YES WE CAN!
WE CAN'T DO THIS ALONE - DONATE NOW
A Message from Rochelle
I am beginning to believe in this current political mantra. There is an excitement in the air and a new attitude that is refreshing. We are witnessing increasing doubt that nuclear is the energy source of the future and grave concern that the cost of nuclear will divert money from exciting alternative solutions to climate concerns.
Last month was spent on several productive projects that we believe will further our mission to limit the production of radioactive waste to current license terms for Diablo Canyon and San Onofre.
- SCE Requests $17 million, Alliance says steps to relicense the San Onofre Nuclear Station are premature.
The Alliance intervened with the Sierra Club, CALPIRG, Environment California Research and Policy Center and California Church Impact to question SCE's on its request for $17 million to study license renewal. It would be premature to charge ratepayers for the utility to study whether its aging reactors can limp along for 20 years after nuclear operating licenses expire. Though we could not afford legal representation we reviewed all relevant documents and asked questions of SCE on issues including: decommissioning, earthquake updates, water degradation from daily operation, radioactive waste, security, etc. We did make it clear to SCE and the California Public Utilities Commission that a decision to allow SCE to plan for license renewal means a diversion of funding to replace aging reactors on our seismically active coast with truly renewable, safe and efficient energy. Letters to Commissioner Michael Peevey, President of the California Public Utilities Commission adding your voice to those opposing license renewal are very important ( http://a4nr.org/letters/07.07.2008-peeveyltrresongs/view )
- Lack of transparency and follow up on public concerns addressed
On June 12, 2008, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission held a conference call to discuss lack of recognition of public comments in final rulemaking on emergency planning. The Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility, Riverkeeper, Union of Concerned Scientists, NIRS, Greenpeace and other reactor safety organization addressed the perceived lack of recognition of public input or NRC follow up on comment provided to protect citizens from the possibility of radioactive exposure. This lack of transparency and willingness to respect the public’s participation will be addressed with Congressional Representatives this month in Washington, DC by the Alliance.
- The Alliance files to intervene with the Department of Energy commenting on impacts to California from the proposed Yucca Mountain radioactive storage site to shared water sources and radioactive waste transport.
For the past few years the Alliance has been educating California legislators on the impacts to California if Yucca Mountain should open. Twelve percent of the nation's waste is proposed to travel in and out of California in order to reach the repository. This proposed plan would expose millions of Californians to a possible radioactive release due to train or truck accident or sabotage. Who will pay to train and equip California's first responders? Who will pay to upgrade our rails and roads for these heavy radioactive shipments? How will these shipments impact on time delivery of commercial freight, especially on old and single track rail systems? All questions yet to be resolved by the DOE, DOT or the NRC.
- A4NR represented at Nation Activist Summit on Nuclear Waste.
On May 29 Molly Johnson flew to Columbia, South Carolina to attend the National Activist Summit on Nuclear Waste. Approximately 75 anti-nuclear activists from around the country attended this two-day summit. Molly helped to lead a workshop panel that discussed state's rights and responsibilities in regards to nuclear power and nuclear waste. Many other topics regarding nuclear waste were discussed and many actions items were planned to come out of this summit meeting. Look for National Cask-et Day and other national days of action. We'll also be letting you know about other actions to be taken in the future.
- Alliance outreach coordinator David Weisman has completed a 30 minute version of the documentary video, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Nuclear Power - but were afraid to ask. The finished DVD will be available for community access television stations, public screenings and town meetings, and each individual segment will be posted via You Tube later this summer. Check back to www.a4nr.org for an announcement and link when the clips are ready to be viewed.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Aug 7th CEC public hearing on draft cost, benefit and risk analysis of California's dependence on aging nuclear reactors in Sacramento. If you are interested in attending this hearing in Sacramento and would like to carpool please let us know and the Alliance will coordinate transportation.
Oct 29th and 30th We are delighted to announce Dr. Arjun Makhijani, author of Carbon Free Nuclear Free a roadmap for U.S. Energy Policy and S. David Freeman, author of Winning Our Energy Independence: An Energy Insider Shows How, will be speaking at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on Oct 29, 2008 and at USD in San Diego Oct 30th. They will share the insights of their new books update their conclusions. There will be a benefit with both men for the Alliance following the event. Mark the date on your calendar — you won’t want to miss it!
Please support the Alliance efforts to end production of highly-radioactive waste on our coast by 2025. Listed below are some of our average costs for doing this public advocacy, and how you can help offset these expenses.
- $150 - a round-trip ticket to Sacramento to educate our legislators and oversight agencies
- $100 – a hotel for one night on trips or speaking engagements to educate California ratepayers as well as Sacramento and Washington, DC representatives
- Donation of frequent flyer miles
- Donation of hotel coupons
Any amount helps, but these are our major expenses.
To sign up for newsletter and/or alerts: www.a4nr.org
In Peace
Rochelle
WE CAN'T DO THIS ALONE - DONATE NOW
Rochelle Becker, Executive Director Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility
www.a4nr.org
(858) 337 2703
Upcoming Events
Important events for the Alliance
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Glow Train Catastrophe - History Channel Special
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Breaking News
Here's the latest news
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Areva faces 50 pct cost rise for Finnish nuclear reactor
French nuclear group Areva is facing a 50 percent rise to the cost of building the world's first next-generation pressurised water reactor in Finland, the business daily Les Echos reported Thursday. The cost of constructing the plant at Olkiluoto has risen from three billion to 4.5 billion euros (6.7 billion dollars), the paper reported citing an unidentified source.
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Nuclear plant workers evacuated
Human error is being blamed for a radiation spike at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant that prompted the evacuation of about a dozen workers from the main reactor building for about two hours.
