Letters to the Editor
Medical waste proposal not revealing the whole truth
This a duplicitous proposal. Mediwaste are not providing NDEP with all the details to be able to make a solid decision. They are hiding things on purpose. There is no mention of the other byproduct that the pyrolysis process creates, a liquid byproduct that they intend to store and sell. Or the process for cleaning the air utilized in the pyrolysis process. And then there are the everyday issues:
Trash: We do not want to be the dumping grounds for the waste generated in our neighboring states. We are NOT a dumping ground.
Air: Pahrump is in a basin, anything emitted from the stack in the process of burning will hang in the air. Pyrolysis requires air and there is no mention on how they intend to eliminate toxins from escaping in the pyrolysis process. This process would subject us to breathing these toxins.
Roads: Our roads were never constructed properly. The majority are just graded dirt / gravel with a thin coat of asphalt. They are in deplorable shape and held together with cold patch and chip seal. Any additional heavy traffic will create further damage and we do not have the money to fix the roads as it is.
Storage: Containers containing medical waste, to include body parts, will put off a noxious smell. In the summer we have weather in excess of 110 degrees Fahrenheit which would exacerbate the problem beyond imagination.
Dumping: Their plan has no explanation on how they determine to get rid of the ash. This ash would contain toxins from chemotherapy and radiation treatment. It is not safe to be put anywhere! Our dump is not lined and we have an ordinance prohibiting disposing of any type of ash in our landfill. Residual toxins in the ash would leach into our water table.
Water: Any leaks, no matter how small, would eventually contaminate our ground water.
I spoke with the former mayor of North Las Vegas. North Las Vegas turned this business down flat. I asked him why and his response was short and to the point. They didn’t want to be known for the skull and crossbones over their city. Yet this company tries to put this ‘business’ off on a small rural town hoping we are too stupid or can be bribed into taking the hazardous waste of others.
The towns and cities that generate hazardous waste should be responsible for disposal of said waste.
We are running out of time to make our concerns known. We have until May 1st to email the Nevada Department Environmental Protection Agency at:”solidwaste@ndep.nv.gov”
Tami
The price of gas and uranium enrichment are both too high
I would like to reply to Karen Stone’s response to my April 10 letter, printed in your April 24 edition.
I have to disappoint Karen, but I am a registered Republican, and from my friends’ talk I guess they vote Republican. As for my wife, I tried to get her to vote the way I said a long time ago. That didn’t work, and I quickly gave up. We recently celebrated our silver wedding anniversary.
Karen is correct that gasoline was about $2.79 when Biden took office. It fell into a range of $1.99 to $2.50 between June and December 2020. It did not rise to the $4.00 - $5.00 range until March 2022, mostly as a result of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in March of that year. Does Karen think that Biden had some part in that? It was $3.20 on Dec. 20, 2022, and by the end of Biden’s term it was $2.89. Not much of an increase in four years. I know these data because I keep a notebook in my car and write down every gas purchase I make.
As for Karen’s reference to the ‘bad nuclear deal’ with Iran, Obama was only one of six other heads of state to sign an agreement with Iran, after more than a year of negotiation. The other states were China, European Union (acting as a single entity), France, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom. The agreement is lengthy, about 109 pages! Iran agreed to limit its enriched uranium to only reactor fuel grade, about 3.7%. (You need 90% or higher for state-of-the-art nuclear weapons, and the process of enrichment is complex and hazardous). The agreement came into effect in January 2016 for a 10-year period. Inspection was granted to the International Atomic Energy Agency, and Iran was in compliance when Trump withdrew the U.S. from the agreement in 2018. He made no attempt to extend the agreement.
Karen seems to miss the point I was trying to make about ICE agent activities. I was talking about the abuse of American citizens’ right to freedom, but Karen switches to criminals roaming the country, apparently as a result of some action by Biden.
Sincerely,
George Tucker
