Savanah River Site and Small Modular Reactors

"Shh," says DOE.  "We have secrets, we are killing people but don't tell them the truth." (claims and costs: http://www.dol.gov/owcp/energy/regs/compliance/weeklystats.htm )

Ionizing Radiation from nuclear plants, fuel facilities and weapons complexes-colorless, odorless, tasteless radiation death. In many instances you will not know the extent of cellular mutations until you are diagnosed with cancer. In some cases, many years later. For more info: http://radioactivepoison.blogspot.com/

Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Skin - credits: Medical Pictures from uIowa.edu: UI Dermatology / Tom Ray.

 

""Under a Cloud" presents evidence that the Savannah River Site in South Carolina had a recent, unreported radioactive fallout event. That fallout threatens human and environmental health. This is a "wake-up call" for the communities neighboring the Savannah River Site: we must take action to secure site accountability and to protect our health and our environment."




The TVA is spending hundreds of millions of dollars of your money for a project you will never see any results. Welcome to the SMR (small modular reactor) story, a project which you the rate payer are paying so the nuclear industry will benefit. A project in which there are no orders for the atomic mechanism, no approvals; our government is spending hundreds of millions of your hard earned dollars in the experiment for which only the nuclear industry reaps the financial benefits.

SMALL MODULAR REACTORS, SMR,  PRESENTATION BY TOM CLEMENTS
"“While SRS may superficially appear to present certain attractive aspects for the location of SMRs, the site has not had experience with operation of nuclear reactors in over twenty years and has no current expertise in reactor operation,” said Clements.

  “While DOE is set to chose two SMR designs to fund for further development, SRS affirms that no construction funds will be provided, leaving vendors with the difficult and perhaps insurmountable task to find private funding for SMR construction.”"

"Two of the three separate “Memoranda of Agreement” for three different and still hypothetical SMR designs include deployment timelines which are already admitted by DOE to be inaccurate since they were signed less than six months ago."

"As SMRs are being promoted for overseas markets, SRS officials will not say what plans are for used reactor vessels or highly radioactive spent fuel which would be taken back to the production site." http://aikenleader.villagesoup.com/p/documents-reveal-time-line-and-plans-for-small-modular-reactors-smrs-at-the-savannah-river-site-sr/840884

TVA and SMR's http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/advanced/clinch-river.html

Tom Clements Small Modular Reactor Overview for tva meeting 6.26.2012 from MATRRorg
 

Civilian Nuclear Power, A Year in Review - Focus on TVA

At mid year CBS News and other news organizations looked closely at U.S. commercial nuclear facilities and asked the question, is a Fukushima type disaster inevitable in the United States?


2011 has been  a year which bears close scrutiny for environmental organizations relative to the nuclear industry. Serious problems for the civilian nuclear power industry have emerged. Cover-ups and failed facilities, a year in review. Issues involving nuclear power on this blog -  http://arklite.blogspot.com/search/label/Nuclear%20Power

In this installment I will look at concerns which have not been adequately addressed by our governments nuclear power regulator, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission - NRC, nor the nuclear industry itself.

Nuclear Power safety and security is lacking. A clear and present danger, problems not resolved. http://www.propublica.org/article/nrc-waives-enforcement-of-fire-rules-at-nuclear-plants

This year during the annual physical security tests at civilian nuclear reactors, 8% of the nuclear plants failed the test. http://articles.cnn.com/2011-06-29/us/nuclear.plants.security_1_nrc-nuclear-power-plants-nu...clear-fuel-facility?_s=PM%3AUS

Worse, security and safety at TVA Nuclear Plants is appalling and dangerous. At Watts Bar a manager was dismissed due to a serious security breech.

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_193558.asp 

At Browns Ferry the NRC discovered a lack luster management culture failing to pay attention to causative factors for plant failures. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/jul/14/tva-defends-browns-ferry-after-reports-equipment-o/  " Shortly after the valve failure, NRC found that the valve may have been inoperable for about 18 months." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/oct/08/tva-nrc-to-work-together-on-safety/

CBS news held 2 exposes exposing intimidation attempts including threats of murder carried out against TVA employees reporting safety hazards. The first video is above, the second below. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/07/19/earlyshow/main20080633.shtml

At Bellefonte, a cancelled nuclear construction permit was reinstated in a stripped nuclear plant without one singular vote of approval from the NRC Board. Local politicians all showered praises on the TVA while ignoring serious safety problems relating to site geology, hydrology, river flow reversal at the inflow-outflow cooling area and ground collapse related to sinkhole, Karst Terrain, problems discovered on the new Environmental and Safety reports for the AP1000 reactors.

