the plant is reopening. Sen. Margret Hurley (D-Spokane) commented, “I made a point of asking all of the officials on the Nuclear Waste Board what their opinions were regarding state monitoring of PUREX emissions which were denied last January. But this was not followed up. When information is gathered, the DOE officials finally admitted the plutonium emission exceeded standards." Research at Battelle showed that Sunnyside, a town close to the western border of the Hanford Reservation, contains 65 micrograms of plutonium per acre of surface dirt. The average quantity of plutonium in the northern hemisphere is 6.3 micrograms per acre, due to atmospheric testing. Many sites in the vicinity of Hanford have been shown to have 30-60 micrograms per acre. The DOE and Battelle claim this accumulation comes from Chinese weapons testing. Outside the EPA PUREX is under the jurisdiction of no agency except the DOE. Current federal standards are not as tied to health and safety as one might believe. The Atomic Energy Act of 1954 made an exclusion for all DOE facilities. The act authorizes the continuation of defense industry in certain communities—such as Hanford and Savannah River—disengaging these programs from the scrutiny of public health agencies. The current atmosphere of Hanford demonstrates a high degree of security in the sense of excluding the public from its facilities and a low degree of public health monitoring in terms of air, water and disease. What has been documented in terms of environmental health in the Hanford vicinity has been limited to occupational studies: studies which measure the impact of working near and around radioactive materials. The most commonly cited study is by Thomas Mancuso of the University ofPittsburg, aided by epidemiologist Dr. Alice Stewart, which showed that a 6-7 percent greater incidence of cancer exists among atomic workers than among the general population. This study was solely Drilling rig at Hanford, sitting idly at $5800 a day. based on mortality rates, and did not include cancer cases which did not end in death. The work of the Hanford Environmental Health Foundation—funded by the DOE— has not included baseline studies regarding epidemiology of the population in the TriCities area. Eileen Buller of the Hanford Oversight Committee spoke with people at the Foundation to find out if the environment is being monitored. “I was told that the environment at Hanford is safe and no cause for alarm,” she said. “However, the director admitted there was a statistically- significant ocurrence of multiple melanomas among Hanford employees. But concerning the monitoring of the surrounding environment, I was told that it was statistically improbable to do the proper study. There are too many people moving in and out. To do a proper epidemiological study, it is more correct the further along in time it goes—particularly if they include the death of the people they’re studying. In 1954, there was an emission at Hanford that was almost as bad as Three Mile Island. Someone should have tracked that and followed those citizens. What’s happening to the populations around those plants?” Recently water samples were taken by members of Seattle Greenpeace from the decommissioned H reactor near the Columbia River at Hanford. The samples came from seepage of a retention basin and were tested by the Washington Dept, of Social and Health Services (DSHS) which indicated a presence of beta radioactivity at a rate 57 percent above acceptable standards. This type of radioactivity attaches to fatty tissues in fish and humans. Although the EPA had granted discharge permits for the H reactor, this particular seepage was not known about. It cannot be said conclusively that this finding proves a danger to the drinking water supply, based on the theory that the level of radioactivity becomes highly diluted before it enters the drinking water supply. Analysts at Greenpeace point out that the reliability of the water monitoring system is seriously in question. The EPA and DSHS maintain that there is not enough funding to test seepage into the Columbia River. Perhaps the most dangerous factor is that the public assumes that water supply is being monitored on a systematic basis. This is not the case. Portland and other cities along the Columbia are of course most directly vulnerable to this kind of contamination. Dr. Alice Stewart, authority in the field of epidemiology and public health, currently a visiting scholar at Portland State University, told Seattle audiences on October 11 that the presence of Hanford in terms of defense wastes and plutonium reprocessing already presents a serious danger to the population without the addition of a high-level waste repository. She predicts that if safety levels for nuclear facilities remain at present standards, cancer will increase ten-fold. Senator Margaret Hurley has proposed that air and water quality monitoring systems be instituted through the State Dept, of Ecology. She points out that fisheries, agriculture and tourist industries are threatened by current contamination at Hanford, without adding the impact of a repository. Leafy vegetables, grapes (including wine grapes), and other fruit carry the largest quantities of plutonium. Even one speck of plutonium inhaled or ingested can cause cancer, Hurley said. “Due to high winds, Spokane receives dust from Hanford. Through H.E.A.L., the Hanford Education Action League, we have been gathering technical people, educators and writers concerned about Hanford. One study in progress is showing that in Spokane multiple sclerosis is found in greater proportions than anywhere in the state. We also have a greater incidence of cancer. The health 709 N.W. 23rd • PORTLAND, OR • 228-3292 HOLIDAY CARDS, GIFT WRAP, CALENDARS, GIFTS & JEWELRY NW Portland MON-THURS 10:30 to 6 • FRI till 9 SAT 10:30 to 6 • SUN 12 to 4 KF*’" newly Expanded ARTICHOKE MUSIC Music from Around the World! • The Dusty Strings • Hammered Dulcimer • A complete repair facility 722 NW 21st, Portland 1248-0356 The Clinic On 21st of Anderson & Gunn, P.C. LIMITED TO SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES 1216 N.W. 21st Appointments Preferred Portland. 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