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The Palestinian Ambassador calls on the UN to stop Israeli attacks. Impacts continue from agency funding cuts and state bills mirror federal pushback on DEI programs.

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The Palestinian Ambassador calls on U.N. to stop Israeli attacks. Impacts continue from agency funding cuts, and state bills mirror federal pushback on DEI programs.

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Cuts to Medicaid and frozen funding for broadband are both likely to have a negative impact on rural healthcare, which is already struggling. Plus, lawsuits over the mass firing of federal workers have huge implications for public lands.

WV lawmakers consider new rules on radioactive waste

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Monday, October 7, 2024   

West Virginia lawmakers are pushing legislation forward to pave the way for state management of the transport, storage and disposal of potentially dangerous radioactive waste.

House Bill 208 would set up an agreement with federal regulators to allow the state Health Department to control low-level radioactive waste, commonly associated with fracking.

Morgan King, climate and energy program manager for the West Virginia Citizen Action Group, argued the state is already dealing with poorly managed fracking waste, such as the Fairmont Brine processing site, where residents discovered unsecured radioactive ponds.

"If we rush into an agreement that would allow more radioactive waste to be brought into our state from out of state, especially given that so much fracking is going on in Ohio and Pennsylvania, we could see the same thing happen again in other parts of our state," King contended.

The bill recently passed in the House of Delegates and is now being considered by the Senate during a special session.

King pointed out critics of the bill are concerned the state lacks the knowledge and infrastructure to keep residents safe, given the stakes for public health. Research shows radioactive waste from fracking can spread to groundwater, which supplies more than a quarter of the nation's drinking water.

"We want to make sure that if this is going to move forward, that the agency has enough resources and expertise for their responsibility," King emphasized. "We don't believe that, at the moment, the Department of Health has that expertise to manage it."

Exposure to radioactive fracking waste has been linked to leukemia, low birth weight and preterm births, asthma and early deaths.

Disclosure: The West Virginia Citizen Action Education Fund contributes to our fund for reporting on Budget Policy and Priorities, Environment, Health Issues, and Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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