Local environmental groups attempted to require the TVA via the NRC to place forward a new nuclear construction licensing process due to the old permit failed to identify problems identified in the new AP 1000 reports. The NRC denied the request.

The TVA and NRC is involved in a Federal legal action due to their ignoring site safety and the law thus endangering the public. Arguments have been made in the case before the Federal Court of Appeals. A decision will be made soon. Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League vs The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Tennessee Valley Authority.

GROUP TAKES BELLEFONTE FIGHT TO A HIGHER COURT

March 31, 2009: Yesterday the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (BREDL) filed a Petition for Review in the US Court of Appeals of the Bellefonte nuclear power plant in Alabama. The League seeks judicial review of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s reinstatement of construction permits for two nuclear reactors, the so-called Bellefonte 1 and 2. BREDL Press Release | Petition for Review | NRC's voting record

BREDL website concerning Bellefonte -  http://www.bredl.org/nuclear/Bellefonte.htm

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The TVA Bellefonte Nuclear Plant Timeline
1974 - Construction permit issued for two reactors at Bellefonte
1985 - Unit 2 work is suspended when the reactor was considered 58 percent complete
1988 - Unit 1 work is suspended when the reactor was considered 88 percent complete
1992 - Engineering work resumed to prepare for restart of construction.
1994 - Finishing Bellefonte is estimated to cost $2.6 billion; engineering work halted due to nuclear debt construction.
1996 - TVA studies option of converting plant to combined-cycle, natural gas.
1998 - Gas conversion option dropped; TVA offers plant to the Department of Energy to make bomb-grade tritium. DOE picks existing TVA plants to produce tritium, local citizen interaction defeats DOE efforts to produce Tritium at Bellefonte.
2001 - Texaco proposes using Bellefonte as site for coal gasification plant. Chattanooga financier Franklin Haney offers to finance completion of Bellefonte as a nuclear plant.
2002 - Texaco drops proposal; TVA turns down Haney offer.
2004 - TVA enters into discussions with other utilities and joins Nu-Start to plan for a new nuclear design for the site.
2005 - Bellefonte is selected as the test site for the Westinghouse AP-1000, one of the first of the next generation of nuclear plants containing a "passive emergency cooling system."
2006 - TVA cancels NRC permits for original Bellefonte reactors, claiming the units are too expensive to complete and the new reactor design would be better at the site; TVA begins cannibalizing Bellefonte Units 1 and 2
2007 - Application filed for combined operating license for AP-1000
2008 - TVA reverses decision to scrap original reactors and petitions the NRC to reinstate the deferred license for Bellefonte's original reactors; Nu-Start changes the AP1000 site to Plant Vogtle in Georgia.
2009 - NRC reinstates the construction permit for Bellefonte unit 1 to a terminated status, TVA decides to focus on one reactor for the immediate future
2010 - TVA completes study on costs of finishing the original reactors or building new and decides to complete the original reactors; TVA completes an Environmental Impact Study; NRC approves moving reactor Unit 1 to a deferred status;

2011- TVA Board approves Bellefonte completion; NRC approves renewal of construction permit
2013- Projected Bellefonte construction start date after fuel is loaded into the Watts Bar nuclear reactor
2019- Bellefonte projected completion date

Ignore the danger, ignore the law, ignore the problems: problem solving the nuclear way, a path to disaster?

The problem is politics and money. The nuclear industry has supplied Federal Politicians with large amounts of campaign money; state, county and local governmental entities are supplied with TVA in-lieu-of-tax payments and decades of promises, some promises true, many false.

Jackson County, Alabama is a depressed area with a decreasing population, approximate current population 53,000. 14% of Citizens income in Jackson County are below the poverty level, 78% have a high school education or higher, 22% have less than a high school education of which 6% are functionally illiterate.

Current amount of river water withdrawal for Jackson County Alabama is 6.5 million gallons per day. A Bellefonte nuclear plant would increase the daily Tennessee River water withdrawal 4.5 times the current rate for Jackson County.

