EPA: NRC can't authorize dump standards

Carol Browner, Environmental Protection Agency administrator, has told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that it does not have the authority to set radiation standards for Yucca Mountain, the nation's proposed nuclear dump.

Browner sent a letter to Commission Chairwoman Shirley Ann Jackson on Friday that expressed her "deep concern" for the suggested NRC radiation standard of 25 millirems of exposure at Yucca Mountain.

The common radiation exposure standard is 15 millirems. The average person receives about 350 millirems of radiation from all sources -- cosmic rays, medical exposure and naturally occurring radiation -- each year.

By law the commission is supposed to license any high-level nuclear waste repository, while the Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for setting health and environmental standards.

The commission recently released its intent to propose an exposure standard for Yucca Mountain. Browner asked the NRC not to "confuse the public" by issuing its own radiation limit.

The EPA is expected to propose a standard early next year for the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Browner said.

Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., said the EPA's position supports Nevada's claim that the commission is trying to "maneuver radiation standards" at Yucca Mountain.

"It's clear that the NRC does not have the power under law to set radiation standards for a repository to meet," Bryan said Monday.

"It's a very strong letter," he continued, "and very helpful to the state."

Bryan, who met with Browner last week, has scheduled a meeting with Jackson for Friday. Jackson was unavailable for comment Monday.

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