we recommend that it be focused specifically on the depleted uranium issue and in support of the proposed rule. We suggest encouraging the Board to adopt additional and thorough safeguards. Please bring a written copy that can be submitted. A sample statement could read:

_"As a citizen of Utah, I firmly believe that our state should work

to protect future generations from radiological exposure and contamination. I therefore stand behind and support the Board's course of action to devise a new rule to ensure that no depleted uranium

comes to our state in advance of the completion of thorough public health studies and performance assessments. A new rule should also take into account when levels of peak dosage occur as well as likely geological processes such as flooding and erosion." _

If you cannot comment in person, please consider sending in a written statement: These can be addressed to:

Utah Department of Environmental Quality

Division of Radiation Control

Room 212, Airport East Business Building (Bldg #2)

168 North 1950 West.

Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-4850

online contacts;

http://www.deq.utah.gov/

http://www.deq.utah.gov/What_You_Can_Do_/index.htm

http://www.radiationcontrol.utah.gov/DRC_staff.htm



Radiation Control Administration;

Dane Finerfrock

Director

Phone: 801-536-4257

Email: dfinerfrock [at] utah.gov

Shaun Buttars

Records Manager

Phone: 801-536-4184

Email: sjbuttars [at] utah.gov

Brent Christensen

Support Services Coordinator

Phone: 801-536-4498

Email: bcchristensen [at] utah.gov

Ellen Lund

Accounting Technician

Phone: 801-536-4253

Email: emlund [at] utah.gov

Yolanda Necochea

Executive Secretary

Phone: 801-536-4250

Email: ynecochea [at] utah.gov

Sonja Robinson

Secretary

Phone: 801-536-4252

Email: sdrobinson [at] utah.gov







Thanks for your continued involvement and vigilance on behalf of Utah's interests! With your help, we are succeeding in working with our regulators in charting a new course; one more protective of the health and safety of Utahns, for generations to come."

Sincerely,

Eric Spreng

Community Outreach Director

HEAL Utah

(801) 355-5055

eric [at] healutah.org







***More on depleted uranium: EnergySolutions has a contract with the Dept. of Energy to dispose of nearly 15,000 drums of concentrated depleted uranium. The first of three shipments arrived in December.

This waste is leftover from reprocessed spent fuels rods when the plutonium was extracted for nuclear bomb production. This waste will continue to grow hotter and hotter over thousands of years as it

decays into more dangerous isotopes. An additional 700,000 tons of depleted uranium from the uranium enrichment process is currently awating conversion in to a more stable form before it will need to be

disposed of. The Utah State Radiation Control Board is moving in the right direction by writing new rules requiring safety analysis and modeling before allowing DU disposal in the state. However, Utah

currently has no rules covering a unique hazardous waste stream such as DU and Utah is vulnerable in the meantime as the most recent shipment attests.

-----------------

HEAL Utah

68 S. Main St., Suite 400

Salt Lake City, UT 84101



Please visit us online at;

http://www.healutah.org

Links:

------

[1]

http://healutah.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=855&qid=293255

[2] http://healutah.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=857&qid=293255

[3]

http://healutah.org/http://healutah.org/index.php?q=civicrm/mailing/optout&reset=1&jid=764&qid=293255&h=c0556df8cbe1bb6a

[4] http://healutah.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=856&qid=293255

[5]

http://healutah.org/civicrm/profile/edit?reset=1&gid=1&id=6341&cs=fafc84a5a0df32265138cec53d641bc8_1264091468_168

[6]

http://healutah.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=1&cs=fafc84a5a0df32265138cec53d641bc8_1264091468_168&cid=6341