SCIENCE ADVISERS BACK EPA PLAN THAT MAY WEAKEN RADIATION STANDARDS

An EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) panel is conditionally backing EPA-drafted revisions to the way the agency assesses health risks from radiation, a move that environmentalists and some EPA officials say could result in weaker agency standards for nuclear waste disposal facilities, contaminated sites and radiation protection programs. EPA requested the SAB panel's formation in an August 2006 draft white paper authored by the agency's Office of Radiation & Indoor Air (ORIA) that proposes changes in the methods for assessing...