CAN's Deb Katz and IEER's Arjun Makhijani to keynote June 5th Chicago grassroots radioactive waste policy educational forum

The Obama/Chu Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future held its second meeting in Washington, D.C. on May 25 and 26. Beyond Nuclear and other atomic watchdogs attended and testified. Despite strong urging by Natural Resources Defense Council, repeated by Tom Cochran at this meeting, the Blue Ribbon Commission has refused to provide balance for its pro-nuclear power membership by seating a non-profit environmental scientist, nor a member of a grassroots community group impacted by radioactive waste. Thus, the Chicago grassroots gathering on radioactive waste policy June 4-6 is needed more than ever to directly challenge the Blue Ribbon Commission’s bias in favor of expanding atomic energy despite the now over 68 year old, unsolved and worsening radioactive waste crisis. Help to prevent more radioactive waste generation: to learn more about and register for the Chicago gathering, go to the NEIS website. The schedule for the Saturday, June 5th educational forum and evening program has also now been finalized, and presenters confirmed, including keynote speakers Deb Katz of Citizens Awareness Network and Dr. Arjun Makhijani of Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, with musical entertainment by Great Lakes folk singer/songwriter Victor McManemy.

“Packing the Nuclear Pork Barrel” by NRDC

Natural Resources Defense Council’s blog “Packing the Nuclear Pork Barrel is the Wrong Approach to Low-Carbon Energy” by Christopher Paine strongly objects to the Kerry-Lieberman “climate” bill for its nuclear subsidies, tax breaks, and other giveaways, undermining safety standards, and gutting environmental protections. It provides a comprehensive section-by-section analysis.

Vermont Yankee now leaking Sr-90 into soil

Entergy Nuclear has now admitted that the bone-seeking radioisotope Strontium-90 has been discovered in soil near underground leaking pipes at its Vermont Yankee atomic reactor on the bank of the Connecticut River. Several years ago, Sr-90 was also detected leaking from the high-level radioactive waste storage pool at Entergy Nuclear's Indian Point atomic reactors on the bank of the Hudson River in New York State. Nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen of Fairewinds Associates warns that Sr-90, which is highly soluble in water, can concentrate in bones and cause leukemia, and thus is the most hazardous radioisotope yet discovered leaking into the environment at the 38 year old reactor just across the Connecticut River from New Hampshire, and just several miles upstream from Massachusetts. Other leaking elements discovered into the site's groundwater and soil include tritium, cobalt-60, cesium-137, manganese-54 and zinc-65. Raymond Shadis of the New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution is very skeptical that Entergy Nuclear's assurances that all Sr-90 contamination at Vermont Yankee has now been accounted for and cleaned up.

TCS to Feds: "War Spending Bill is No Place for More Nuclear Loan Guarantees"

Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS) has objected to the Obama administration and congressional Democratic leaders agreeing to add energy loan guarantees -- including to support the building of new atomic reators -- on the emergency supplemental war spending bill. TCS stated "The emergency spending bill is supposed to address urgent, unforeseen war and disaster related items - adding risky loan guarantees for projects that won’t be built for years is little more than a cynical political ploy to jam it through Congress without adequate scrutiny." 

Industry leader Exelon admits new reactor construction un-economic

National Geographic, in an article entitled "New Nuclear Energy Grapples With Costs: Exelon Sees Weak Market, Others Think Climate Concerns Will Propel Industry," quotes Exelon CEO John Rowe that he plans no new reactors in the foreseeable future given their economic un-competitiveness.