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Clinton to seek more funds to clean nuclear sites |
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| USA: January 31, 2000 | ||
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WASHINGTON - President Clinton will propose increased funding in his new budget to clean up two Energy Department uranium processing sites in Kentucky and Ohio, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson announced.
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Investment at the Paducah gaseous diffusion plant in Kentucky would more than double to $109.2 million, while funding at the Portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant in Ohio would jump 83 percent to $113.5 million. The money would clean up the plants, protect workers' health and create new jobs, Richardson said. The funding would be distributed during the fiscal year 2001 budget year, which begins Oct. 1. The department will also ask Congress for $26 million for additional cleanup and health activities for the current spending year, Richardson said. The supplemental budget request includes $3.3 million for both the Paducah and Portsmouth plants and a third plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to expand medical monitoring of workers at the facilities. The plants made enriched uranium for nuclear weapons and power plants. The extra money will also pay for ongoing environment, safety and health investigations at the plants. The Energy Department has acknowledged that Paducah workers were exposed to radiation at the plant, which may have caused cancer in employees.
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REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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