Department of Health recommends public be advised of the presence of elevated radiation levels in deer close to the BNL site.

[Long Island, NY] In May of 1998, STAR (Standing for Truth About Radiation) filed a formal petition with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) requesting that they impose a deer hunting ban on Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) property and issue a consumption advisory for deer taken from the area around BNL. The petition was filed by STAR in response to information that deer taken from BNL property contain radioactive cesium-137 concentrations at levels as high as thirteen (13) times the concentrations from deer sampled away from the BNL site. The Department of Environmental Conservation forwarded the petition to the Department of Health for an opinion on the health risk posed by the cesium levels observed.

In response to the STAR (Standing for Truth About Radiation) petition, recently the New York State Department of Health, Bureau of Environmental Radiation Protection issued a report titled, "Deer Meat contaminated with Cesium-137 at Brookhaven National Laboratory." The report concludes that "the public, in particular those who hunt in the area, should be informed of the presence of elevated levels of cesium-137 in deer harvested from BNL vicinity." Furthermore, the report states that this information will allow "hunters who do not wish to expose themselves or their families to the incremental radiation dose that may occur, can choose to hunt other areas away from BNL."

"STAR is encouraged that the State has investigated this situation and now we believe that the Department of Environmental Conservation is obliged to hold the legally mandated public hearing on this petition," stated Scott Cullen, Counsel for STAR. "The state has acknowledged that the public should be made aware of this important issue and the DEC should comply with the law and schedule the long overdue public hearing," said Cullen. "If there are particular individuals who are consuming this contaminated meat on a regular basis, the health implications are alarming and this unnecessary exposure should be stopped," he added. "At the very least, the State has a duty to facilitate an open dialogue on the topic in the affected area so that interested members of the public can gather information from all sides and draw their own conclusions," he said.