I realize there are a lot of pros and cons to nuclear energy... and since science was never a favorite subject of mine, I won't pretend to understand all of it. My resistance comes from my belief that nuclear power is unsafe, I don't trust the "government" to be honest with us about the long-term affects, and I don't believe we have developed a safe way to deal with waste. I will NEVER support a "solution" that will impact my grandchildren (who aren't born yet).
That being said, I found this very interesting and important for us to know:
Nuclear Power and France: The Most Complex and Unsolved Radioactive Waste Problem in the World
France gets nearly 80% of its electricity from its 58 reactors.
However, such a heavy reliance on nuclear power brings with it many major, unsolved problems, most especially that of radioactive waste. In fact, the French nuclear power program has resulted in the most complex nuclear waste problem in the world and includes an accumulated "pile of plutonium" with no safe disposal option of more than 80 metric tons sitting in tens of thousands of vulnerable containers.
France reprocesses domestic and foreign reactor waste - chemically separating the plutonium from the unfissioned uranium. Only about one percent of this mass is plutonium and only a small fraction of this is "recyled" as reactor fuel in "MOX" reactors. Operating MOX reactors in France - that use a blend of plutonium and uranium oxide fuel - comprise only 16of the fleet and all the waste these reactors generated has to be transported and stored. It is not reprocessed.
Reprocessing itself results in large quantities of liquid wastes that are discharged into the English Channel. This has resulted in radioactive contamination of the seas as far as the Arctic Circle and in leukemia clusters around the French reprocessing plant (La Hague.) Aerial discharges are also highly radioactive - thousands of times higher than natural background radiation.
Read our fact sheet on Nuclear Power in France: Setting the Record Straight to learn more about the French nuclear mess.
And read The Cogema File to better understand the culture of cover-ups and contamination that has marked the corporate nuclear history of France.
Showing posts with label Nuclear. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nuclear. Show all posts
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Nuclear siting initiative will protect Idaho's way of life
Published in Times-News on Tuesday, January 29, 2008
By Diana Obenauer
I was born and raised in Jerome, Idaho, a wonderful, neighborly and special place to live. My roots go deep in my love for our wonderful Magic Valley.Military service and nursing education taught me how to preserve our fighting strength and care for all people in need. I am proud to have served in the Gulf War, and I am proud to serve Jerome County as a county commissioner.
It is important to learn from the past, as we prepare for Idaho's future.When I returned to Jerome from military service, I found changes I had not expected. I do not oppose growth, but it is important to live within our limits. Few people wanted to look at any limits, or at growth that was diversified. Idaho's water has to be used for our agricultural base and our people. It defines our limits.
I discovered neighbors had sold property to Sempra coal company and county permits were already approved. These plants spew mercury, affecting our children and our water. At first, we seemed defenseless, however, miraculously widespread citizen action from all over Magic Valley including the Idaho Dairy Association achieved a legislative moratorium on coal plants, overruling the ill-conceived local decision of county commissioners.
No nuclear power plant is totally "safe." The Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission admit continual threats from disgruntled employees, lax security, and terrorist threats from both physical and computer intruders are today's reality.
Mike Sparks, director of the DOE Office of Technology, admits, "The adversary has full use of the technology in advance to being made. And if we stand still and don't take the initiative to stay a step ahead on the technology, I think we're setting ourselves up for a disaster sometime down in the future."
I believe in "local control." These plants make all Idahoans "local." I am concerned about how decisions to allow nuclear power plants in Idaho will be made and so should every citizen in Idaho.The 2007 Idaho Energy Plan invites merchant nuclear power plants to use Idaho.
Will Payette and Owyhee county commissioners succumb to local pressure, special interest or intimidation to allow these plants in their county? Who stands to profit from them?
Do those who profit live in close proximity to them? If they are built, will Idahoans have to outbid California costs for any electricity generated from our soil and water?
