Government seeks changes in field lab cleanup strategy (Simi Valley Acorn)

“Not all community members agree with the energy department’s new strategy.

Haakon Williams, deputy director of the watchdog Committee to Bridge the Gap, criticized the DOE and accused the agency of attempting to evade its legal obligations. He argued that the DOE’s attack on the current look-up table values is misleading and might result in a less thorough cleanup, jeopardizing public health.

‘There’s no need for any of this, DOE. No need for the (supplemental study), no need for any of these toxic alternatives,’ Williams said, challenging the DOE to debate with community groups that have long advocated for a full cleanup.

Daniel Hirsch, president of the Bridge the Gap organization, recounted his role in exposing the 1959 partial meltdown at the field lab and condemned the DOE for what he calls its continued misrepresentation of the problems at the site and failure to clean it up.

‘We’re eight years beyond the deadline, and the fundamental soil and groundwater cleanup has not even begun,’ Hirsch said.

He accused the DOE of trying to minimize the cleanup to save money while increasing public health risks, including a higher cancer toll.”

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