It has all the appearances of something straight out of Thoreau's Walden Pond. You would never suspect that in this secluded spot, somewhere in the middle of the Pine Barrens of eastern Long Island, plumes of radioactive exhaust spontaneously radiate underneath the surface crust of the earth.

It is the site of the Brookhaven National Laboratory, a justly celebrated landmark of advanced scientific research where scientists who have been working there since 1947 have won six Nobel Prizes. It is also the site of hazardous research as evidenced by the improper disposal sites as far away as Utah. This means railcars carrying thousands of tons of this material will be, and have been, traversing past its corridor communities, including the Village of Floral Park, without so much as a phone call alerting us about the shipment.

While I agree that the use of the rail transport system as opposed to trucks is more efficient, safer and less expensive, this fact does not free the LIRR/MTA of their obligation as a Public Authority from advising us when these radioactive materials are being shipped.

Indeed, between 2004 and 2005, the lab transported 200 non-regulated soil shipments and 200 low level radioactive waste shipments during environmental cleanup projects without us knowing when these shipments were taking place. Although these railcars are sealed and then sealed shut a second time, local authorities must not be left fishing in dark waters for critical information on the times and days of these shipments. While citing security concerns about disclosing shipping days cannot be dismissed out of hand, there are ways to reconcile both security and safety issues.

There is an agreement that presently exists between New York City and the Long Island Rail Road that should serve as a template for other locales. Under the terms of that agreement, shipments of contaminated material can only happen after the LIRR formally notifies New York City's Office of Emergency Management who will then notify police, fire and other emergency officials. Why is not a similar agreement in place for Nassau and Suffolk counties and, yes, local villages?

Do not people live, work and play here? Is this not a densely populated area? Will not our police, fire and first responders also have to respond to an emergency on the tracks? Don't these dedicated emergency responders deserve the same courtesy and respect as NYC's first responders on the contents of these railcars?

Accidents can and do happen no matter what safety precautions are taken. Likewise, security measures are capable of being breached no matter what safeguards have been put in place. We've had fires on the tracks and even a derailment that our emergency personnel in Floral Park had to respond to in the past. Shouldn't these emergency officials be alerted beforehand that there is radioactive material aboard even if the levels are low? I say they must!

This is exactly what I told Channel 12 Cable News in an interview last week at the Floral Park train station. We don't want to read about possible shipments in the newspapers and we certainly don't want to learn about it after an emergency. Isn't the MTA/LIRR's reputation poor enough with the public they reputedly serve without putting their neck into a public relations noose and jumping through a trap door on the transportation of radioactive material also?

We want our village administration, our police and fire departments to be informed before shipments of radioactive and contaminated materials are made. The MTA/LIRR policy of begging pardon rather than presenting notification must come to an abrupt end! It is time the MTA/LIRR begin treating us like a community where families actually live and not as if Floral Park and its sister communities were some Black Hole in a far away galaxy.