And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] FIRST BARRELS ROLL OUT OF FLATS Denver Post June 16, 1999 by Sean Kelly June 16 - JEFFERSON COUNTY - Flanked by protesters to the south and supporters to the north, a flatbed truck carrying plutonium-contaminated waste lumbered out of Rocky Flats on Tuesday night, headed for an underground storage facility in a desolate corner of New Mexico. It was a major milestone in the controversial cleanup of Rocky Flats - the first of more than 2,000 such shipments of radioactive material planned for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad. Officials from nearby cities hailed the event, saying it means the removal of potentially dangerous material from the metro area. But protesters decried it, saying the shipments are an environmental disaster in the making. "It's not proven to be safe. So much could happen,'' said Sam Cole, a spokesman for the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, which helped organize the protest. "This is another example of man destroying the Earth.'' The truck, loaded with three large gray canisters holding a total of 26 55-gallon barrels of waste, was accompanied by seven Colorado State Patrol cruisers and protected by a host of law enforcement officers. The waste, mostly clothing and tools that were exposed to plutonium and other hazardous materials, will be shipped to the $2 billion WIPP facility, which was carved out of salt beds more than 2,000 feet below the New Mexico desert. The 25-year process to open WIPP included holdups by various political and legal challenges. With its opening earlier this year, WIPP will now accept waste from 23 sites across the country. Local officials hope the shipments will allow Rocky Flats to close by 2006. "Arvada is adjacent to Rocky Flats on three sides, and we're downwind,'' said Arvada Mayor pro tem Shelley Cook, one of a few dozen demonstrators supporting WIPP. "No one has more at stake here than we do, and we are very satisfied and very comfortable that this process is beginning.'' Officials from Westminster and other nearby communities also turned out to support the shipments. "We absolutely support this transport for the safety of our people,'' said Sam Dixion, a Westminster city councilwoman. "Personally, I live not too far from here, and I'm anxious for this to happen. But protesters claim both the shipment process and the storage of the waste at WIPP are unsafe. Shipments could spill along roadways, and WIPP could potentially contaminate water supplies in New Mexico and Texas, they say. Department of Energy spokesman Jeremy Karpatkin said the protesters were misinformed and had little reason to be concerned. "The best scientists in the country have taken a decades-long look at this,'' he said. "This is the safest way to deal with these waste products. "The people who are most affected, the people who live around here, support these shipments.'' At one point, the protest seemed like it would become a showdown of activists against authorities. About 30 of the more than 100 protesters joined arms shortly before 8 p.m., blocking the roadway. Mounted officers from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department acted quickly to move the crowd to the side of the road. Officers in riot gear also stood ready. After the truck rolled out of Rocky Flats around 8:30 p.m., protesters gathered to hold hands for a moment of a silence. And they vowed to return for other shipments. "It was my hope to see that this shipment would not leave,'' Cole said. "This is a sad day for humanity and the environment, but we're going to keep trying to stop them.'' Holding a bright orange sign opposing WIPP, Andy Hanscom of Boulder said he, too, would be back for future protests. "I guess we'll be back again soon,'' said Hanscom, a veteran Rocky Flats protester. "We've been here too many times.'' Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&