Editorial: Questions remain over radiation rule

Thursday, June 7, 2001 | 8:21 a.m.

The good news is that this week the Bush administration has kept intact most of a Clinton administration proposal that would limit the release of radiation from a nuclear waste repository targeted for Nevada's Yucca Mountain. The nuclear power industry, which had claimed that a tough radiation standard might be so costly to comply with that it could make it impossible to build a nuclear waste dump, is upset with the rule and is suing in federal court to challenge the regulation.

The bad news is that some state officials are worried that the Environmental Protection Agency still ended up weakening part of the Clinton-era rule. That's because the earlier regulation held that a repository could not allow more than 4 millirems of radiation to be found in 1,285 acre feet of water, but the latest version permits the same amount of radiation to be allowed in 3,000 acre feet before the limit is exceeded. This could dilute the rule and make it easier to meet.

Tough radiation standards are essential to protecting the public's health and safety. If a further review finds that this change has softened the previous rule, then President Bush should send the EPA back to the drawing board. Anything less is unacceptable.

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