Man Hit With Huge Bill After Mishandling Radioactive Cat Waste
(and yet the EPA is going to allow nuclear power plants to sell off their radioactive waste for fill in roads and public landscaping... )
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Radiation in the News
Date:
Wed, 30 Oct 2002 10:13:07 -0500
From:
Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization: Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)
To: Paul Helliker <phelliker@cdpr.ca.gov>
Director, State of California, Department of Pesticide
Regulation
cc: Christine Whitman whitman.christine@epa.gov
Man Hit With Huge Bill After Mishandling Radioactive Cat Waste
By Associated Press, 10/24/2002 15:21
WHITMAN, Mass. (AP) A Whitman man who ignored a veterinarian's order to flush his cat's radioactive waste down the toilet was hit with a $2,800 bill.
And Bill Jenness said he's happy to pay it.
''I don't feel I was mistreated,'' Jenness told The Patriot Ledger of Quincy.
''It's my cat, my responsibility and I did not abide by the directions I was given.'' Jenness' cat, Mitzi, an 11-year-old shorthair, was treated with an injection of radioiodine after developing hyperthyroidism, which is common in cats her age.
The treatment makes the cat radioactive for weeks, so special care is required, including limiting snuggling time, keeping the cat away from children and pregnant women and using protective gloves when flushing the cat litter.
Jenness said he decided to throw the litter in the trash after the waste had hardened into abnormally large clumps.
''I was afraid of my septic system being clogged,'' he said.
Mitzi's mess was discovered at an incinerator in Rochester when alarms detected radioactivity. Workers traced the waste to Jenness after finding mail with his name on it nearby.
The radiation treatment by Radiocat in Waltham and cost of disposing the waste totaled about $5,000. Jenness said it was worth it because Mitzi is doing well.
Radiocat's Web site says radiation from a radioiodine shot is probably less than a person receives on a long plane flight or a day at the beach.
But Thomas Burnett, a Whitman public works commissioner, said any radiation in trash is too much.
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Washington (Nuclear News Flashes)-29Oct.2002 US NRC will pursue rule on release of solid materials.
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission will pursue a rulemaking on the release of solid materials that are slightly contaminated with radioactivity, the commissioners decided. In a decision released today, the commission directed the staff to submit a proposed schedule for the rulemaking effort by Jan 21. The commission said the schedule should reflect its desire to complete the rulemaking within three years. The commission said the staff should look at alternatives to a proposed rule, such as a no-release policy or conditional clearance. However, it said, when approaching stakeholders on this issue, the staff should reiterate the commission's continuing support for the release of solid material when there are no significant health consequences. The commission said the staff should specifically look at the feasibility of conditional or restricted clearance. Currently, NRC releases solid material on a case-by-case basis. Commissioner Greta Dicus voted against the idea, saying, in part, that the NRC should obtain greater stakeholder involvement before proceeding
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