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| Senator Charles Schumer (left) and Energy Secretary Bill Richardson address the media following a meeting with community members. |
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer and U.S. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson came to Brookhaven Lab on August 11 to meet with the accelerated cleanup subcommittee of the Community Advisory Council (CAC).
The CAC is asking the Department of Energy to accelerate the completion of environmental cleanup work at the Laboratory by three years.
Under the present schedule, all groundwater cleanup systems will be in place and all contaminated soils will be removed from the site by 2006, at a cost of $178 million. If the cleanup is accelerated, systems will be in place and soils will be excavated by 2003, at a cost of $160 million.
Senator Schumer said the community group has made a strong case for accelerated cleanup of the Lab's contaminated areas. He cited environmental protection, rapid growth in Brookhaven Town and a savings of $18 million as compelling reasons for accelerating the cleanup.
Secretary Richardson said that the Laboratory "has become a much better neighbor on Long Island." He also outlined the steps he will take in considering the request for accelerated cleanup: reviewing funding options, looking at innovative technologies, considering incentives, and exploring ideas for ecological protection of the BNL site.
Following the meeting, Senator Schumer and Secretary Richardson toured
the Brookhaven Graphite Research Reactor
complex, where decommissioning is under way (see stories on pages 4-5).