The Great Lakes Zephyr - Wind Energy & Hydrogen Journal

Urge the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to Protect Americans

From GRACE Public Fund

Urge the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to Protect Americans from a Nuclear Disaster



Send comments to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission by January 24, 2005 urging them to protect the public from a nuclear power disaster following an attack by upgrading safety requirements.



http://capwiz.com/wagingpeace/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=6826511



If a nuclear power plant's containment shell and reactor core or spent fuel pools are ever breached, a terrible explosion of radioactivity, on a par with the Chernobyl accident, would ensue. Millions of Americans would be placed in harm's way. Unfortunately, America's nuclear power plants are highly vulnerable to attack. Fortunately, such a cataclysm is preventable. We ask for your support of a new petition before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.



An even more vulnerable target at a nuclear power plant is the building that houses the spent fuel rods, which are stored in pools of water to prevent the heat from their residual radioactivity from melting them. Designed to remain intact in case of an earthquake, these structures are open to the air in some instances and housed in only light-duty buildings in others, which means that a plane attacking from above might drain the pool, destroy backup safety systems, and ignite the fuel. The resulting fire would spew radioactivity into the environment in amounts that could reach three or four Chernobyls.



Last year, our friends at Committee to Bridge the Gap (CBG) filed a Petition for Rulemaking to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (posted in the Federal Register on November 8, 2004, Volume 69, Number 215) for “Upgrading the Design Basis Threat Regulations for Protection Against Terrorist Attacks on Nuclear Reactors.”



The nuclear agency has now opened the petition for public comment. The NRC needs to hear your concerns about vulnerabilities at America's nuclear power plants.



Your comments to NRC are urgently needed. The deadline is January 24, 2005. Please take action now.



Take Action: Send your comments online - http://capwiz.com/wagingpeace/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=6826511