Congress on nuclear power

[Muckerheide <muckerheide@MEDIAONE.NET>]

Note that the false statements about spent fuel are reiterated, ascribed

even to a nuclear proponent.



Perhaps NEI, ANS, HPS, and our other organizations can get the message to

Congress and the Administration to make it clear that there is no nuclear

waste problem.  Nuclear power does not spew its wastes in our air, water and

landfills, or remove whole mountains and fill valleys and streams in mining.



Also, that storage of the spent fuel at plant sites constitutes no risk at

all, especially in dry storage.  It is stored until it's needed to be

recycled, with no need to take on the political burden of moving it; that

only 3% of the material is fission products which may be only partly waste

since some materials can be further utilized, with 97% useable fuel when

needed.  That "40,000 tons of spent fuel" is therefore about 1200 tons of

fission products as potential "waste," and promulgate a sound comparison to

the waste products from an "average hour" of running one large coal plant

(perhaps also with credit for some of the solid waste being utilized), and

to the total waste products from coal (over the last 30-40 years? 200 years?

:-)



Thanks.



Regards, Jim

===========



UPDATE - US lawmakers see resurgence in nuclear power

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------



USA: March 29, 2001





WASHINGTON - Nuclear power is on its way back and the once-dying industry

could play an important role in helping the nation grapple with electricity

shortages, the Republican head of the House Energy and Commerce committee

said this week. 







Although no new U.S. nuclear power plants have been built in 25 years,

Republican lawmakers are taking a closer look at how the industry could fit

into a broad national plan to boost domestic energy supplies and limit oil

imports.



The industry has been plagued in the public's eye since the twin public

relations nightmares of 1979: when the nation's worst nuclear accident hit

the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania and "The China Syndrome"

movie was released.



Rep. Billy Tauzin, a Louisiana Republican, said the federal government needs

to make it easier for nuclear power generation to remain a vital component

of the national energy mix.



"There should be no question that the nation's energy problems would be much

worse without the nuclear industry's impressive and safe track record of

sustained output," he said in a statement at a House energy subcommittee

hearing.



"Recently, I have noticed the initial stages of a resurgence of interest in

nuclear power. The current energy crisis has helped us to understand that

natural gas and coal should not be the only fuel sources for developing

future generating capacity."



Rep. Joe Barton, Texas Republican and head of the House energy panel, told

the hearing that technological advances will make it easier to permit

nuclear plants.



"Future plants will be easier to permit because of their uniformity, less

expensive because of their advancements, and more efficient as a power

generator," Barton said.



He said as Congress looks to implement a national energy policy, it would be

impossible to ignore nuclear and not "take a fresh look" at the country's

second largest power source.



Environmentalists generally oppose expansion of the nuclear industry, saying

the plants produce huge amounts of radioactive waste that must be safely

stored for hundreds of years.



20 PCT OF U.S. ELECTRICITY FROM NUCLEAR POWER



Nuclear power from 103 commercial plants currently provides 20 percent of

U.S. electricity generation.



Coal, which fuels a sizable number of U.S. power plants, dirties the air.

Natural gas-and oil-fueled power plants have become more expensive and have

other environmental issues.



But the future role of nuclear power is clouded because plants are aging and

no new nuclear plants have been permitted in this country since 1975.



Added to that is the continuing battle over nuclear waste.



Some 40,000 tons of highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel rods are now

stored at scores of plants despite a requirement that the Department of

Energy build a permanent repository.



The most likely site in Yucca Mountain, Nev., has not been approved yet. The

Republican-led Senate failed last year to override then-President Bill

Clinton's veto of legislation to start building a repository in the Nevada

desert.



Tauzin's remarks echoed the sentiments of Vice President Dick Cheney, who

last week said nuclear power could help alleviate concerns about global

warming.



"If you want to do something about carbon dioxide emissions, then you ought

to build nuclear power plants. They don't emit any carbon dioxide. They

don't emit greenhouse gases," Cheney said on MSNBC television.



Cheney leads a White House task force preparing recommendations for

President George W. Bush on how the nation could boost domestic energy

supplies. While the recommendations are being prepared, House and Senate

Republicans are forging ahead with their own legislative proposals.



WASTE DANGEROUS-GREEN GROUPS



Environmentalists blanch at the idea of using nuclear power as an answer to

global warming concerns, or even as a potential source of new generation.



Public Citizen, the consumer advocacy organization, last week said that

despite what Cheney believes, nuclear power cannot be considered a

zero-emissions fuel source.



"Contrary to the vice president's assertions, nuclear power is not capable

of combating global warming because of the exorbitant cost of reactors and

the long lead time needed to build them," the organization said.



It also said the steps needed to generate nuclear power, like mining uranium

and enriching radioactive fuel, add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.



Tauzin told the House panel that the following areas could be addressed by

federal regulators or Congress to make nuclear power more viable:



* Require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to administer its rules "in a

consistent and even-handed manner that does not discourage companies from

future investment."



* Prepare the NRC to renew as many as 30 reactor licenses that are set to

expire in a few years. Thus far, the NRC has renewed licenses to extend the

life of five nuclear reactors.



* Train "rusty" NRC staff for possible future requests to gain permission to

construct a nuclear reactor.



* Work harder to solve the nuclear waste issue, since Tauzin said "it is not

safe to store spent nuclear fuel in dozens of locations across the country."



* Reauthorize the compensation and liability provisions of the

Price-Anderson Act that are to expire in August 2002.



Tauzin said without the measures, the industry would likely not construct or

operate new nuclear facilities.





Story by Patrick Connole



REUTERS NEWS SERVICE



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