La. needs to get to bottom of the sinkhole and radiation

It was just yesterday that I was sharing with you the new scientific data that even exposure to what has been considered low doses of radiation can be harmful. In particular, I mentioned the long-standing -- but not always well-understood -- issue of so-called Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material, or NORM. This is a radioactive by-product of the oil-production process; for years it was dumped across the Gulf Coast, polluting groundwater and contaminating pipes that then sickened workers or were placed in unsuspecting communities. In the ongoing saga of the Bayou Corne sinkhole -- the collapsing salt dome that has forced about 150 people out of their homes some 70 miles west of New Orleans -- this has always been a concern ever since the earliest reports of bubbling swamp waters and foul odors, that some of the stuff coming up from under the ground will include unsafe levels of radiation. (It was just last week that we learned that toxic hydrogen sulfide was released as the owner, Texas Brine Co,, is working to vent and burn off gases from the troubled dome.) Now, in just the latest in what seems like a never-ending stream of bad news about what's been taking place ...