ROGER JOHNSON, San Clemente
Congratulations are in order for the San Clemente City Council, who voted, 5-0, that the city does not give consent to store nuclear waste from SONGS in San Clemente.
Many don’t realize that, according to the U.S. government, San Clemente is the official home of the 1,609 metric tons of highly radioactive uranium now stored here, nuclear waste which will be lethal for hundreds of thousands of years.
A special thanks to Mayor Pro Tem Chris Duncan for spearheading this issue. It is significant, because the U.S. Department of Energy claims it will not store nuclear waste in areas where there is no local consent.
Thanks also need to be extended to our own Congressman Mike Levin (CA-49), who recently helped get legislation passed in Congress and signed by the President, which is intended to fund the National Academy of Sciences proposal for research on cancer streaks for those who live within 50 kilometers of a nuclear power plant.
The epidemiological study looks to examine cancer incidents for those living between Huntington Beach and Solana Beach.
Studies in Europe have reported such a link, but there has been no research in the United States on this for over 30 years, partly because the NRC refused to fund the National Academy of Sciences’ proposal.
Editor’s Note: Based on a review of the legislation, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has only been encouraged by lawmakers to contract with the National Academy of Sciences to carry out the pilot study.
