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ENVIRONMENT: Avoiding Destructive Remediation at DOE Sites
F. W. Whicker,1* T. G. Hinton,2 M. M. MacDonell,3 J. E. Pinder III,1 L. J. Habegger3
Public perceptions and regulatory agreements have forced the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to spend tens of billions of dollars for environmental cleanup of relatively low levels of contamination of soil and water within the nuclear weapons complex. Much of this costly remediation has caused significant ecological damage, but has not resulted in corresponding reductions in public health risks. This Policy Forum offers a potential remedy involving continued federal control of the larger DOE lands and cleanup criteria based on long-term protection of ecosystems and public health, rather than criteria based on the protection of hypothetical future site residents. Recent DOE policy to avoid unnecessary environmental damage using a risk-based strategy is briefly described.
1Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA. 2University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Aiken, SC 29802, USA. 3Environmental Assessment Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439, USA.
*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ward.whicker{at}colostate.edu
The editors suggest the following Related Resources on Science sites:
In Science Magazine
LETTERS
LeRoy Moore;, F. W. Whicker, T. G. Hinton, M. M. MacDonell, J. E. Pinder, III, and L. J. Habegger (5 November 2004) Science306 (5698), 975b.
[DOI: 10.1126/science.306.5698.975b] |Full Text »|PDF »
LETTERS
Rebecca A. Efroymson;, F. W. Whicker, T. G. Hinton, M. M. MacDonell, J. E. Pinder, III, and L. J. Habegger (5 November 2004) Science306 (5698), 976.
[DOI: 10.1126/science.306.5698.976] |Full Text »|PDF »
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Increased Wind Erosion from Forest Wildfire: Implications for Contaminant-Related Risks.
J. J. Whicker, J. E. Pinder III, and D. D. Breshears (2006)
J. Environ. Qual.
35, 468-478
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