The current Bellefonte nuclear facility was built over Karst Terrain. The TVA claims there are no sinkholes on the property, but that is a dangerously false statement. There are 2 known large sinkholes on the Bellefonte nuclear plant property as demonstrated on the TVA/USGS 1970 topographical map. One of the sinkholes is located next to the proposed AP1000 Unit 3 site, another large sinkhole exists near the cooling towers in a fenced in area. Geological Survey maps available at the University of Alabama Cartography division indicate there are 58 caves within 5 miles of the Bellefonte area. The entire Bellefonte area is classified as a likely sinkhole area. The NRC dismissed the geological evidence and historic data presented to them in an official report in 2008 during the Environmental Scoping Session.

Bellefonte is located in an active seismic zone, less than 2 miles from the Sequatchie Fault and adjacent to a minor fault along River Ridge which is less than 1/4 mile east of the Bellefonte nuclear reactors.

The Bellefonte Nuclear Reactors have a series of 45 foot vertical supporting anchor rods drilled into the Limestone rock to stabilize the reactor structure. Rock which is noted for its ability to fracture and allow moisture seepage, characteristics of Karst Terrain geology. There have already been 8 instances of vertical supporting tendon cable couplings breaking over the years, the last being 2 years ago. It is possible that the occasional small ground tremors, along with the alkalinity of the limestone rock, are contributing factors affecting the supporting tendon structure breakage. This is part of the critical primary containment structure for the nuclear reactor and represents a containment structure failure a decade prior to the nuclear reactor becoming operable.

The river current in the area of Bellefonte's outflow and intake pipes reverses current at times of fast flowing river current. The area is a large elongated bay area along the west river bank where the river forms a very large deep water eddy within the bay. This problem was not identified in the original safety and environmental reports. It was reported in the recent AP1000 safety and environmental reports. The problem will result in the warmed outflow going back into the water inflow, which is supposed to be cool water.

There are meteorological changes in our area due to climate change. The frequency of tornadic storms have increased, thus increasing the risk of catastrophic damage to the nuclear facility. Also, during the period of draught 3 years ago, it was noted that ground collapse was evident within the Bellefonte reactor security zone.

In August of this year, the TVA approved the construction continuation of the Bellefonte Unit 1 nuclear reactor. The continuation of a stripped, cannibalized nuclear plant which the NRC reinstated the cancelled construction permit prior to the TVA approving to finish its construction. The approval of an antiquated Bellefonte nuclear construction permit appears to be for the sole purpose of circumventing modern safety standards and newly discovered environmental issues not previously addressed in the original 1970's environmental reports.

Another issue for the current debate: the Bellefonte Nuclear Reactor Unit 1 will cost the TVA ratepayers $9 billion dollars if it is completed by 2019. TVA can not afford Bellefonte, it has a $25 billion dollar debt, over $25 billion dollars owed in interest on its debt. Long term TVA commitments concerning fuel options, leases and the debt bring the TVA's long term financial commitments to approximately $68 billion. The TVA has proposed a financing scheme to sell the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant and the John Sevier Combined Cycle Gas Plant to fund the completion of Bellefonte. This scheme has not been approved by the full TVA Board and does not meet the requirements of the TVA Act; it is another example of TVA's failure to disclose important aspects of its decision making process to the public as required by the Federal Sunshine Act.

The question: will the NRC and the TVA follow good sense and responsible governmental practice to protect the citizenry from error, defect and deceit as required by nuclear safety law, or will they support the nuclear energy industry by placing money before the value of human life? The current trend of the TVA and NRC demonstrates the citizenry must take a back seat to the nuclear corporations hunger for money over life.

Learn more about the dangers of commercial nuclear power and sustainable energy solutions at the BEST/MATRR web site, http://www.matrr.org "why, because it matters."

TVA Nuclear--Our Childrens, Grandchildren and Great Granchildren's Future?

Is this to be the legacy we leave future citizens of Scottsboro and the Tennessee River Valley? http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/transport-environment/clyde-contaminated-by-radioactive-leak-from-nuclear-plant-1.1068103.

