Tri-Valley CAREs
Communities Against a Radioactive Environment
Threat to health, environment
November, 8, 2019
Source: The Tracy Press
EDITOR,
As a longtime Tracy resident, I have enjoyed all of the city's beauty, friendly neighbors, and civic activities and celebrations offered over the years.
Sadly, there is a shadow that now looms over the residents of Tracy - a proposal to increase explosive bomb testing in the open air on the western edge of town.
Site 300 is Livermore Lab's high explosives testing range, located on Corral Hollow Road, very close to the new Tracy Hills housing development. Site 300's main mission is the development of nuclear weapons.
These outdoor detonations threaten human health and the environment because of the toxic materials involved. The contaminants get carried away with the wind. Some particles get deposited within the community and can cause health problems like asthma, cancer and other diseases.
The proposed action would increase the size of Site 300's outdoor blasts, which support nuclear weapons development, by a factor of 10, from 100 pounds of high explosives to 1,000 pounds a day. It would also increase the yearly limit from 1,000 pounds to 7,500 pounds.
Consider the short distance from Site 300 to your home. Consider, too, that the predominant wind pattern blows from Site 300 into Tracy and surrounding communities.
I urge my neighbors to protect their families and the community's air, land and water by learning more about this proposal and its implications to human health and our environment.
Tri-Valley CAREs and the Tracy Advisory Committee are holding a special community meeting on Wednesday, November 13, to update community residents on the status of plans to increase the size of bomb tests at Site 300. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at 902 N. Central Ave., Ste. 201, in Tracy. Spanish translation will be provided.
Gail Rieger,
Tracy