A story that ran yesterday on the AP wire regarding the resurgence of interest in nuclear energy in the U.S. certainly attracted a lot of attention, especially on a Summer afternoon. If you take a look at Digg, you'll see that almost 600 of its users "dugg" the story -- which may be the reason why it came to the attention of the folks at the Knight Science Journalism Tracker:
It is disappointing that (AP's Jay) Lindsay went to Greenpeace and an anti-nuclear outfit called the Nuclear Information and Resource Service for technical remarks. On the political side, such groups are serious, important actors. But to let stand without comment or counter a quote that labels nuclear plants “predeployed nuclear weapons” is a disservice.No kidding.
Comments
The real "disservice" has been to their own credibility.
Bill V.
gunter
Which is of course the fault of the operators of the facilities.
Furthermore, you should not oppose fuel reprocessing, which when combined with actinide recycle reduces waste volume by 99.999999999999999999999% and burns out the plutonium in the process. Why did your friends agitate and browbeat the DOE and NRC into forcing research reactors to convert to LEU fuel, and are now hemmering them because their LEU fuel produces more "waste" products than HEU, making them more of a target? Seems like you're talking out of both sides of your mouth. Typical.
Paul, could you please explain your group's ridiculous statement about nuclear plants being synonymous with predeployed nuclear weapons?
My 30 years working at nuclear plants tells me otherwise. This is a safe and secure industry, and is expanding worldwide for those reasons. I personally choose not to live my life in unreasoned fear, and I applaud those in the environmental movement who share these same sentiments. I just think the fear tactic is becoming ineffective. Do you have any others?
Bill V.
Why oppose Yucca Mt?
Well how about because both the site characterization process and the only site under "characterization" fail the straight face test.
One site under "scientific characterization" by the DOE:
duh... I wonder what the result will be? This is the unscientific product of the Screw Nevada Bill of 1987. A genuinely scientific process would be looking at multiple sites for comparative values. Of course, being squatted over by a nuclear industry that really needs to take a dump somewhere is not very popular.
Then the geologic repository concept has to demonstrate a site with geologic integrity. Yucca Mt. is crisscrossed with active earthquake faults and surrounded by volcano fields. How's that for a start to burying 70,000 metric tons of hot radioactive used reactor fuel, forever?
Reprocessing does not reduce nuclear waste volume. To the contrary it increases volume.
And in the process among other things creates highly corrosive liquid high-level radioactive waste.
So where do we get the idea that reactors are "predeployed weapons of mass destruction." Rather than conjuring up "unreasoned fear," as I have said, here's some suggested reading:
1) 9/11 Commission Report/ two US reactors targeted for original al Qaeda attack plan;
2) National Academy of Science;
identifies vulnerability of high density storage rack systems of HLRW in on-site pools; of which more than 1/3 US reactors have densely configured hot assemblies in pools elevated to upper portion of reactor builidings outside primary containment;
3) The 1982 Argonne National Lab report nuclear power and aircraft crash hazards: The nuke generation you worked was never designed, constructed, licensed or evaluated for an inadvertent aircraft crash, let alone a deliberate attack. And aircraft would not even have to target containment for high core damage frequency. All first gen units were eventually licensed on the low probability of inadverent crash. 9/11 has changed that.
Should I post the NUREG for you guys somewhere? Because you won't find it on the NRC anymore or on the NEI website. Or you could go to one of the old local public document rooms and find it.
A broad public interest community is in support of Hardened Onsite Storage (HOSS) or robust on-site storage of fuel. How about you?
Qualified (demonstrated) dry casks that are individually bunkered, dispersed around the site and more security.
So why does the industry resist such a federally policy shift and instead still insist on openly congregated dry casks in direct line of site that have trouble with their QA/QC? Some of these ISFSIs' even are surrounded by dense tree lines and sit below elevated ridge lines.
As for what you refer to as the "fear tactic," as I said, the fact that two Offices of Attorney General (NJ & MA) have so far taken Exelon, Entergy and NRC into federal court speaks for itself.
It was the public and academic investigations that preceded these states' legal action.
gunter
Society needs to compare that hypothetical to normally functioning coal plants.
Come on Paul, the prestigious bodies you mentioned did not characterize nuclear plants as “Predeployed Nuclear Weapons”, YOU did. I still smell fear mongering.
Bill V.