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LA Times Letter to the Editor
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FRANCE'S NUCLEAR CONUNDRUM - Atomic World Champ on the Ropes
France is proud of having the world's most developed nuclear energy infrastructure, but a series of incidents at the Tricastin nuclear power plant has shaken its self-confidence. Is public sentiment about nuclear power about to shift? The winegrowers have already made their move. No longer will they label their product Côteaux du Tricastin. Why? Because the name Tricastin is slowly beginning to stand for something far removed from fine wine.
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Efficiency, renewable energy are much cheaper than nukes
When Arjun Makhijani talks about generating electricity with nuclear power, he knows of what he speaks. His Ph.D. is from UC-Berkeley in nuclear engineering, and he has authored numerous books on energy, including the first evaluation conducted of energy efficiency potential in the U.S. economy. His most recent tome, “Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free,” is a no-nonsense policy guide for ending our dependence on fossil fuels without incurring massive debt — and courting potential disaster — by expanding our nuclear-generation capacity.
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The Misconception of Nuclear Power
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WATER WORRIES GROW
On a hazy summer day, a pair of anglers fish on a man-made lake in PPL’s Susquehanna Riverlands wildlife habitat. Above them, the massive cooling towers of the Susquehanna nuclear plant billow white plumes of vapor, the byproduct of millions of gallons of water the two reactors consume daily from the river to cool the intense heat generated by nuclear fission
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42-Square-Mile Federal Uranium Program Challenged: Threatens Contamination of Public Land, Wildlife Habitat Communities, and Precious Western Water
A coalition of conservation groups filed suit in federal court today, challenging the Department of Energy’s decision to vastly expand its uranium mining program on 42 square miles of public land near the spectacular Dolores River Canyon, a tributary to the Colorado River in southwest Colorado.
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ACCIDENTS MAKE NUCLEAR QUESTIONS LOOM LARGE
The recent proliferation of accidents at nuclear power plants in France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Slovenia and elsewhere in Europe has made calls for greater reliance on nuclear energy questionable, experts say.
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'Major discovery' from MIT primed to unleash solar revolution
Scientists mimic essence of plants' energy storage system
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Don’t Drink the Nuclear Kool-Aid
We can't let the nuclear power industry use global warming as an opportunity to sell its insanely expensive and dangerous power plants.
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France: Nuclear Leak Announced
French nuclear safety authorities and the nuclear giant Areva said that a leak had occurred at one of Areva’s nuclear fuel plants, the second leak at an Areva nuclear power plant in two weeks.
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NUCLEAR POWER, FRANCE HALTS TRICASTIN POWER STATION
The French nuclear safety agencies have asked the company owned by the Areva Socatri group to temporarily stop operations at the treatment plant for the Tricastin power station is the south of France. On Monday it was discovered that the plants were leaking water which contained Uranium and which was running off into the surrounding rivers.
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River use banned after French uranium leak
Residents in the Vaucluse, a popular southern French tourist destination, were banned yesterday from drinking well-water or swimming or fishing in two rivers after a uranium leak from one of France's nuclear power plants.
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Nuclear Recycling Fails the Test
Over the past few years, attention to the recycling of nuclear power spent fuel has grown. Fears of global warming due to fossil fuel burning have given nuclear energy a boost; over the next 15 years dozens of new power reactors are planned world-wide. To promote nuclear energy, the Bush administration is seeking to establish international spent nuclear fuel recycling centers that are supposed to reduce wastes, recycle uranium, and convert nuclear explosive materials, such as plutonium to less troublesome elements in advanced power reactors.
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NRC Found Lax in Oversight of Fire Safety Regulations at Reactors
A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that reviewed the performance of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in regulating federally-mandated fire protection standards at U.S. nuclear reactors was released this week. The report confirmed that the NRC has for three decades consistently mishandled fire protection violations at the country’s nuclear power plants.
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Radioactive Waste Poses a Serious Threat to California
According to a recent LA Times headline, the “Yucca Mountain safety plan is doomed.” If Yucca Mountain is “doomed,” what does this mean for the hundreds of tons of highly radioactive waste located on California’s fragile coast?
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Can American be carbon-free and nuclear-free?
Think what a burden would be lifted from the collective American psyche if we no longer had to depend on foreign countries for the oil that is the lifeblood of our economy and our way of life. In a new book, "Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free: A Roadmap for U.S. Energy Policy," electrical engineer Arjun Makhijani contends that its possible to achieve that goal without turning to nuclear generation. The Citizen-Times interviewed Makhijani when he visited Asheville recently. This is an edited transcript of that interview.
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Five Myths About Nuclear Energy
Atomic energy is among the most impractical and risky of available fuel sources. Private financiers are reluctant to invest in it, and both experts and the public have questions about the likelihood of safely storing lethal radioactive wastes for the required million years. Reactors also provide irresistible targets for terrorists seeking to inflict deep and lasting damage on the United States. The government’s own data show that U.S. nuclear reactors have more than a one-in-five lifetime probability of core melt, and a nuclear accident could kill 140,000 people, contaminate an area the size of Pennsylvania, and destroy our homes and health.
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Video: “Dr. Frank von Hippel discusses nuclear fuel reprocessing with Ben Moore of the Coastal Conservation League” (South Carolina)
On May 29, Dr. Frank von Hippel of Princeton University gave two talks on reprocessing (Global Nuclear Energy Partnership) at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC. His evening talk to around 100 people kicked off a national nuclear waste summit that activists around the US attended.
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Recent Articles
Recent articles of interest posted on the ANR website
Areva faces 50 pct cost rise for Finnish nuclear reactor