LV Irradiator License Granted

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NRC Grants License to Meat Irradiation Facility in Milford Township

CFC Logistics cold-storage facility has built an irradiator that will use radioactive cobalt-60 to send gamma rays through edible and nonedible products to kill harmful bacteria such as E. coli and salmonella, as well as parasites and insects. But how safe is it?

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has granted a license to Clemons Family Corporation Logistics (CFC Logistics) for the operation of a cobalt-60 irradiation facility, and nearby residents are furious. The license will allow them to obtain cobalt-60 and start testing the irradiator.

The plant is located in Milford Township, Bucks County, next to the Quakertown exit of the Northeast extension of the turnpike. It is very close to where Bucks, Lehigh, Montgomery, and Berks counties converge.

The real issue here is nuclear waste. Cobalt 60 has a half-life of 5.2 years. That means that after 5.2 years, the material in the plant will be half as radioactive and, therefore, half as effective. It will have to be replaced well before 5.2 years. The material removed, being half as radioactive as is needed to rapidly sterilize large quantities of meat, is still dangerously radioactive and will remain so for decades. Under ideal conditions, the radiation exposure of the community should be very small. On the other hand, Cobalt 60 is a gamma emitter which means that it may cause activation within the plant walls so that the plant will have to be disposed of as radioactive waste when it is closed.

Other irradiation facilities throughout the country have a terrible track record when it comes to properly disposing of nuclear waste. It has been reported that other irradiation have lost track of their nuclear waste, failed to fix safely devices, caught fire, and accidentally exposed workers to radiation.

What You Can Do: Concerned Citizens of Milford, a citizens group that formed over this issue, has filed suit against Milford Township, stalling the approval process. Although it appears likely that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will grant CFC Logistics the construction and use licensees it needs, Milford Township also must grant a change of use variance, and that's where you can help.

Write to the Milford Township Board of Supervisors (P.O. Box 86, Spinnerstown, Pa., 18968) and tell them you oppose the irradiation plant.

Read about the NRC decision and Milford Township reaction.
Read about the facility and why it is dangerous
Read what Consumer Reports says about irradiated meat
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