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That is Scotland you say, lets bring it home. http://healthvermont.gov/enviro/rad/yankee/tritium.aspxhttp://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/science-updates/nj-dep-begins-new-probe-of-radioactive-leak-at-oyster-creek-nuclear-power-plant

http://www.truth-out.org/article/radioactive-leak-reaches-nuclear-plants-groundwater http://www.beyondnuclear.org/.../pool%20leaks%20fact%20sheet.pdf
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Nuclear power is not clean, it is not safe, it is not cheap and it has killed and sickened tens of thousands. There is a better way thru energy efficiency-conservation, hydroelectric projects, improvement of dam generation fleets antiquated equipment, biomass projects, natural gas combined cycle, wind and solar.
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The TVA knows nuclear power is not necessary and knows the risks, has alternative plans but caters to nuclear corporate puppet politicians and the nuclear industry. Nuclear power is about bottom line profit of giant corporations such as Westinghouse, General Electric, Toshiba, Babcock & Wilcox. It is not about providing you the citizen with safe, clean and economical electrical power.

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In the Southeast TVA power is rated #4 in cost to providers. Their debt has grown, knocking on the door of $27 billion dollars. If TVA continues with their nuclear options the cost of power will continue to increase dramatically.

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The problem locally is TVA Executives have violated law (under investigation) and taken shortcuts in the building of Bellefonte. TVA Public Relations persons have come to Scottsboro and presented untruthful information to the citizens of Scottsboro. The local political gentry show no courage and acquiesce to TVA's demands and deceit. Local politicians had rather support lies and deceive the citizens of Scottsboro and Jackson County than raise questions about the TVA's plans, all for a non-approved project where the TVA has falsely promised employment for thousands of local citizens.

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Just remember Republicans, Lowell Barron was a strong supporter of the Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant. If you support nuclear power you support Democrat left wing liberals like our President who has received millions form the nuclear industry in support of his campaign, you also support massive debt plus government sponsored socialism.

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To find out more about nuclear power, its hazards and solutions for our energy future go to http://www.matrr.org/ http://www.bredl.org/ http://www.cleanenergy.org/

Bellefonte Nuclear Project--Revisited

TVA's Bellefonte Dream, 4 nuclear power plants which estimates show will cost the citizens and rate payers of the TVA service area in excess of $20 billion dollars for the 4 proposed reactors It is important to point out that none of this project has been approved by the TVA Board. Yet, billions of dollars have been spent and the entire project has been wrapped in controversy and mismanagement since its conception over 30 years ago. Not one kilowatt of power has ever been produced from the reactors at Bellefonte.

Update Dec 1, 2015 - cost estimates are now between $10 billion and $15 billion per unit for construction and updates at this time. 6 years after my writing of this article the total costs are estimated at $40 billion for the 4 units at TVA's Bellefonte, Alabama.
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Units 1 & 2 were over 50% complete when construction was halted in the mid 1980's. When the construction permits were cancelled by the TVA a few years back the plant was stripped of usable and expensive metals which were sold as scrap or utilized at other facilities.
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Now, the TVA and nuclear construction contractors have unduly influenced the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NRC, to reinstate a cancelled construction permit in violation of NRC policy and protocol. The NRC Commissioners reinstated the construction permit with out one, 1, vote of approval from the NRC, The Commission voted 1-disapproved, 3 jointly approved-disapproved. This unprecedented and ILLEGAL vote, in contravention of Atomic Licensing Authority for construction of nuclear reactors, has resulted in legal action being filed against the NRC, the case has been filed in the Washington D.C. Federal Court of Appeals. This is where we are at now with Bellefonte.

The debate concerning Bellefonte and nuclear power will continue for many years. The TVA, the nations largest utility and one of the nations largest governmental, corporate, socialist organizations. The TVA was created by President Roosevelt during the depression in order to provide jobs and power in the southeastern U.S. The TVA program worked marvelously to help end the Great Depression.

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Unfortunately the government's premier example of socialism did not end after World War 2, it has continued and now masses an enormous debt load of over $26 billion, primarily due to mismanagement of enormously expensive nuclear construction.

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The TVA should have been sold to private enterprise after WW2, that has not happened and now the TVA has become a massive governmental bureaucratic monster which is not accountable to the people which it was designed to serve nor has Congress chosen to offer meaningful oversight of this bureaucratic crystal palace.

