Testimony on West Valley Statement Offered by Gladys Gifford at public hearing on April 2 at ECC in Buffalo. My name is Gladys Gifford. I live in Eggertsville and I have been monitoring the West Valley site for over ten years. During those ten years, I have been sharing my understanding of the West Valley site with Presbyterians in Western New York. I have traveled many times to the meetings held at the Ashford Office
Complex, despite the 90-mile round trip, because I am convinced that the cleanup of West Valley is not just a problem for the residents of Cattaraugus County, but rather a grave problem for all of
Western New York. I am thankful that the meeting tonight is in Buffalo, available to the larger population whose health and future wellbeing is impacted by the decisions the DOE is considering in this DEIS. Western New York is suffering the strain of several nuclear waste sites, especially the West Valley Demonstration Project. This site is leaking terrible nuclear poisons into the groundwater already. This plume of radioactivity is bound for Buttermilk Creek, thence to Cattaraugus Creek, thence to Lake Erie and on and on. Lake Erie is one of the Great Lakes--the repository of 20% of the sweet
fresh water for the whole planet. WVDP has already put in place one barrier to try to stop the plume--then they added another barrier. This is such foolishness. We know that water will have its way--how can we stop groundwater
from moving? I understand that the WVDP is the creature of the Federal Department of Energy. The Department of Energy continues to minimize the dangers and expense of cleaning up nuclear waste in order to
promote and subsidize nuclear power. Has anyone searched out the people who have been accidentally exposed to the wastes while working at the West Valley site? Does anyone care that a child living in the area has no hands? Why do we tolerate this? How much longer shall we endure this nuclear poison for the sake of the nuclear power industry? Along with the 64 Presbyterian congregations in Western New York, I support the Sitewide Removal Alternative. Let us face up to the reality that the land in West Valley cannot hold these nuclear wastes much longer. Let us do the right thing for ourselves and our descendants. In the name of your constituents in Western New York who are already suffering the ill effects of nuclear wastes, make the right decision--the Sitewide Removal Alternative. Dig up all the nuclear waste,
put it in impermeable containers ready for shipment to a dry and safe place,
and forever remove this nuclear waste threat from the beautiful land and waters
of West Valley in Cattaraugus County, New York, in the watershed of the Great Lakes!
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