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SUPPORT SOUND RADIOACTIVE WASTE POLICY
TELL THE BLUE RIBBON COMMISSION: STOP MAKING RADIOACTIVE WASTE; TAKE WASTE OUT OF FUEL POOLS; HARDEN THE CASKS; AND NO UNNECESSARY TRANSPORT
Dear Friends,
The Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future (BRC) was formed by President Obama and Energy Secretary Steven Chu in the wake of the administration's sensible decision to end the proposed Yucca Mountain, Nevada radioactive waste project.
The BRC was not charged with finding a new site for the nation's high-level radioactive waste; rather, it was charged with examining the potential options for coping with the massive waste problem now on our hands.
Unfortunately, the BRC was stacked with nuclear industry interests and frequently has appeared much more interested in assuring continued generation of radioactive waste rather than considering the concept of not adding to the damage already done nor of even seeking an environmentally, scientifically and socially acceptable means of coping with the issue.
To date, three BRC subcommittees have made recommendations to the full Commission. It's time for us all to weigh in. You can do so here.
Among the points we need to make:
*Stop generating radioactive waste
*Ending the Yucca Mountain project was the right thing to do
*Radioactive waste more than 5 years old needs to be removed from fuel pools and placed in dry casks
*Dry casks need to be hardened to protect against natural disasters, terrorism, etc.
*There should be no unnecessary transportation of radioactive waste, e.g. to an "interim" storage site
Principles of radioactive waste storage agreed to by 170 organizations across the U.S. can be found here. These principles are guiding these comments.
Some of the subcommittee recommendations--if adopted by the full Commission--would require Congressional action. Thus, through these comments, we are also beginning to lay the basis for our own upcoming actions if Congress does decide to tackle these issues.
Again, you can submit your comments here. Sample comments are provided, please feel free to add your own!
Thanks for all you do,
Michael Mariotte
Executive Director
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
nirsnet@nirs.org
www.nirs.org
Your contributions make our work possible: on radioactive waste; on preventing new reactor construction; on seeking shutdown of dangerous existing reactors; on building a nuclear-free carbon-free energy future. Please make a secure tax-deductible contribution here, or after you've submitted your comments.
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