Blaine Howard's Letter to D. Finerfrock

Utah Radiation Control Division.

Dear Health Physicists,
I am concerned that the public is getting the wrong message from our governor's response to a concern over depleted uranium waste.  The news media seem to believe that the ingrowth of radioactivity in the waste is a great problem.
I have analyzed the problem and come to the conclusions that:

  1. The radiation from depleted uranium does not present any special problems.
  2. The need for radon monitors is ridiculous since there can be no appreciable amount of radon in the waste for many thousand years.
  3. There is no need for 10 feet of cover (radon barrier?) to protect from this waste.

I have written my analysis in a letter to the Division of Radiation Control and enclosed a copy with this e-mail.
The comment period for the proposed amendment to the Energy Solutions license closes on December 23rd (tomorrow).  If you agree with my analysis and my concern, you may want to let this be known.  You can e-mail a response to Dane Finerfrock  or send a letter in todays mail.
Thank you for considering this.  We need see that the public gets to see the truth about these things.
Sincerely,
Blaine N. Howard

Download PDF of the Division of Radiation Control letter