Tax dollars usually protect the individuals paying taxes. For instance, taxpayers generally do not argue that they should not pay for police protection. Why should taxpayers oppose protection from nuclear waste? The murder rate in Anderson County is low. The death rate from nuclear waste is unknown, mostly because ORNL only test workers. When residents were tested for radioactivity the statistics rose greatly. Tennessee has the highest rate of cancer in the U.S. (Tennessee, The Volunteer state). This cancer rate is most likely attributed to ORNL waste. The losses have been tremendous. Anderson County taxpayers should be protesting that the government pay for the clean up that is killing their family members and wildlife that they eat, in turn killing more family members. .
Why are there still "No fishing or Swimming" signs up in near by lakes, if it is true that ORNL has cleaned up its mess? The truth is, is that the ORNL could not have cleaned their whole waste up because there are still frozen ponds full of contaminates. Faulty pipelines and poor disposal keeps the ORNL from fully cleaning up their mess. More contaminants are discovered every day. Some areas were contaminated by leaking pipelines that carried liquid nuclear wastes from reactor operations to underground storage tanks (Munger). Frozen ponds filled with waste from ORNL have lost contaminates through rainfall and storms. Leo Duffy, the DOE's chief of waste management even said "We don't have the people trained in the field to do this kind of work". In 1984 Oak Ridge became the first weapons production site to admit the extent of its problem. Oak Ridge has been hiding radioactive and toxic waste contamination in fields, lakes, woods, and streams for forty-seven years. Not far from the incinerator, in a sprawling fenced-off lot, there are over 50,000 fifty-five gallon drums of toxins and radioactive uranium, some of which containers are corroding (Hedges).
