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Thursday, September 12th, 2013

Holy Cow: Former Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Says Every Single Reactor in the U.S. Should Be Shut Down

Author:     Emily Schwartz Greco, William A. Collins
Source:     AlterNet (U.S.)
Publication Date:     4-Sep-13
 Link: Holy Cow: Former Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Says Every Single Reactor in the U.S. Should Be Shut Down
Stephan:   Given Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and, now, Fukushima you would think ending nuclear was a no-brainer. But corporate profits cannot be denied in the U.S.. They are the first priority. The end of nuclear will only occur when it stops being profitable. Americans simply can't seem to marshal the political will to stop nuclear on the basis of common sense.

The first thing to remember about nuclear power is that it’s not safe. Just ask Japan.

The second thing to remember is that nuclear power isn’t cheap. Connecticut draws half its juice from nuclear reactors and has the second-highest rates in the country, after Hawaii.

The third thing to know is that everybody lies about it. The power plant designers lie, the builders lie, the utility companies lie, the regulators lie, and the politicians lie.

Take Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the utility that ran the reactors in Japan’s Fukushima prefecture that failed after a tsunami and earthquake struck. TEPCO still won’t admit just how serious a disaster that was and continues to be.

But kids living downwind are already getting thyroid cancer, fish in the nearby sea are no longer safe to eat, and radioactive tuna are cruising the California coast. As with the Chernobyl disaster, tens of thousands of people may never be free to return home.

Meanwhile at many U.S. nuclear reactors, efficiency is declining and the risk of accidents is rising. Unlike at a coal-fired power plant, you can’t just hit the off switch if there’s a flood, drought, or power failure. All those spent nuclear fuel […]

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