I believe in being proactive instead of reactive and have joined with Dr. Peter Rickards and the good citizens of Idaho all across our state who have started an initiative to help protect Idaho and its citizens. This proactive group, Idaho Families For The Safest Energy (IFFSE) simply endorses the adoption of laws other states use to protect the health, safety and welfare of its citizens. IFFSE also endorses the development and support of a wide diversity of safer, more cost effective, sustainable energy development.
Why should Idaho get stuck with these risks? The IFFSE initiative bans nuclear power until a final waste dump is approved and open. Idaho still houses the melted core of Three Mile Island. Why should our state become a bigger repository for more radioactive waste? If that is ever resolved, county commissioners still make the decision.
However, before the final permit is granted, statewide voter approval is required.This provides a fail-safe opportunity for all citizens within Idaho to have a voice in decisions that ultimately affect all of us. All citizens have the constitutional right to protect their family's life, liberty, health and personal property. This Initiative does just that, and we recommend the Legislature enact this safeguard into law this session.
Diana Obenauer, a Republican, is a Jerome County commissioner.
By Diana Obenauer
I was born and raised in Jerome, Idaho, a wonderful, neighborly and special place to live. My roots go deep in my love for our wonderful Magic Valley.Military service and nursing education taught me how to preserve our fighting strength and care for all people in need. I am proud to have served in the Gulf War, and I am proud to serve Jerome County as a county commissioner.
It is important to learn from the past, as we prepare for Idaho's future.When I returned to Jerome from military service, I found changes I had not expected. I do not oppose growth, but it is important to live within our limits. Few people wanted to look at any limits, or at growth that was diversified. Idaho's water has to be used for our agricultural base and our people. It defines our limits.
I discovered neighbors had sold property to Sempra coal company and county permits were already approved. These plants spew mercury, affecting our children and our water. At first, we seemed defenseless, however, miraculously widespread citizen action from all over Magic Valley including the Idaho Dairy Association achieved a legislative moratorium on coal plants, overruling the ill-conceived local decision of county commissioners.
No nuclear power plant is totally "safe." The Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission admit continual threats from disgruntled employees, lax security, and terrorist threats from both physical and computer intruders are today's reality.
Mike Sparks, director of the DOE Office of Technology, admits, "The adversary has full use of the technology in advance to being made. And if we stand still and don't take the initiative to stay a step ahead on the technology, I think we're setting ourselves up for a disaster sometime down in the future."
I believe in "local control." These plants make all Idahoans "local." I am concerned about how decisions to allow nuclear power plants in Idaho will be made and so should every citizen in Idaho.The 2007 Idaho Energy Plan invites merchant nuclear power plants to use Idaho.
Will Payette and Owyhee county commissioners succumb to local pressure, special interest or intimidation to allow these plants in their county? Who stands to profit from them?
Do those who profit live in close proximity to them? If they are built, will Idahoans have to outbid California costs for any electricity generated from our soil and water?
I believe in being proactive instead of reactive and have joined with Dr. Peter Rickards and the good citizens of Idaho all across our state who have started an initiative to help protect Idaho and its citizens. This proactive group, Idaho Families For The Safest Energy (IFFSE) simply endorses the adoption of laws other states use to protect the health, safety and welfare of its citizens. IFFSE also endorses the development and support of a wide diversity of safer, more cost effective, sustainable energy development.
Why should Idaho get stuck with these risks? The IFFSE initiative bans nuclear power until a final waste dump is approved and open. Idaho still houses the melted core of Three Mile Island. Why should our state become a bigger repository for more radioactive waste? If that is ever resolved, county commissioners still make the decision.
However, before the final permit is granted, statewide voter approval is required.This provides a fail-safe opportunity for all citizens within Idaho to have a voice in decisions that ultimately affect all of us. All citizens have the constitutional right to protect their family's life, liberty, health and personal property. This Initiative does just that, and we recommend the Legislature enact this safeguard into law this session.
Diana Obenauer, a Republican, is a Jerome County commissioner.
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