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There are positive aspects of TVA, they provide continuous power to the Tennessee Valley area. In economic troubled times the cost of power is increasing. The TVA was once the least expensive source of power in the southeast. It continues to provide economical power to customers of the southeastern U.S. in its service area.

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Unfortunately, with expensive nuclear power additions the economic benefits of TVA power will end as electric rates will soar to pay for the expensive nuclear power projects. Already power companies in Kentucky and Georgia are at par with TVA power rates

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The issue continues, in Scottsboro's local paper, The Daily Sentinel, this report was filed concerning a recent press conference with Congressman Parker Griffith at Bellefonte. http://www.thedailysentinel.com/story.lasso?ewcd=2d6a28bbd22452e6

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My reply to this report was sent as a Letter to the Editor which was published in today's The Daily Sentinel. Below is a copy of my letter in it entirety. Their title to my letter was "Totally Against Nuclear Power and Bellefonte," I prefer to think of my letter as " The Rest of the Bellefonte Story." Many thanks to the Daily Sentinel for publishing my letter. The Daily Sentinel News site link for todays article, weekend addition, concering Bellefonte. http://thedailysentinel.com/story.lasso?ewcd=c0c787b560976aa6

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Dear Editor,

"Bellefonte process progressing" is the headline in Fridays Daily Sentinel. "Griffith says clean, safe nuclear power is the key to becoming energy independent." Many would disagree with the statements made by the TVA and its supporter, Congressman Griffith.

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Inaccuracy and propaganda have been the continuing trend of those who support the construction of nuclear power plants at Bellefonte. It seems the truth of the risks are not told, politicians and TVA/nuclear construction propaganda meisters intentionally mislead the public. It would be nice if the complete story would be told. I submit the "rest of the story" for your consideration.

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Nuclear power is not safe nor is it clean. There are over 40,000 workers, many are our neighbors in the southeast, who are sick and dying from the nuclear fuels manufactoring process. The facts concerning the sick and dying workers are the "secret" which nuclear power proponents attempt to keep from the public. An act of Congress entitled Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act was passed in 2000. Facts concerning these good folks who have gave so much of their lives may be found on the Internet at http://www.wildclearing.com/ice-ages/the-exposed.html There are 163,000 claims that have been filed of which 43,000 have been approved by DOL, Department of Labor. God Bless the 1200, 1 in 17, and their families who have died before one cent of money was paid. Individual payments per claim is approxiamately $94,000 per worker. The claims involve atomic weapons materials workers and nuclear fuels workers.

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Other inaccuracies originating from the TVA and Congressman Parker Griffith. 1) According to Dr. Griffith, " The opponents of Bellefonte are usually from out of state." That statement is not true, there are 85 local citizens who reside within 45 miles of the Bellefonte facility who have signed legal documents in opposition to the proposed nuclear plant. Many of the 85 reside in Alabama. 2) Safety. The Bellefonte site sits on a geologically unstable area consisting of Karst Terrain, cave terrain and sinkholes. The construction of unit 3 is proposed to sit near a very large sink hole. Hydrology is a serious issue, the reactor vessels will actually rest below Guntersville Reservoirs low water lake level. Fissures and channels in the Karst Terrain would surround the reactor vessels. The reactors at Bellefonte are approximately 1 mile from the Sequatchie Fault Line, coupled with the Karst Terrain Bellefonte is being constructed over an unstable geological area. 3) Renewable fuel. Nuclear fuels are not renewable as Dr. Griffith suggests. However, there are proposals to reprocess spent nuclear fuels. Nuclear fuels reprocessing is a hazardous and dangerous business which results in the creation of plutonium which may be used in nuclear weapons. Does Dr. Griffith support Nuclear Proliferation? 4) Waste. What are you going to do with the nuclear waste that will be created. Is it Dr. Griffith, the TVA and local politician's wish to create a nuclear waste repository at Bellefonte. That is exactly what will occur. Nuclear Waste must be stored on site for an indefinite period of time. 5) Cost. No one likes to discuss the cost, not even the TVA. TVA is $26 billion dollars plus in debt, their debt is growing. How will the TVA afford the nuclear reactors? Completion of Units 1 & 2 will cost $4-$8 billion dollars, possibly more. The minimum cost of Units 3 & 4 will be $16 billion with cost overruns, units 3 & 4 may come in at $20 billion. The TVA has a $30 billion Congressional mandated cap on their debt. Where are they going to get the additional funds? Raise your electric rate to double or triple current electrical rates? 6) Approval of Construction. The reinstatement of the Construction Permits for units 1 & 2 violated the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's, NRC's, own policy and protocol. My military experience in Nuclear Reliability Programs makes me very, very concerned of the NRC's flagrant violation of protocols and policy in this matter. There was not one vote of approval for the reinstatement of construction permits for units 1 & 2 at Bellefonte. Again I repeat, the NRC Commissioners did not vote to reinstate the construction permit. They voted, 1 vote disapproved and 3 votes jointly approved-disapproved, an unprecedented vote and scheme to intentionally violate the NRC's own protocol and policy. This unprecedented action on the part of the NRC has landed them into a legal action in the Washington D.C Court of Appeals. From my stand point of military experience there can be no violations of law, policy or protocol concerning nuclear programs, including the construction process. If the very commissioners and authorities who are required by law to provide for nuclear safety and protect the public from unscrupulous actions of nuclear operators, contractors and government entities violate policy and protocol, they themselves stand as a liability to Nuclear Reliability and Safety programs. 7) There is no demand for the power that a Bellefonte Nuclear plant would produce. The TVA has reported its power demand and sales are down. This is the exact reason Bellefonte construction was previously ended. Do our political representatives wish to repeat the mistakes of 20 plus years ago and waste another $5 billion dollars or more?

