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.
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Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit)
Unenh onhwa' Awayaton
http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/
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