Where is Green Peace?Felt Compelled to share a few thoughts on this....
Price Anderson combined with the waiver for any damages caused from nuclear that is included as part and parcel of every homeowners policy is reason enough to oppose the planned nuclear renaissance being planned for America. Conservative estimates from 1980 studies estimate that a major nuclear incident here in America would cause between $43-78 Billion dollars in damages. Most host communities around nuclear reactors have seen large increases in both population and infrastructure, and real estate values have sky rocketed, so that figure is wantonly low. The Price Anderson Act sets liability for the industry at $9 billion. Further, if we look at Hurricane Katrina, people are NEVER MADE WHOLE, yet Entergy was made whole with almost $300 million in community block grants that allowed them to recoup 90 cents of every dollar lost, and get new infrastructure as a part of the bargain. Meanwhile, the average citizen affected by that tragedy is anywhere from being whole....would the aftermath of a major nuclear incident be any different?
As for meltdown...how many bullets have so far been dodged, and I am talking about the ones we have been allowed to know about? In Sweden (2006), and in Japan (1999) we have seen incidents that almost became biblical in the past six years, with the accident in Japan out right killing three workers...most disturbing in that accident, is the incident time frame, as it shows you a evacuation could become necessary in America, and in a similar event here in America to the one in Japan, the evacuation processes will not work. We twice now have had worker error almost blow up two nuclear bombs (both over 100 times more powerful than the one that went off at Hiroshima), and just last month we had a semi trailer of fuel grade uranium oxide tip over in North Carolina...if it was no big deal, why did they (Homeland Security) instantly throw an exclusionary zone around the area, thus blacking out the press? Car chases have gotten more coverage on FOX and CNN than this event recieved.
Lastly, the process to re license facilities has been fixed, as in collusion between industry, NRC and DOE....FACT....you cannot have this rebirth of Nuclear if you close down a large percentage of these aging reactors...in fact, you need ALMOST ALL OF THEM TO BE re licensed. Known design flaws...removed from consideration in the re licensing process with the statement they are grand fathered in. Leaking spent fuel rod storage facilities...not a part of the process, as it is NOT THE REACTOR. Degradation of the rivers...Sheehan of the NRC has been quoted,"though said degradation is real, it is not enough at any facility to deny re licensing." Further, many of these reactors around the world (over 400) are water cooled, and that is not expected to change all that much in the next generation of reactors. Using Indian Point as one example, it requires 2.5 Billion Gallons of water each and every day to cool said reactor. That water is returned to the Hudson River at around 100 degrees. Now call me foolish, but what is the contribution towards global warming when nuclear reactors are warming our water ways to the tune of 365 trillion gallons a year of 100 degree water? Why does the NRC, DOE and the nuclear industry refuse to bring forward publically this discussion?
Waste streams...read the hand writing on the wall...they (DOE and NRC) are going to wave a magic wand and make most of it disappear by re labeling it as future use resources (has been done before), which is why DOE is planning on getting into the reprocessing business big time. Further, they are getting into the reprocessing business as uranium, contrary to what industry would have us believe, is not a renewable resource...their claim of a 2-3,000 year supply of uranium relies upon some very fuzzy science at best, specifically mining the uranium out of sea water...now, how many of us are seriously comfortable with the nuclear industry owning and operating these huge floating uranium mining vessels as they suck hundreds of trillions of gallons of our ocean waters through some as yet to be invented process to strip out the uranium?
Lastly, what about the other sources of energy that are truly renewable? If you start following the money, America is being set up to subsidize the nuclear industry to the tune of TRILLIONS of dollars. (I have read one DOE estimate that places the amount at between $4-7.5 Trillion). Where would solar, wind, geothermal and other alternative fuels be with this kind of investment on the part of our government.
I may be naive, but if there ever was a fight to wade into, this is the one. If we as a nation are going to again go down the nuclear roadway, should it not be done honestly, and should we not have an open and FAIR national debate? Is it fair that host communities are not getting a true and fair hering/vote on all these relicensing petitions? As a stakeholder at Indian Point Nuclear Reactors owned by Entergy, and as the publisher of http://greennuclearbutterfly.blogspot.com there is little I can do but sound the alarm as best as I can, whereas, yourself, your organization have a far wider audience. We have been told to think globally, but act locally....we have it backwards, and that is why the nuclear industry is winning. Local grassroots are orphans with no chance at stopping the Nuclear Power 2010 juggernaut...instead, we need to band these organizations together and take this issue to the national stage, demand one bill in Congress co-signed by all Congressman and Senators around reactor communities...do your homework, and here is what you will find...using Indian Point as one example.
In 2006 Maurice Hinchey introduced a bill calling for a safety and security assessment of ONLY INDIAN POINT that was co-signed by only the three other congress members around Indian Point, and Hillary Clinton introduced a similar bill with no co-sponsors...both bills were read twice at committee level and officially KILLED when sent to sub-committee. Interesting enough, at about the same time, five members of Congress around Vermont Yankee wrote a letter to Mr. Diaz at the NRC demanding the same action for that facility...surely you see the devious and duplicitous deceit going on? Two reactors, both seeking the same action, but doing it in a way that both actions could DIE ON THE VINE while locally the Congressmen and women could feign concern....this deceit has occurred around every reactor community in America. Where is one NATIONAL BILL calling on a moratorium on all re licensing actions until such time as a safety and security assessment has been done for every reactor in America...further, where is Green Peace is making this happen?
Royce Penstinger
Green Nuclear Butterfly
www.greennuclearbutterfly.com
