|
Page to ~ Environment Hawai i ~ Februray t997
<br /> r,,~ ,-.USDA-required levels, is still emits radiation ~~num, although this wasn't loudly discussed)
<br /> ~"J~ t levels coo high for humans to be exposed co : is actively promoted the development of
<br />
<br /> . pag¢ y safely -and will continue to do so for food irradiation using cesium-t37 for yeazs.
<br /> decades. According to the DOE in t983, 'The strategy
<br /> Found. Cobalt-Go fabrication plants aze, in Cesium-t37, with ahalf--life of 3o years, beingpursued...isdesignedtotransferfeder-
<br /> facc, evenworsethannormalnucleazreactors, takes hundreds of years xo decay to back- ally developed cesitun-r37 irradiation cech-
<br /> be;ng legally permirced co release zo times ground levels of radiation. Iir addition, not nology to the commercial secror as rapidly
<br /> more radiation than a wmmercial reactor.r9 only does the use of cesium-t37 generate and successfully as possible."'~'
<br /> In any case, irradiation facilities using co- radioactive waste, it is radioactive waste co The accident in Decatur, Georgia, led xhe
<br /> bale-Go do produce radioactive waste. The start with, being produced only as a result of DOE ro recall all the cesium-r37 capsules it
<br /> coolingwaterinwhichthecobalrGoisstored nudeaz fission, such as occurs in an atomic had "leased" out and for the irradiation in-
<br /> becomes radioactive, as do the containmem explosion or a nuclear reactor. dustryasawholetogowithcobalt-Goinstead
<br /> vessels. These must be handled as radioactive Proposals such as thatofGray*Stazto cum of cesium-r;7. Now chat nearly a decade has
<br /> wastes. this waste into a private wmmodiry support passed, the DOE-and industry- seem co
<br /> Asrothestatemenx,thacallthecobalt-Go cheargumentsofcritieswhohayelongmain- beattemptingtoresurrecttheideaofcesium-
<br /> produced in a yeaz could fit in a volume the rained that irradiation is pare of a plan by the r37 as a source for gamma irradiators.
<br /> size of a desk, in theory is might be tme; in government co reduce its radioactive-wasre`. LineatAaderamrs
<br /> practice, is isn't. The total volume required management costs. "DOE'S reason for pro-
<br /> for safescorageofavolumeofcobalt-Go the motingnucleazbyproductswasmadecleazaz Background. X-rays can be generated by
<br /> sizeofadeskis,inrealiry,manythousandsof heazingsheldint98;beforetheHouseArmed lineazacceleratorsorothermachinesource.
<br /> timesrhat.3° Services Commiaee: the utilization of pro nencs.Theuseofafineazaaeleratoror
<br /> Both cobalt-Go and cesium-t37 aze highly these radioactive marerials simply reduces p°
<br /> radioactive for many years. Even when the • ourwaste-handlingproblem... [W]egetsome other X ray generator avoids the problems
<br /> radioactivity of wbalt-Go has decayed to the of these very hot elements like cesium and associated with use of a radioactive isotope.
<br /> point is can no longer generate the high doses strontium out of the waste.' The DOE was ,Opponents. To generate X-rays at sufficient
<br /> ofgamma rays needed to ittadiare fruit ro the particulazly keen on developing technology strergth to meet USDA quarantine require-
<br /> co reproduce spent nucleaz reactor fuel in menu,anylineazacceleracororothergenera-
<br /> ~BLener of Glenn T. Seaborg to Haul O'Leary, seer order to recover the cesium-t and luto-
<br /> tary of the U.S. Departmen[ of Energy, March 22, 37 ( p torwould almost certainly place a substantial
<br /> 1995. Emphasis in original. burden on the Big Island's power supply.
<br /> This, in rum, might require development of
<br /> '0 Harvey Wasserman and Norman Solomon, IGlling no For a discussion of the desk analogy, see !tilting Our addlxional energy resOU[CeS, possibly includ-
<br /> Our Oum (New York 1982), p. 190. Oum. op.rir., p. 197. inggeorhertnal ss Lineazaccelerarorsaze rarely
<br /> used in irradiation facilities, in any event.
<br /> Without a more detailed proposal for use of
<br /> PrOpOSed CeSlum Irradiator an accelerator for treatment of Hawaiian
<br /> fruit, a pro- and wn- discussion is not mean-
<br /> HasYet to Be Built, Demonstrated ingStL
<br /> Compazison with X
<br /> $ays
<br /> Gray*Staz, Inc., has published a fact sheet on is needed. According co the company's Background Gamma rays and X-rays are
<br /> its "transportable," zoz-ton irradiator. The brochure, operating xrainingrequirements used to diagnose and treat health problems.
<br /> tympany describes xhe machine as "no more aze "minimal; one day, on site. Only basic They come from the same types of sources
<br /> difficult to use than a microwave oven." Even literacy is required." rhax would be used in a food irradiator.
<br /> so, it offers such a sophisticated cracking Mother advantage that the Gray*Star
<br /> system that "governmental regulatory agen- manufacturer claims for the machine is Proponents. SinceX-raysazeusedon people,
<br /> cies,suchastheUnicedSratesDe aamenrof chat it can be o erared for much lon er What's the problem with using X-rays on
<br /> p P g fruit? This was a int that irradiation's
<br /> Agriculture, can review the unit's processing thancobalo-basedsyscemswichouctheneed Po
<br /> records with a special code number and a for source replenishment. That's because proponents made oken during atown-hall
<br /> simple phone call from anywhere in the cesium-t37hasahalf-lifeof3oyears,mean- type meeting on irradiation held in Hilo on
<br /> world." ing that its radioactive strength decays by January tG.
<br /> While concerns have existed for years halfoverthisperiodoftime.Cobalt-Go,on Opponents. The strength of a radioactive
<br /> about the use of cesium in irradiators - the other hand, has afive-year half-life. soutceorelectronbeamusedinanirradiation
<br /> and, in fact, the Hawaii Legislature banned The brochure's language implies, byuse facility is many millions times greater than
<br /> cesium-sources for use in the state -the of the present tense, chat the Gray*Star that used in medical equipment. The dose
<br /> Gray"Star's cesium source, the company equipment is up and running. Not quite. that a papaya receives (about 30o Grays, or
<br /> claims, is absolutely, "inherently safe." Ic is The first machine has ye[ to be built. See "Safety'; page tt
<br /> contained in four panels inside a ios-con Demonstrating its effectiveness and safety
<br /> steel box. This normally sirs in the ground may take nvo years or more, after a ptoto- Meeker-lnwry, "From Imdiarion to Pasmurbation."
<br /> buxwhenproductsarerobeaeazed,thebox type is delivered ro the USDA. Assuming ZMagnziucop.ric.p.39.
<br /> is lifted up by six hydraulic cylinders ro chat no problems are identified, p[OdLLC- °This was acknowledged by Mayor Srcvc Y:unashin>
<br /> encase the material co be irradiated. Lion of the "seventh" Gray"Scar may be in a telephone conversation with h.'nuirnuenu H.urei'i
<br /> To operate the machine, no skilled labor years off. on January Z ro97.
<br />
<br />
|