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In summary, TVA is experiencing decreasing power demand according to their own reports. This is what led to the previous cancellation of Bellefonte Units 1 & 2. We who depend on TVA power cannot afford another series of poorly planned and unnecessary nuclear projects. The utilization of energy efficiency programs would end further expensive, risky nuclear expansion and will result in cost savings for customers and reduced impacts across the Tennessee River Valley. Use the money that Bellefonte would cost to update an antiquated power generation and distribution system and begin investing in Solar Power alternatives.

Garry Morgan, Scottsboro

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I am a member of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, BREDL, its local sub-chapter- Bellefonte Efficiency and Sustainability Team, BEST and The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, SACE.

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These organizations are concerned about our environment and the ecological impacts of nuclear power on our environment and other environmental issues. There is strength in numbers. Any meaningful effort in opposition to nuclear power or to assure the accountability of our government in nuclear licensing costs money. The nuclear industry has poured millions into the coffers of politicians and attorneys to insure nuclear construction continues, even if it is not warranted. The TVA has the backing of the U.S. Government in its efforts to continue with its unwise decisions concerning nuclear power. If you as a citizen believe that government accountability is needed concerning nuclear construction or oppose the continuation of nuclear construction at Bellefonte or other sites we welcome your participation in our cause. Information concerning BREDL and membership http://www.bredl.org/ information concerning SACE and membership http://www.cleanenergy.org/

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Other articles on my blog concerning the TVA and nuclear energy. http://arklite.blogspot.com/search/label/TVA

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A short history of nuclear corruption and deceit, the "whistle-blowers": http://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/12/nyregion/paying-the-price-for-blowing-the-whistle.html http://www.frankmckinnon.com/nuclear_industry_bribes.htm http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101960304-135575,00.html http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=60199&catid=2

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A reminder of how nuclear power began, the Atomic Bomb. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1sS1TmXF38&feature=related

NRC, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Violating Own Rules and Proceedure??

TVA's $20 Billion Bellefonte Dream, 4 Reactors. Seems the safety of radioactive waste storage and enforcement of NRC's current licensing requirements has been called into question along with allegations the NRC is circumventing the legal process of licensing thru secretive process.

