Ten new cities will be added to the 16 current EPA Brownfields Showcase Communities. The designation as Showcase Communities will make these cities part of the Brownfields National Partnership, a program that coordinates resources, expertise and funding from government and the private sector to clean up polluted, under used industrial sites and restore them to productivity. This Administration has taken action to help cities and communities clean up brownfields and enable them to serve as sources of economic vitality, jobs and community pride. The report documents that more than 93 percent of the action agenda commitments are completed or in progress. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson announced today that the DOE has developed a worker protection program to prevent lung disease from exposure to beryllium.
Beryllium is a metal used in many nuclear applications.
Under the program, all DOE sites with potential beryllium exposure to workers will be required to put in place stricter controls to minimize that exposure and provide for early detection of disease. Because of the involvement of workers, public health experts and other stakeholders in this process, we now have in place the toughest and most comprehensive protections in the world to prevent future cases of this terrible disease. The new rule, published in today's Federal Register, establishes the Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program across the department. The rule takes effect on January 7, 2000. DOE contractors are required to submit a detailed plan to meet the rule's requirements within 90 days of that date.