Expert to NRC: Hidden costs of reactor waste storage & disposal make nuclear power less attractive than wind, solar, efficiency

Mark Cooper of Vermont Law SchoolOn Thurs., Dec. 19th at 11 AM Eastern, Diane Curran and Mark Cooper (photo, left), attorney and expert witness, respectively, representing a coalition of dozens of environmental groups, including Beyond Nuclear, will hold a press conference entitled: EXPERT TO TELL NRC THAT HIDDEN COSTS OF REACTOR WASTE STORAGE & DISPOSAL MAKES NUCLEAR POWER LESS ATTRACTIVE THAN WIND, SOLAR, AND MORE ENERGY EFFICIENCY; Do High Costs of Nuclear Now Make Licensing and Re-Licensing Indefensible in Terms of the Economics?; Comments to NRC From Economist Mark Cooper State Federal Agency Must Consider Full Cost of Nuclear Waste Storage and Disposal.  Cooper serves at the Vermont Law School. Curran serves at Harmon Curran Speilberg + Eisenberg LLP in Washington, D.C. See the Hastings Group's press advisory, with instructions on how to listen-in to the press conference, either live in real time, or to the audio recording afterwards.

Update on December 27, 2013 by admin

The Hastings Group has put out a press release.

The press release reports: In the NRC filing, Cooper states: “Are the economic costs of at-reactor nuclear waste storage and disposal in a permanent repository large enough to affect the economics of nuclear power and, therefore, should the Nuclear Regulatory Commission consider those costs in its nuclear licensing decisions? The answer is simple and clear–these costs are so large they must be considered. Conservatively estimating these costs, I put the total cost in the range of $210 to $350 billion, in real, undiscounted dollars. That is a figure that is certainly large enough to demand consideration by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.”'

Cooper goes on to estimate that replacing dry cask storage across the country once per century, as is assumed by the NRC "Nuclear Waste Confidence" DGEIS -- would cost $100 billion per replacement.

Victory! Virginia Uranium backs off mine plan for now

Virginia Uranium, the company hoping to mine the Coles Hill site in Virginia, has suspended plans for the project. Despite investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in junkets to France and Canada for Virginia legislators and other lobbying efforts, the company was defeated by a large and diverse mass movement of opposition in the state.  Newly elected VA governor, Terry McAuliffe, has also expressed opposition to the plan which would have required the lifting of a long-standing moratorium against uranium mining in Virginia.

Opponents and critics, and even an analysis conducted by the National Academy of Sciences, raised serious doubts about the environment in Virginia, both natural and regulatory. Citing its wet climate and recent episodes of violent weather, opponents vigorously opposed the plan. The threat to drinking water, wine country and farm land also provided a compelling reason to stop the project. No regulatory infrastructure exists in Virginia suitable to effectively monitor a project of this kind.

Virginia Uranium has said it will not walk away. However, for the time being, the company's retreat marks a resounding victory for grassroots organizing that brought in diverse allies and stakeholders across the board.

NRC nuke waste con game: final written public comment submissions re: DGEIS due Friday, Dec. 20th!

Environmental coalition members from the Crabshell Alliance, Sierra Club Nuclear-Free Campaign, NIRS, PSR, NEIS, and Public Citizen "just say NO!" at the NRC HQ nuke waste con game public comment meeting on 11/14 in Rockville, MD. Photo credit David Martin and Erica Grey.

Thanks to all who submitted oral comments to NRC at the call-in on 12/9, the final public meeting re: NRC's bogus nuke waste con game Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement (DGEIS).

Please continue to submit your public comments to NRC via email, webform, fax, and/or snail mail. You can submit as many public comments as you want, between now and the final public comment deadline (Friday, Dec. 20th).

Sample comments, which you can use to help you write your own, have been provided by Beyond Nuclear and NIRS, as well as NEIS.

Additional ideas for public comments can be found in the reports back from the field hearings, at the link below. Key comments that need to be made again and again: It's time to stop making high-level radioactive waste! For that which already exists, the environmental consensus is to empty the pools into hardened on-site storage, where appropriate -- requiring a significant upgrade in dry cask storage safety, security, and environmental protection. More.

Beyond Nuclear joins with Ralph Nader to promote a carbon-free, nuclear-free energy economy

Ralph NaderOn Dec. 12th, Beyond Nuclear's Kevin Kamps joined with Ralph Nader (photo, left) in an hour-long presentation to the Climate Reality Check Coalition on why nuclear power is a false solution to the climate crisis.

As described in the event announcement, Ralph Nader is one of America’s most effective social critics - named by The Atlantic as one of the 100 most influential figures in American history, and by Time and Life magazines as one of the hundred most influential Americans of the twentieth century, his documented criticism of government and industry has had widespread effect on public awareness and bureaucratic power. He is a long time watch dog of the nuclear industry and critic of nuclear power.

The conference call, with about 70 participants listening in and asking questions from across the country, was hosted and moderated by Allison Fisher, Outreach Director for Public Citizen's Energy Program.

More.

Sign onto coalition letter urging Hansen et al. to rethink their support for nuclear power as a supposed solution to the climate crisis

Beyond Nuclear is pleased to be associated with Beyond Business as Usual (BBAU), a coalition of environmental groups opposed to dirty energy, such as fossil fuels and nuclear power, and advocates for clean energy (efficiency and renewables). Beyond Nuclear has endorsed BBAU's American Clean Energy Agenda.

One of BBAU's founders, the Civil Society Institute (CSI), has issued an action alert, calling for organizational sign ons as soon as possible. CSI writes:

"In early November, four climate scientists wrote an open letter to the environmental community urging the adoption of nuclear power as the energy source to meet the challenges of global warming and climate change.

The four are: Dr. Ken Caldeira, Senior Scientist, Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution; Dr. Kerry Emanuel, Atmospheric Scientist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Dr. James Hansen, Climate Scientist, Columbia University Earth Institute; Dr. Tom Wigley, Climate Scientist, University of Adelaide and the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

[Linked] here is a letter in response to them that we invite you to sign and support by getting around to other friends and colleagues.  The signatures are being gathered by NIRS [with a deadline for signing on of 5 PM Eastern on Friday, December 20th]. Please send [organizational] signatures as soon as possible to nirsnet@nirs.org. Send signer's name, title (optional), organization, city and state to nirsnet@nirs.org. 

[Linked] here for your reference is a longer analysis of the proposals laid out by Drs. Hansen, Wigley, Emanuel, and Cladeira."

Beyond Nuclear urges readers to get their own group, or groups they know, to sign on, and to spread the word!