"Yesterday in a flurry of legal activity the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League filed new arguments opposing nuclear reactor licenses in Virginia, South Carolina and Alabama." Part of the brief filed on March 9th read, “The NRC’s secrecy is unnecessary, corrosive to the NRC’s system of accountability through open decision-making, and potentially dangerous because the decision-making process was not only secret but was restricted to the NRC and a limited group of individuals with a vested interest in minimizing the cost of mitigative measures, i.e., reactor licensees”

A sub-title, when will bureaucrats learn they have a responsibility to the law and their own policy. Press release from the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League. http://www.bredl.org/press/2009/newnukesmustwait031009.htm

Dr. Arjun Makhijani to Visit Scottsboro

"A technological revolution has been brewing in the last few years, so it won't cost an arm and a leg to eliminate both CO2 emissions and nuclear power. We can solve the problems of oil imports, nuclear proliferation as it is linked to nuclearpower, and carbon dioxide emissions simultaneously if we are bold enough."--Arjun Makhijani, Ph.D.
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Dr. Arjun Makhijani, http://www.ieer.org/ , will visit Scottsboro and make a presentation on the Courthouse Square in Scottsboro on Wednesday, September 24, 2008 at 2PM by the bandstand. The following Press release was issued by the Bellefonte Efficiency and Sustainability Team a local Chapter of the Blue Ridge Enviromental Defense League, http://www.bredl.org/nuclear/index.htm

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PRESS ADVISORY
SEPTEMBER 19, 2008

EXPERT ADVISES NON-NUCLEAR ENERGY MIX
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The Bellefonte Efficiency and Sustainability Team (BEST), a local Chapter of the
Blue Ridge Enviromental Defense League, invites all to appear on the north side of
the Courthouse Square by the Bandstand in Scottsboro, Alabama at 2PM on September the
24, 2008. There, Dr. Arjun Makhijani, a recognized authority on energy issues, will share his
knowledge regarding nuclear energy and our energy future. He is president of the Institute
for Energy and Environmental Research in Tacoma Park, Maryland.
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"A technological revolution has been brewing in the last few years, so
it won't cost an arm and a leg to eliminate both CO2 emissions and nuclear power. We can
solve the problems of oil imports, nuclear proliferation as it is linked to nuclear power, and
carbon dioxide emissions simultaneously if we are bold enough," states Dr. Makhijani.
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“Those in attendance will learn about an alternative clean energy plan that will allow
our children and grandchildren a healthier and less risky future while ending our dependence
on foreign oil,” said BEST member Garry Morgan.
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Dr. Makhijani is the author and co-author of numerous reports and books on energy and environment related issues. He was the principal author of the first study of the energy
efficiency potential of the US economy published in 1971. He is the author of Carbon-Free
and Nuclear-Free: A Road map for U.S. Energy Policy (2007). He earned his Ph.D. from the
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California,
Berkeley in 1972, specializing in nuclear fusion.
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Winner of numerous awards, Dr. Makhijani has testified before Congress, and has
appeared on ABC World News Tonight, the CBS Evening News, CBS 60 Minutes, NPR,
CNN, and BBC, among others. He has served as a consultant on energy issues to utilities,
including the Tennessee Valley Authority.
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In case of rain, the session will be held at the Scottsboro Rec-Com, 701 South Broad
St., Rm 103, Scottsboro.

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For those who are interested in joining BREDL, http://www.bredl.org/membership.htm or joining with other citizens of the area surrounding Bellefonte who are concerned about the negative environmental and economic impact a nuclear facility may have on our area may contact Garry Morgan at email: arklite2go@yahoo.com If you prefer you may list a message within, I will not post email addresses.

Bellefonte Nuclear Opponents Speak Out At Hearing

http://www.bredl.org/pdf2/BEST-PressRelease-NRCScoping040308.pdf



DID YOU KNOW?
The cost of Bellefonte units 3 and 4 built today would cost at least$20 billion nearly doubling TVA’s debt of $25 billion. The two reactors will draw 71 million gallons of water per day from the Guntersville Reservoir. That is more than all the public water systems in the Guntersville watershed combined. Bellefonte plant is near the Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone, considered
one of the most active seismic areas east of the Rocky Mountains. A Texas study found increased cancer rates in north central Texas since the Comanche Peak Nuclear Plant went online in 1992. There are 4 units now within 50 miles of Huntsville and 2 within 50 miles of
Chattanooga.


Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League: http://www.bredl.org/ (Photos by Tom Moss) Last photo members of the Bellefonte Efficiency and Sustainability Team, BEST.

Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) link on Nuclear Power Safety. http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/nuclear_safety/

Group Opposes Bellefonte Nuclear Plant

"Making the southeast better one community at a time." The motto of Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, http://www.bredl.org/ . They are opposing the start up of the Bellefonte nuclear power plant. There are several issues this group brings to the "community table" that needs discussing and some answers provided: http://www.bredl.org/pdf2/BEST-factsheet.pdf

(Pictures: 1. TVA proposed Nuclear Facility; 2. Radioactive Material Hazard Placard; 3. TVA photo of existing non-operable Bellefonte Nuclear Plant, billion dollar tax waste facility.)

