Disposal debate

Lee McAtee, in photo at top, acting director of Environment, Safety and Health (ESH) Division, explains the Laboratory's position on storage and disposal of radioactive waste at Area G during a well-attended forum Wednesday evening in Los Alamos. The forum, sponsored by the Pajarito-Los Alamos chapter of the Sierra Club, brought together Lab and regulatory officials as well as critics to discuss regulatory and environmental issues associated with Area G.

James Bearzi, standing left, director of the Hazardous Waste Bureau of the New Mexico Environment Department, explains his department's regulatory position while Greg Mello of the Los Alamos Study Group, an activist organization, reacts to Bearzi's statements. A capacity crowd packed the upstairs meeting rooms of Mesa Public Library where the forum was held. Discussions and comments mostly focused on legal issues and risks related to Area G. However, one man asked if Area G was shielded from "photon cannon hits", while another read rambling prose over protests of the moderator and some audience members. Bearzi promised that more public meetings about Area G's operating permit and status will come in the near future, after NMED issues a compliance order and a draft operating permit for the disposal area. Photos by James E. Rickman, Public Affairs

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