It appears that we are going to allow higher-level, hazardous Class B and C nuclear waste to be stored in Utah, as it grows even more radioactive over time (“Radiation board disbands before discussing blended waste ban,” Tribune, May 8).

Disbanding Utah’s Radiation Control Board and replacing it with a downsized board, especially reducing oversight by health professionals, is an appalling act of disservice to the health of Utah citizens, now and in the future.

It is shocking to observe the demise of the board and to watch the sham of waste-blending in order to bring in higher-hazard nuclear waste to be stored for thousands of years in Utah.

Citizen oversight boards are an important part of any open democratic society. An example is the Utah governor’s Citizen’s Advisory Commission, which served for 19 years during the destruction of stored chemical weapons. Finally, the largest store of our nation’s chemical weapons has been destroyed.

At a ceremony celebrating the closure of the incinerator used to destroy the chemical munitions, officials of the Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility told the commission members: “You have made us better at what we do.”

Rosemary A. Holt Member, Citizen’s Advisory Commission

Salt Lake City