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Nuclear Industry Is Not Clean
To the Editor,
I don’t understand how the nuclear industry gets away with calling itself clean energy. I understand that when they don’t have equipment failure they don’t release pollutants into the air like fossil fuels do. I also understand when contaminated water isn’t being dumped into the river, it isn’t spilling chemicals into the water like other industries. However, we do all know about the issues regarding the highly lethal spent fuel-that certainly isn’t "clean". What I don’t hear about is the vast stream of radioactive waste that is created in the production of nuclear fuels for both energy and weapons.
This month’s issue of National Geographic was a real eye opener for me in terms of how much nuclear waste actually exists in this country. To quote some figures from the article: spent fuel - 52,000 tons, liquid and solid waste from plutonium production - 91 million gallons,solid waste from production and handling - 11.3 million cubic feet and another 472 million cubic feet from hospitals and research institutions and another 275 million tons of uranium mill tailings which has the lowest radioactivity, but still you wouldn’t want your children climbing on these. According to the the Institute of Energy and Environment, water near these these tailings piles has shown some contaminants at hundreds of times the government’s acceptable levels for drinking water. I consider that pollution from the nuclear industry.
The article goes on to say that if we loaded all the tailings into railroad hopper cars, then pour the 91 million gallons of waste into tank cars, you would have a mythical train that would reach around the equator and then some. These figures are absolutely staggering and yet we still go on producing it, consuming it. After over half a century no one government has taken the initiative to put an end to this travesty and come up with a healthier solution.
What do we do???? We conserve and vote for those who want to make a difference and aren’t afraid to do what’s right for everyone!!
Astrid Church
Garrison
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