I think the biggest question that all of us that live in the area should be willing to ask ourselves, are we willing to take the risk? A risk of an accident or disaster that results in the release of radiation that could end life as we know it in Hollywood, Scottsboro and a large portion of Jackson County, not to mention the destruction of the Tennessee River. Are you willing to take the gamble? Do you want to expose your children and grand children to the risk? Are you willing to spend several more billions of dollars in our already broke country for a nuclear hazard?

An article in the "Atlanta Progressive News" outlined the dangers of Nuclear Power: I. NUCLEAR POWER DANGERS
Nuclear power is inherently dangerous.
More than a half-century of accidents, leaks, and fires - including several in Georgia - have proven humans are fallible and mishaps inevitable.
"We have studies going back to the beginning that show in every community where these facilities are sited, there are higher incidents of cancer, leukemia, birth defects," Alice Slater, President of Grace Policy Institute (GPI), warned during a panel discussion hosted by the institute, on July 6, 2006.
"The risk associated with this kind of all out political muscle support for nuclear power is that regulatory process gets skewed... And it's under those conditions you get events like the very disturbing accident at (David Bessey) in 2002 in which the hole in the top of the pressure pistol had essentially occurred through a rusting process, leaving only the stainless steel liner between the plant and a significant loss of cooling accident, of a type for which the safety systems are not designed," Peter Bradford, former chair of the New York Public Service Commission and Maine Public Utilities Commission, former Commissioner of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said during the GPI Panel.
Nuclear power plants release radioactive contaminants, such as tritium, along with hazardous chemicals and heavy metals during routine operation.
"These emissions cause leukemia and cancer over extended periods. It can be a slow, tortuous death," Jeanine Honicker, WAND activist, told Atlanta Progressive News. "That's enough to oppose nuclear power, if for no other reason."
Indeed, the US Department of Energy (DOE) has a "Quarterly Worker Injury/Illness Rate Chart" for the Office of Nuclear Energy which shows incidents occurring every quarter.
On October 29, 2005, fire broke out at Georgia Power's Edwin I. Hatch nuclear plant located near Baxley. Although the reactor was not affected, mineral oil from the transformer leaked into the Altamaha River as a result of the firefighting effort. Absorption booms were placed in the river and the company said no adverse environmental impact was expected.
Soon after the fire, the Southern Company (Georgia Power's parent) discovered 5 feet, 8 inches of spent nuclear rods missing. These rods are highly radioactive and extremely dangerous. On August 22, 2006, the company announced they still couldn't account for the location of 18 inches.
"The company said the fragments were the result of a corrosive water problem at Plant Hatch that broke down fuel rod casings for a period in the 1980s, allowing the fuel rod pieces to fall out," The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.
August 15, 2006, radioactive, cancer-causing tritium leaked into the groundwater beneath the San Onofre, California, nuclear power plant causing San Clemente officials to shut down their drinking-water well.
"In recent years, tritium leaks have been found at more than a dozen nuclear plants across the nation, prompting the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to form a task force this year to study the cause of the contamination" according to The Los Angeles Times.
In March, a tritium leak contaminated millions of gallons of groundwater near a nuclear power plant in Illinois.

Alabama Browns Ferry has been plagued with problems from fires and leaks in pipes as a result of sub-standard welds. There is the issue of storage of waste. The waste will be required to be stored on site for an indefinite period of time. Are you willing to assume the risks of Nuclear Power at Bellefonte for our future generations?

NRC's information on Bellefonte: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-licensing/col/bellefonte.html

The citizens of Jackson County deserve to hear all of the truth and all of the issues concerning nuclear power, the positives, the negatives and the risks. Once we have all the information we the citizens should make the decision whether we want the plant to be located at Bellefonte. Do not allow the politicians to "shove" this project down our throats in the pretext of making them look better by saying, "see what we have done for you." It is our lives and that of our children and future grand children that is at stake.

Memership information for the Blue Ridge Enviromental Defense League: http://www.bredl.org/membership.htm