The Seattle hearing on the proposed Hanford clean-up delays was held last night. We were excited to see that it was a packed house, with around 100 in attendance! Thanks to the classes at the University of Washington for showing up and giving great comments!
The first public comment was given by the Seattle Raging Grannies. They prepared a statement that strongly denounced the proposed settlement for its 22 year delay in emptying the High-Level Nuclear Waste from Hanford's leaky Single Shell Tanks & because it does not include an enforceable ban preventing the importation of off-site waste to Hanford. Then, they sang a brilliant song (I hope to get the lyrics to post here soon). That much said, they stole the show.
Over 20 unique individuals gave a formal comment, all of them concerned about the clean up delays. The majority of the comments also included statements about how disappointed the public is that the State of WA didn't secure an enforceable ban on off-site waste as a part of this settlement.
Last night marked the end of the series of five public hearings held during this comment period. But don't despair! You can still submit your own thoughts directly to the agencies by emailing them to TPACH@rl.gov. See our Citizens' Guide for more information and Heart of America Northwest's comments and concerns.
That was a great turnout! I hope such a well attended public meeting made an impact on the representatives. They have such important jobs concerning the health of the environment and our futures. It is equally as important for us to voice our concerns and comments about what they are doing. I know the student attendance impressed the DOE because they are coming to speak to my class in the next few weeks! If we continue to pay attention to these issues and offer our presence, then word will continue to spread to the youth and public about what Hanford is and the issues surrounding it.
ReplyDeleteHere are the words to the grannies' song:
ReplyDeleteIT’S LATER THAN YOU THINK
(tune: Enjoy Yourself)
For years we’ve sung,
Beseeched and testified,
To clear the waste,
But we were just denied.
The people spoke
In their initiative.
We showed our fear,
The vote was clear—
Don’t wait another year.
Respect the vote
And clean up all the waste.
No more delays
It must be done with haste.
Columbia is really on the brink
Clean up the waste!
Clean up the waste!
It’s later than you think.
We don’t want
The nation’s nuclear load.
You haven’t cleared!
We’re ready to explode.
Don’t give us more
Until what’s here is clean.
Clean up the waste!
Clean up the waste!
It really is obscene.
Respect the vote
And clean up all the waste.
No more delays
It must be done with haste.
Columbia is really on the brink
Clean up the waste!
Clean up the waste!
It’s later than you think.
Great! Thanks for posting the lyrics here. I hope to get an admittedly low quality video recording of the song posted soon.
ReplyDeleteI loved the Raging Grannys! They had great points about the clean-up project and were so cute. Public knowledge and awareness about Hanford is crucial to getting the community involved for the more efficient clean-up. If more students and community members knew about the radioactive waste site, they might be more inclined to do something about it. But the government is just not making that information easily accessible without doing some outside research. I hope to see the DOE and Washington state include the public more in the futures decision for plans that they make.
ReplyDelete