Watchdog criticizes feds for pulling back on radiation monitoring

[Generic Other]

An environmental watchdog group is criticizing the federal government for scaling back its radiation monitoring, while simultaneously planning to raise allowable levels of radiation releases in food, water and soil after a nuclear incident.

The group, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, issued a press release yesterday condemning the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decisions.

The EPA and the Food and Drug Administration increased their radiation monitoring efforts after a massive earthquake and tsunami off the coast of Japan set off the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.

But on May 3, the EPA announced in a press release that it was falling back to a business-as-usual schedule of radiation monitoring, citing “consistently decreasing radiation levels.”

http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/watchdog-criticizes-feds-pulling-back-radiation-monitoring-10200

[fascisthunter]

1. once again, placing business interests about human life itself

sick

[Overseas]

2. K&R!

I agree.

Stop Republican policies. Strengthen the EPA, don't cut its support.

[snagglepuss]

3. After Fukushima this decsion is surreal not to mention despicable. nt

[nc4bo]

4. So glad there's a link to a .pdf!

So basically the EPA is now concentrating their efforts into monitoring radiation levels following a nuclear attack (or whatever) and leaving the real-time monitoring to other agencies.

:wtf: Wait a minute, doesn't the EPA stand for Environmental Protection Agency, (from EPA's Mission Statement: EPA's mission is to protect human health and the environment) and isn't DHS the agency that handles emergency responses to terror attacks (or whatever)?

And the EPA is handing this off to DHS :rofl:??? :wtf:

What is going on here since I'm obviously missing something here?