RPD8.1 "Is Nuclear Energy Worth the Risks?" Ed Smith of Missouri Coalition for the Environment
Channel: RPDEthicalSocietyStL
Date: 2011-09-07

Ed Smith is the "no-CWIP" Coordinator with the Missouri Coalition for the Environment. The Missouri Coalition for the Environment works to protect and restore the environment through education, public engagement, and legal action. The Coalition began its work in 1969 as St. Louis's first independent citizens' group created to address a broad range of environmental policy issues.

Transcript of Slides:

Risks of Nuclear Power
by
Ed Smith 

Businesses should not be allowed to put private profits ahead of 
our safety. 

Nuclear Industry Myths vs. Reality
MYTH
Cheap
Clean 
Safe

Myth #1: Nuclear Is Cheap

Construction Boondoggle 
1970's: Wall Street begins to bail
Construction delays + cost overruns 
1/2 of all U.S. nuclear projects never completed
Billions wasted in unfinished projects 

What Does That Mean For MO?
1975: MO PSC approves upfront rate-hikes
1976: Ballot initiative outlaws PSC rules
1977: Ameren suspends building Callaway 2
2009: State leg. does not repeal no-CWIP
2011: State leg. does not partially repeal no-CWIP
2012: Ameren will be back -- WHY?

"Construction" In The U.S.A.
Georgia
2 reactor project: AP 1000 model
$8.3 billion in federal loan guarantees
$14 billion original cost estimate
Florida
FPL and Progress Florida estimate 2 AP 1000s at $18-$22.5 billion
South Carolina
Same scenario as Florida

French Owned Areva: EPR Projects
Olkiluoto, Finland
4 years behind schedule
$4.2 billion over budget
Delays and further cost overruns still likely
Flamanville, France
 4 years behind schedule
$3.2 billion over budget
8.24.2011 -- French Nuclear Safety Authority finds  EPR in "non-compliance" with construction code

The Gift That Keeps On Taking 
Cost between $655 million to $1 billion/reactor
High level wastes remain on site
Pay for millions of years of security
Site never usable again 

Decommissioning Example 
San Onofre cost $90 million to build in 1966
Decommissioning costs = $805.6 million
Const. adjusted for inflation = $606.4 million

Irradiated Nuclear Waste Storage 
Long term repository does not exist
 - $1 billion: Amount DOE paid out in settlements
 - Justice Dept. $168 million defending DOE
All taxpayer dollars 

Myth #2: Nuclear Is Clean

Uranium Is Dirty 
Mining and milling Uranium on Navajo lands
Abandoned mines and tailings 
Tailings retain 85% of ores original radioactivity
Wind blown dust contains radionuclide's
140 million tons of tailings scattered in West U.S.

MYTH #3: Nuclear Is Safe 

Major Accidents 
Three Mile Island -- 1979 -- PA 
Church Rock -- 1979 -- NM 
Chernobyl -- 1986 -- Ukraine 
Fukushima -- 2011 -- Japan 

Church Rock, NM
Uranium tailings accident
Dam burst releasing:  
 - 1,100 tons of radioactive mill wastes
 - 90 million gallons of contaminated liquid
Rio Puerco River contaminated to this day 

Thyroid Cancer After Chernobyl images

Children of Chernobyl images

Fukushima images

Is Ameren Putting Us At Risk For Corporate Profits?
Cut $5 million from energy efficiency budget
Undermined Prop C rules from 2008
Coal ash landfill in floodplain
Rates increased $600 million since 2007
Fought energy efficiency legislation
Support repeal of no-CWIP for nuclear power