Ed Markey: “But it is another thing, Mr. Chairman, when the Congress determines that a human being can be exposed to 100 millirems…”

“But it is another thing, Mr. Chairman, when the Congress determines that a human being can be exposed to 100 millirems of radiation at this site with no health consequences for the individual. In other countries in the world, they have much different standards than are built into this bill. In Canada, it is one millirem a year. In Finland and Switzerland, it is 10 millirems a year. In France, it is 25 millirems a year. But here the Congress is going to decide that pregnant women, children can be exposed to 100 millirems a year, even though we know that at that level, one in 286 people exposed to that level of radiation will, in fact, contract fatal cancer. Now, I can understand how we can pretend that the canisters cannot break. I can understand how we can pretend that the driver will never get drunk. But we cannot pretend that science does not exist. We cannot pretend that the National Academy of Sciences does not exist. And we cannot pretend to be experts. A congressional expert is an oxymoron. We are only experts compared to each other. We are not experts compared to real experts, radiation experts, medical people.”