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NUke's impact on air and water
Eric Epstein wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> OP-ED: NUCLEAR POWER¹S IMPACT on
> PENNSYLVANIA¹S AIR & WATER
>
>
>
>
>
> September 27, 2002
>
> To The Editor:
>
> With a nuclear friendly administration in Harrisburg
> and Washington, fanciful myths about nuclear energy abound
> and multiply. Consumers, taxpayers and citizens have been
> told that nuclear power deserves a second chance because it
> is now environmentally friendly. Of course this argument is
> disingenuous, and ignores the factual reality of nuclear
> power¹s twin legacy of air pollution and contamination of
> water resources.
>
> At the ³front end² of nuclear power production, uranium
> mining and milling present incredible health and safety
> challenges. Mines release radon gas and radioactive dust
> form the crushing and grinding of ore. The ore, uranium 235
> and -238, must be converted to gas, and presents
> well-documented national security problems. During the
> process of converting ore into to gas, huge amounts of
> electricity are required to operate the processing plants.
> The net electrical consumption at these facilities actually
> exceeds the annual output of several 1,000 megawatt nuclear
> generating stations.
>
>
>
>
> 1
> Nuclear generating stations are one of Pennsylvania¹s
> largest consumers of foreign oil. Emergency diesel
> generators (EDG) at Pennsylvania¹s five nuclear generating
> stations burn hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil.
> According to the plant¹s tech specs, Three Mile Island (TMI)
> is required to have a diesel fuel oil tank with sufficient
> minimum inventory to supply two operating emergency diesel
> generators for at least seven days. This minimum inventory
> is 28,285 gallons. This equates to each emergency diesel
> generator consuming about 85 gallons per hour of run-time.
> EDGs must be run about two hours per month plus one 24-hour
> run per year, and must be in operation during
> post-maintenance periods and after equipment breakdowns. No
> matter who owns the facility, one EDG at TMI-1 running 100
> hours in a year would consume 8,500 gallons of fuel.
>
> The ³clean air myth² was demolished on May 13, 1999 when
> the Nuclear Energy Institute¹s advertising campaign was
> deemed ³misleading² by the National Advertising Division of
> the Better Business Bureau. The specific ad in question was
> displayed in Atlantic Monthly (December, 1998). The
> commercial featured a cute owl singing the praises of
> nuclear power, and thanked the NEI for clean air. The
> Business Bureau stated: ³The process currently used to
> produce at least some, if not most, of the uranium enriched
> fuels that are necessary to power nuclear energy plants
> emits substantial amounts of environmentally harmful
> greenhouse gases.² The NEI did not appeal the decision.
>
> However, the Federal Trade Commission found that although
> the Industry¹s ads were untruthful, they were not banned
> because the material was aimed at ³opinion leaders². The FTC
> said they would have pulled the ads, had they targeted
> consumers! (December 22, 1999). 2
> Owls must also drink water. Nuclear power plants use
> millions of gallons daily to cool their superheated reactor
> core. In Pennsylvania, 24 counties have been designated as
> ³drought emergencies², and another 31 are on ³drought
> watch.² (September 6, 2002). Governor, Mark Schweiker, the
> Secretary of the Department of the Environmental Protection,
> David Hess, and the Chairman of the Public Utility
> Commission, Glen Thomas, have correctly implored
> Pennsylvanians to conserve water. As the ³Patriot News²
> astutely observed: ³Warnings about the growing pressure on
> supplies are increasing, but much of the population
> continues to take the the availability of water for granted²
> (Editorial, September 24, 2002).
>
> Yet, no elected official has approached the five
> ³security conscious² nuclear power plants to coordinate
> operation of their assets in a manner that would conserve
> scarce water resources.
>
> A sample of the magnitude of the amount of water used at
> nuclear power plant is readily evidenced at PPL¹s
> Susquehanna Steam Electric Station (SSES). Located on The
> Susquehanna River in Luzerne County, every day the plant
> loses 14.93 million gallons of water per unit as vapor out
> of the cooling tower stack. Eleven million gallons per day
> are returned to the river as cooling tower basin blow down.
> On average, 29.86 million gallons per day are taken from the
> river and not returned. This data is public information, and
> can be easily referenced by reviewing PPL¹s Pennsylvania
> Environmental Permit Report.
>
>
> 3
>
> In York County, where water shortages have reached critical
> levels, the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station creates
> additional water quality problems, e.g., thermal discharges
> and wide scale use of Clam Trol to defeat Asiatic clam
> infestation. This Exelon facility uses and treats potable
> water from the Susquehanna River; average daily usage is
> anywhere from 280,000 to 360,000 gallons per day.
>
> On September 24, 2002, at Exelon¹s nearby Oyster Creek
> Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey, more than 1,500
> fish were killed when water in the discharge rose to 106
> degrees during an ³unauthorized maintenance procedure.² The
> fish died from "thermal shock.²
>
> The next time someone tells you nuclear power does not
> harm the environment, ask them to book a return flight
> aboard Reality Airlines.
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
> Eric Joseph Epstein
> 4100 Hillsdale Road
> Harrisburg, PA 17112
> (717)-541-1101 Phone
> (717)-541-5487 Fax
> eepstein@igc.apc.org
>
> Mr. Epstein is the Chairman of Three Mile Island Alert
> , Inc., a safe-energy
> organization based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and founded
> in 1977.
> http://www.tmia.com.
>
> 4
>
>
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--
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