Here is an unbiased, scientific analysis put into plain English to
answer the many questions being asked about Nuclear Power and Safety. It
is continually being updated.
Here is an unbiased, scientific analysis put into plain English to
answer the many questions being asked about Nuclear Power and Safety. It
is continually being updated.
This map shows safety issues with SONGS and other plants across the
country
http://www.ucsusa.org/nuclear_
EXCERPT FROM
(ENTIRE)
STATEMENT OF DR.
EDWIN LYMAN,
SENIOR SCIENTIST, GLOBAL SECURITY PROGRAM
TO THE SENATE
ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE
UNION OF CONCERNED
SCIENTISTS
MARCH 16, 2011
Before proceeding, I would like to say that the Union of
Concerned Scientists is neither pro nor anti-nuclear power, but has
served as a
nuclear power safety and security watchdog for over 40 years.
In the aftermath of the 1979 Three Mile Island accident, the NRC
undertook a
major overhaul of its rules to correct many of the regulatory weaknesses
that
the accident revealed. In contrast,
seven years later, the Commission and the industry avoided learning any
lessons
from the far more severe Chernobyl accident because of the misleading
claim
that such an extreme release of radioactivity could never happen at a
plant of
Western design.
However, the NRC and the
industry cannot hide this time behind the “it can’t happen here”
excuse. We have 23 plants of the same design. We have plants that
are just as old. We have had station blackouts.
We have a
regulatory system that is not clearly superior to that of the Japanese.
We have
had extreme weather events that exceeded our expectations and defeated
our
emergency planning measures (Katrina).
We have had close calls (e.g.
Davis-Besse) that were only one additional failure away from becoming
disasters. We have had full-blown disasters in other industries (e.g.
BP). We have suffered a devastating
terrorist air attack against our infrastructure for which we were
completely
unprepared.
I would ask the Committee to imagine for a moment that the crisis
unfolding at
Fukushima is taking place in their home states, and to consider whether
this is
something that Americans should ever have to endure under any
circumstances.
If the answer is no?the right answer, in our opinion?then it is
incumbent on you to thoroughly investigate whether the risk of
an American Fukushima is really as low as the NRC and the industry
claim.