Could this be Ossining, Briarcliff, or Peekskill after an INCIDENT at the Indian Point Plant?Nuclear Power is a Health, Safety, and Environmental Threat: Cancers, Birth Defects...call them the daughters of the decay chain of radioactive isotopes.
1. In testimony before Congress on April 17, 1985, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission testified that the probability of a substantial nuclear accident in this country over the next 20 years involving large releases of radioactive materials was roughly 45%. Well, there was Chernobyl...could Indian Point be the bullet we fail to dodge? Maybe Vermont Yankee?
2. In February, 1997, a reactor operator error at ComEd's Zion nuclear reactor prompted the Regional head of the NRC to state, "It doesn't get any worse than this." Well, not quite true...seems there is a reactor that came close to having a hole clear through it, but I'll save that story for another post.
3. In March of 1997, in a test that NRC said "requires thinking," 25 of 31 reactor operators at ComEd's La Salle reactors flunked a test of their ability to handle "abnormal" reactor problems.
This is not unusual...many of us that have been following the saga that is Indian Point are familiar with this kind of dismal testing failure on the part of reactor employees.
4. As of April, 1997, Commonwealth Edison has been fined $6.2 million for 85 safety-related incidents at its nuclear power plants. Don't suppose Energy would be willing to openly and honestly tell us how much they have paid out in fines at their 10 reactors?
6. Illinois Power has been fined $502,000 for seven major violations at its single nuclear reactor.
4. As of April, 1997, Commonwealth Edison has been fined $6.2 million for 85 safety-related incidents at its nuclear power plants. Don't suppose Energy would be willing to openly and honestly tell us how much they have paid out in fines at their 10 reactors?
6. Illinois Power has been fined $502,000 for seven major violations at its single nuclear reactor.
Did you hear the one about the Entergy Reactor Control Room operator asleep at the button?...how much was that fine? $60,000? How much was the fine was shipping a contaminated part off to Barnwell improperly shielded?
7. According to a study done by Sandia National Laboratories, a severe (but not necessarily "worst-case") nuclear power accident in Illinois would result in deaths in the tens-of-thousands, casualties and latent cancers in the hundreds-of-thousands, and property loss in the tens-to hundreds-of-billions of dollars. Not to worry folks...Thanks to your United States Congress, and George W. Bush, the Price Waterhouse Act limits the liability of the reactor owner to NINE BILLION!
Nuclear Power is NOT Economical:
1. Since its beginning, nuclear power has cost this country over $492,000,000,000 (THAT IS BILLIONS FOLKS)--nearly twice the cost of the Viet Nam War and the Apollo Moon Missions combined. It even makes the Iraq War, and Bush's failed policies there seem like a bargain.
2. In return for this investment, we have an energy source that, until the mid-1980's, gave us less energy in this country than did the burning of firewood! Not to mentions the MILLIONS of tons of CO2 pumped into the environment to make the fuel rods! Oh, but wait a minute, the DOE, NRC and the Nuclear Industry don't want you to know about that...ruins their GREEN IMAGE.
3. In the U.S., nuclear power contributes only 20-22% of our electricity, and only 8-10% of our total energy consumption. At it's peak in December of 1999, the nuclear industry accounted for 23 percent of the energy on the grid...however, as the aging fleet of reactors begin breaking down, contaminating our environment, and having problems, the percentages have been dropping, even when Entergy is pushing their ten reactors to the breaking point. In April of 2006 for instance, the percentage was down to 19.5...this figure will continue to decrease as some of the decrepit reactors are denied relicensing...Further, Nuclear Reactors are not the GREAT SAVIOR NuStart would have us believe...ten-fifteen years it will take to start getting new reactors online, and they would not be able to provide the quick help the world needs to REVERSE GLOBAL WARMING...did I mention the waste streams?
7. According to a study done by Sandia National Laboratories, a severe (but not necessarily "worst-case") nuclear power accident in Illinois would result in deaths in the tens-of-thousands, casualties and latent cancers in the hundreds-of-thousands, and property loss in the tens-to hundreds-of-billions of dollars. Not to worry folks...Thanks to your United States Congress, and George W. Bush, the Price Waterhouse Act limits the liability of the reactor owner to NINE BILLION!
Nuclear Power is NOT Economical:
1. Since its beginning, nuclear power has cost this country over $492,000,000,000 (THAT IS BILLIONS FOLKS)--nearly twice the cost of the Viet Nam War and the Apollo Moon Missions combined. It even makes the Iraq War, and Bush's failed policies there seem like a bargain.
2. In return for this investment, we have an energy source that, until the mid-1980's, gave us less energy in this country than did the burning of firewood! Not to mentions the MILLIONS of tons of CO2 pumped into the environment to make the fuel rods! Oh, but wait a minute, the DOE, NRC and the Nuclear Industry don't want you to know about that...ruins their GREEN IMAGE.
3. In the U.S., nuclear power contributes only 20-22% of our electricity, and only 8-10% of our total energy consumption. At it's peak in December of 1999, the nuclear industry accounted for 23 percent of the energy on the grid...however, as the aging fleet of reactors begin breaking down, contaminating our environment, and having problems, the percentages have been dropping, even when Entergy is pushing their ten reactors to the breaking point. In April of 2006 for instance, the percentage was down to 19.5...this figure will continue to decrease as some of the decrepit reactors are denied relicensing...Further, Nuclear Reactors are not the GREAT SAVIOR NuStart would have us believe...ten-fifteen years it will take to start getting new reactors online, and they would not be able to provide the quick help the world needs to REVERSE GLOBAL WARMING...did I mention the waste streams?
4. Since 1950, nuclear power has received over $97,000,000,000 in direct and indirect subsidies from the federal government, such as deferred taxes, artificially low limits on liability in case of nuclear accidents, and fuel fabrication write-offs. No other industry has enjoyed such privilege.
5. Many costs for nuclear power have been deliberately underestimated by government and industry such as costs for the permanent disposal of nuclear wastes, the "decommissioning" (shutting-down and cleaning-up) of retired nuclear power plants, and nuclear accident consequences.
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