Citizens Set to Go Nuclear Over Nuclear Power Plants in the United States

Aging nuclear facility are scattered across America, especially along the east coast, not far from the infamous Three Mile Island location. Behind these almost medicinally clean hospital looking facades there lurk dirty secrets behind locked closet doors.

Do any of us really have a clear idea what massive amounts of waste products and spent fuel rods are stored onsite at these plants, in dry storage and cooling pools? Ever since NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) brought plans to transport all of our highly toxic unstable nuclear waste products to Yucca Mountain to a screeching halt, so too has reasonable and safe disposal in a responsible manner of these waste products ceased; while in the meantime more plants were built and others expanded.

Does one really need Chernobyl, 3 Mile Island or The Disaster ongoing in Japan right now, already affecting the U.S. showing up in our milk and dairy products, with no real end in sight to ongoing problems there, to weigh the gains and risks of nuclear energy?

How many lives must be lost and affected before we see what is plain before our faces? Clearly there are safer ways to replace the mere 20% (and that is giving it the high side of estimates) that this dangerous nuclear energy contributes?

Where are the scientists with their statistics now?
Has ANY other form of power production, besides nuclear energy, EVER, in history ,caused such death and destruction to man, woman, child, animals and the environment?
The answer is no.

If you average out how many in use, over how long divided by energy produced is it worth the cost to humanity?
The answer is No.

Is nuclear energy really the best way for us to step forward into the future? Will it ensure a green earth for our grandchildren?
The answer is a resounding NO!

Faced with such a complex and massive task as shutting down 104 nuclear power plants will take time, but we can start by saying NO NEW NUKE PLANTS today.

We can continue into tomorrow by resuming serious discussion on where to transport and safely store the mind boggling irresponsible accumulation of waste we have stored on site at these facilities: A dead give away the geniuses that pushed for nuclear energy did not consider every possibility that may arise when dealing with something as powerful as nuclear energy.

From there we can focus on first decommissioning plants that have been in service for, and in some cases beyond their expected 40 year lifespans.

One way to work towards the goal of accomplishing these shutdowns is to attend all permit and licence meetings for nuclear facilities in your area.

A Perfect Case in point to begin the crusade is the New York State Indian Point facility, which was built in 1970, with a 40 year life expectancy. In 10 days it is coming up for it's 20 year licence renewal, on April 11th 2011. These nuclear plant licences generally last two decades> so the opportunity to push to shut one down via this avenue only comes every two decades>

According to this article "Indian Point's older reactor, Unit 1, was built in the 1950s prior to any specific requirement for earthquake protection. Although no longer operational, many of Unit 1'system, structures, and components were conjoined to Indian Point's other two reactors which are now up for relicensing". This same article also goes on to state that "The aging Unit 1 systems, structures, and components were built to outdated seismic specifications, and Unit 2 and Unit 3's continued reliance on these systems in accordance with poses significant safety questions".

The Indian Point Plant is also of concern because this same article states that in 2007 "NRC data showed that Indian Point was the nation's most vulnerable to an earthquake since it sits near a fault line, and the state has argued that New York City lies in the potential evacuation zone if there were to be an accident".

Just recently Scientific American reported that "The Indian Point nuclear power plant has more than 100 fire code violations that could make it difficult to shut down the nearly 40-year facility in an emergency, New York's attorney general said on Monday". Among the list of violations "Among the safety code violations were the lack of fire detectors or suppression systems in various locations, the inability of electrical cables to withstand fire damage for one to three hours and the plant's reliance on complex actions by employees to respond to fires rather than automatic systems".

Think that's scary? Appearantly this plant is exempt from many fire violations. According to this article, "A U.S. District Court Judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that pertained to exemptions to fire insulation rules the agency granted the Indian Point nuclear plant near New York City. Said the exemptions were legal. Information obtained through the website of the INDIAN POINT SAFE ENERGY COALITION (IPSEC), a small local organization, "The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) identifies the Indian Point facility, out of all 104 nuclear reactors in this country, as the one with the highest risk of catastrophic failure due to an earthquake.

The INDIAN POINT SAFE ENERGY COALITION (IPSEC), a small local organization is inviting everyone to Come to a COMMUNITY FORUM ON INDIAN POINT The Greenburgh Town Hall 179 Hillside Avenue, Greenburgh, NY on April 11th. For additional Information http://www.ipsecinfo.org/