[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

RE: CBC news: Nuclear waste on the Great Lakes



Thanks very much for your answer Ruth !
-------------------------------------------------------
 
On the less serious side -- just so we know what else might possibly be coming out of the US Congress (Kucinich, Markey, etc.) and the media -- what other FEASIBLE TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES HAD TO BE CONSIDERED ? -- any chance we'll be seeing horror stories about ballistic missiles delivering SNF to Yucca Mountain ? ...how about Goodyear blimps ? ...covered wagons drawn by horses perhaps ? ....pannier-equipped bicycles ?
 
Jaro 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: RuthWeiner@aol.com [mailto:RuthWeiner@aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday May 01, 2002 3:29 PM
To: frantaj@AECL.CA; radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu
Subject: Re: CBC news: Nuclear waste on the Great Lakes

Here we have a wonderful example of media distortion and fear-mongering

In a message dated 5/1/02 10:19:38 AM Mountain Daylight Time, frantaj@AECL.CA writes:


WASHINGTON - A proposal by the United States could see nuclear waste carried across Lake Michigan by barge, a plan the Canadian government does not seem to know about.
Under a new program likely to become law this summer, nuclear waste from the U.S. will be stored in a cavern dug out of Nevada's Yucca Mountain.


Hey, the "law" was enacted 20 years ago!

I
t will be shipped by truck or rail, raising concerns from major U.S. cities along the route who fear a collision or derailment could lead to a leak.
But the U.S. Department of Energy also announced plans to ship thousands of tons of nuclear waste from reactors on the shores of Lake Michigan to transfer sites on nearby railroads.


No.  This is a (dare I say deliberate?) distortion of what is in the Yucca Mountain EIS.  Because ALL FEASIBLE TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES HAD TO BE CONSIDERED) barge transportation is included in Appendix J. The EIS says  (p J-75): "DOE has determined that while this [barge] scenario would be feasible, it would not be practical.  The number of shipping casks and rail casks would be greater by a factor of 5 than for the mostly rail scenario and the additional cost to the program would be more than $1 billion.  In addition, the truck-casks-on-railcars would lead to the hgighest estimates of occupational health and poublic health and safety impacts, most coming from rail-traffic-related facilities.  


Ruth Weiner, Ph. D.
ruthweiner@aol.com