I'm the president of Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility, one of the nonprofit groups referred to in the Herald's Nov. 30 editorial, "Funding should be cut to Hanford interest groups."

Allow us to clarify who we are, what we do and about our funding. Our member physicians keep the public educated about the cleanup schedule, on progress and obstacles.

-- We have succeeded as demonstrated in a recent survey showing 85 percent of the citizens at public meetings was due to our contacting individuals and groups.

-- Funding is not from the general fund but from set-aside monies related to Hanford cleanup.

-- Public participation is required by state and federal laws.

The Hanford cleanup is involves many government entities and for profit corporations. Nongovernmental, nonprofit organizations helps ensure that public information happens often and is understandable. We attract citizens to attend meetings and we provide medical related testimony when needed.

WPSR contributes an average of $20,000 annually in volunteer time and unreimbursed expenses. WPSR is the state chapter of the national Physicians for Responsibility headquartered in Washington, D.C. We do advocacy where there are medical hazards related to environmental issues throughout the state. Contact us for additional information.

RICHARD GRADY, Seattle