WHEREAS:

The Department of Energy (DOE) plans to transport 20,000 to 30,000 truckloads of plutonium-contaminated and highly toxic chemical waste over our nations highways to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, NM; and

WHEREAS:

The DOE has long escaped outside regulation and public scrutiny under the guise of "national security," leading to numerous instances of serious safety and health hazards for individuals and communities across the nation; and

WHEREAS:

Health care workers and other emergency response workers will be called upon to care for victims of any WIPP transportation accident. Emergency response and the provision of medical care in the event of an accident involving the release of plutonium and toxic chemicals requires specialized equipment, facilities, and training, including hands-on drill training with proficiency testing and regular refresher courses; and

WHEREAS:

The waste isolation pilot project medical working group has been convened to develop a master plan to address waste isolation pilot project emergency medical issues; and

WHEREAS:

AFSCME has completed a survey of hospitals along with WIPP route and has found emergency preparedness to be grossly inadequate, leaving health care workers and the communities they serve at great risk; and

WHEREAS:

Congress is working towards legislation to transfer the WIPP site to the control of the DOE without appropriate emergency response training requirements first being met; and

WHEREAS:

Health care workers and other emergency response workers are protected under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and specifically OSHA 1910.120, which addresses safety and health issues in the transportation of hazardous waste.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:

That AFSCME continue its efforts to educate workers and the public about the current dangers of transportation of hazardous wastes to the WIPP; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:

That AFSCME actively work to involve other labor unions in the effort to protect workers and members of the public along the route from safety and health hazards related to the WIPP, and will participate in anti-WIPP Coalitions; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:

That AFSCME continue to lobby on a state and federal level for outside, independent expertise and regulation of emergency response preparedness, including participation from OSHA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:

That AFSCME will educate workers about their rights under OSHA, and will encourage emergency response workers to exercise those rights; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:

That AFSCME will immediately file OSHA complaints if any toxic and radioactive wastes are shipped to the WIPP before appropriate training, equipment, and facilities, as certified by independent regulatory bodies, are provided; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:

That the waste isolation pilot project medical working group continue its assessment of preparedness at the state and local levels for emergency responses to radioactive waste spills along waste isolation pilot project routes designated by the state highway commission; to include:

1. A review of existing plans at the national, state and local levels to respond to transuranic radioactive waste spills and an assessment of preparedness at the national, state and local levels for emergency responses to radioactive waste spills;
2. A determination of what training concerning emergency responses to radioactive waste spills is being provided by or available from agencies of the federal government, state agencies or other organizations and an assessment of whether that training meets generally accepted standards for responding to radioactive waste spills;
3. An assessment of the type of equipment and facilities that would be necessary for emergency responses to radioactive waste spills, what the availability of that equipment and those facilities is and what standards should apply to that equipment and those facilities;
4. An outline of any steps necessary to create and implement a plan for a statewide emergency response capability for waste isolation pilot project related waste spills; and
5. Any recommendations for legislation necessary to ensure implementation of a plan for a statewide emergency response capability for radioactive waste spills; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED:

That AFSCME members will contact their legislators in the House and Senate demanding that EPA, OSHA, and other national standards be met before radioactive waste is transported to the WIPP and that full emergency response capability is in place.

SUBMITTED BY:

Fonda Osborne, President
Marie 0. Scarpelli, Delegate
Local 1199 New Mexico NUHHCE
New Mexico