Beyond Nuclear joins in launch of "Stop Fukushima Freeways!" campaign

Map of road and rail routes targeted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for shipping high-level radioactive waste to Yucca Mountain, Nevada for disposal. The map, prepared by Dr. Fred Dilger, is based on 2008 DOE Yucca Mountain Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement route maps.Beyond Nuclear joined with Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS) and grassroots allies across the country to launch the "Stop Fukushima Freeways!" campaign, to prevent risky shipments of high-level radioactive waste to Yucca Mountain, Nevada or parking lot dumps (centralized or consolidated interim storage).

The launch included the release of detailed maps, prepared by State of Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects consultant, Dr. Fred Dilger. The maps show not only the routes that high-level radioactive waste truck and train casks would travel through 46 states and the District of Columbia, but also how many casks would be shipped, and how concentrated the populations are along those routes. A national map, as well as state by state maps (listed in alphabetical order), have been published.

Beyond Nuclear sent out a national press release, and also joined in on a grassroots press release in Michigan, where it is actively watchdogging such atomic reactors as Palisades and Fermi Unit 2.

As he did on national tele-briefing a couple weeks ago, that helped launch the campaign, Beyond Nuclear's Radioactive Waste Watchdog, Kevin Kamps, continues to highlight the risks of lesser known barge shipments of high-level radioactive waste on surface waters, and the "Floating Fukushima" risks they represent:

Surface waters documented by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) as potential shipping routes for barges of high-level radioactive waste include: Chesapeake Bay; James River of Virginia; Delaware Bay; New Jersey’s Atlantic coast; Hudson River of New York; Long Island Sound; Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts Bay, and Boston Harbor; Lake Michigan; Mississippi River; Tennessee River; Missouri River; California’s Pacific Coast; and Florida’s Atlantic Coast.

NIRS has posted these barge route maps (see them listed under the date Sept. 28, 2004).

NIRS has posted a "Stop Fukushima Freeways!" campaign page, with links to numerous supporting materials and resources.

The State of Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects has posted Dr. Dilger's maps and other documents, as well as those of Agency Director Robert Halstead and others, at its nuclear waste transportation website section.