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| Written by Administrator | |||
| Sunday, 11 April 2004 00:00 | |||
 Citizens Against Plutonium believes that local citizens and elected officials deserve to know about the risks they are being asked to take and about the possible alternatives. The export licence application was quietly released by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in October of 2003. The DOE proposes to transport the plutonium here from the Los Alamos nuclear weapons lab in New Mexico, transfer it to a lightly-armed 2-vessel commercial convoy and ship it to Cherbourg in a sea voyage that would take two weeks. The ultra-toxic radioactive material, enough to make 50 nuclear weapons, would then be transported another 600 miles to southern France in a commercial truck, possibly with only two escort vehicles. Then it would be converted to MOX fuel, returned to Cherbourg, and shipped back through Charleston to Duke Powers Catawba reactor near Rock Hill for testing. No plutonium transport can be made absolutely safe. Whenever the deadly substance is moved, there will be a risk of accidents, leaks, theft, or terrorist attack. One of the most dangerous substances known, with a half-life of 24,000 years, could be dispersed into the oceans and coasts, or over most of Europe or the Southeastern United States, poisoning people and the environment for thousands of years to come. MOX fuel is an expensive, ineffective, and dangerous way to "dispose of" separated plutonium, and there is currently no MOX plant in the U.S. The DOE is planning to spend $ 2 billion to build such a plant at the Savannah River Site, which already has serious problems as a storage facility for high level nuclear waste. Meanwhile, in blatant disregard of the non-proliferation standards it attempts to impose on other countries, DOE plans to use our tax money to supplement a misguided French commercial nuclear program. We cannot afford to risk our health and that of our children to support this transport. There should be no shipments of weapons-usable fissile materials anywhere by any country. Separated plutonium should be treated as nuclear waste and immobilized. To help, or to have someone speak to your group about the planned shipment, call Marcella Guerriero, 843-720-7777, or email \n This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it > This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Add your comment
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| Last Updated on Tuesday, 06 February 2007 14:03 |
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