Dear Chairman Jackson and Members,

The California Radioactive Materials Management Forum (Cal Rad Forum) respectfully requests a "no" vote when Senate Bill 2065 (Kuehl) is heard in Committee on Tuesday, June 25.

Cal Rad Forum is an association of organizations that use radioactive materials and generate low-level radioactive waste in the Southwestern Compact region — Host State California, Arizona, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Our members include universities; electric utilities; industries (including biotech and pharmaceutical); medical centers; and professional societies in radiation safety, medicine, and engineering. Cal Rad’s primary goal is the safe, assured disposal of low-level radioactive waste.

SB 2065 establishes duplicative and extensive data collection and reporting requirements for low-level waste in storage and shipped for disposal. The bill makes no provision for proprietary data despite the extensive use of radioactive materials in California’s competitive biotech and pharmaceutical industries. Data on waste in storage would be available to anyone with valid identification such as a driver's license.

The California Department of Health Services already has the data necessary to determine risk in the form of activity present at each facility. Data on waste shipped for disposal is already available on the internet through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Manifest Information Management System at http://mims.mactec.com.

This bill would require the Department of Health Services to develop and implement a new program at a cost estimated at several hundred thousands of dollars.

Because of the concerns outlined above Cal Rad Forum respectfully requests a "no" vote on SB 2065.

Attachment: List of Organizations Opposed to SB 2065

cc: The Honorable Sheila Kuehl
Mr. Richard Figueroa, Deputy Legislative Secretary
Mr. David Nunenkamp, Chief Consultant, Assembly Republican Caucus
Cal Rad Forum Corporate and Institutional Members
Cal Rad Forum Board of Directors

ORGANIZATIONS OPPOSED TO SB 2065
Amercian College of Nuclear Physicians, California Chapter
Amersham Health
Amgen, Inc.
BioCom San Diego
The Boeing Company
California Council on Environmental and Economic Balance
California Health Care Association
California Healthcare Institute
California Manufacturers and Technology Association
California Radioactive Materials Management Forum
General Atomics
General Electric
ICN Biomedicals
Ligand Pharmaceuticals
National Association of Cancer Patients
Sorrento Electronics
Southern California Edison Company
United States Navy
Wyle Laboratories