Cost overruns, construction delays plunge Toshiba-Westinghouse into "nuclear nightmare"

Gene Case of Avenging Angels' graphic, "Burning Money," was featured on the cover of The Nation Magazine, accompanying an article by Christian Parenti in 2003 about the nuclear power relapseAs reported by Bloomberg, multi-billion dollar (and skyrocketing) cost overruns, and years-long (and worsening) schedule delays, at four new reactor construction sites in the U.S. Southeast have plunged Toshiba-Westinghouse stock values into a "nuclear nightmare" or financial meltdown. The company is facing a $4-5 billion write-down, after a major accounting error, when its acquisition of new reactor construction firm, Chicago Bridge & Iron, went sour.

Fairewinds Associates warned years ago that the Toshiba-Westinghouse AP-1000 reactor design has a potentially fatal flaw, that could result in catastrophic amounts of hazardous radioactivity being pumped into the environment in the event of a core meltdown.

A whopping one-fifth of South Carolina ratepayers' electric bills now go toward construction costs of the Summer 2 and 3 new reactors. At Georgia's Vogtle 3 and 4 new reactors, not only regional ratepayers, but also U.S. taxpayers, are on the hook, to the tune of $8.3 billion, in the form of a federal nuclear loan guarantee, compliments of the Obama administration. More.