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U.S. Releases “Dirty Bomb” Cleanup Guidelines
The U.S. Homeland Security Department yesterday issued cleanup guidelines for a radiological “dirty bomb” attack, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Nov. 11, 2005). Critics, however, argue the guidelines could expose people to radiation levels high enough to put them at risk for cancer. The standards set in the guidelines are less strict than those at nuclear power plants, waste dumps and Superfund sites. Long-term exposure following cleanup could be up to 10,000 millirems per year, which is equal to more than 30 times the radiation from natural background sources or more than 1,600 chest X-rays. Facilities licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission must restrict public exposure to no more than 100 millirems per year. The planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump in Nevada could be limited annually to 15 millirems of public exposure. Exposure levels set by Homeland Security “could cause one in four people to get cancer” if they come back to site of a dirty bomb detonation, according to Diane D'Arrigo of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service The guidelines are designed to assist local, state and federal health officials in preparing response plans to a radioactive attack, AP reported. An actual nuclear explosion has the potential to contaminate many square miles, while an attack with a weapon combining conventional explosives and radioactive material would likely confine contamination to a smaller area, according to the guidelines. The guidelines do not include a numerical cleanup standard due to the variety of potential scenarios, said Donald Tighe, spokesman for the White House Office of Science and Technology. Tighe said communities “have to evaluate not only public health, but the health of the community as well. This is the feedback we've gotten from state and local officials. (They want) a flexible approach.” To maintain flexibility, the guidelines point to other national and international benchmarks used to judge acceptable radiation levels. The standard most favored in the guidelines is one established by the International Commission on Radiation Protection, which says 10,000 millirems exposure per year is acceptable, said Daniel Hirsch, president of the Committee to Bridge the Gap (Associated Press/New York Times, Jan. 4).
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