Nuclear Power Zombies

SUBHEAD: Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, San Onofre, Fukushima, WIPP and Hanford should have taught us nuclear power is not an option.

By Juan Wilson on 12 May 2016 for Island Breath -
(http://islandbreath.blogspot.com/2016/05/nuclear-power-zombies.html)


Image above: South Australian demonstrators make their opinion known concerning making them the nuclear waste dump for the world. From (http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2016/02/15/sa-nuclear-waste-dump-proposal-contested-green-groups).

Publicity web searchbots scour the internet for places they think likely to take their promotional material.  Occasionally the stumble upon IslandBreath.org and into unintended consequences. Because we have had nuclear power as the (critical) subject of several articles we occasionally get automated email puff pieces from the propaganda agents of the nuclear industry.

A couple of days ago I got such a submission from David Hesse.  His email address is press@world-nuclear.org. The subject of his email was, "Royal Commission’s conclusions create middle-ground in the nuclear waste discourse".

It turns out that the "middle-ground" is sacrificing the continent of Australia to be the world's nuclear waste storage facility. It is conveniently isolated and located in the southern hemisphere far from most of the world's heaviest consumer population.

Now that the business of Australia supplying coal and other raw material to China for heavily polluting climate changing industry has gone belly up we might as well as use Australia for a higher purpose - being a radioactive toilet for the ever humming industrial north. Of course, any fearful Australians that wished to escape the harm they might face could be relocated to Africa or South America.

Here's is David Hesse's email message.

World Nuclear Association Press Release. Issue Date: 09 May 2016

The report of the South Australia Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission, made public today, has fundamentally changed the nature of the global nuclear waste discourse.

Agneta Rising, Director General of the World Nuclear Association remarked, “If constructed, a multi-national waste facility based in South Australia would grant a welcome option for countries operating nuclear facilities today. Far from it being the case that there is ‘no solution’ to nuclear waste, we are seeing lots of progress – with some countries developing national repositories and now the potential addition of this viable alternative” 

The Commission has concluded “that the disposal of used fuel and intermediate level waste (ILW) could be undertaken safely in a permanent geological disposal facility in South Australia. This would have the potential to deliver significant inter-generational economic benefits to the community.” It has recommended that the South Australian Government pursues this opportunity.

A large multi-national waste storage facility would be a world first and should offer advantages in terms of siting and economics when compared to smaller national approaches. There are significant benefits on offer to South Australia for hosting such a facility, which must now work on building robust public and political support if the plan is to proceed.

Regarding the future deployment of nuclear power plants in the state, the Commission has, in short, recommended that the Australian government discard its long-standing anti-nuclear policies. While the Commission noted that nuclear power plants are not viable in South Australia under current market rules, it recommended “the South Australian Government pursue removal at the federal level of existing prohibitions on nuclear power generation…” and further, “that the South Australian Government promote and collaborate on the development of a comprehensive national energy policy that enables all technologies, including nuclear, to contribute to a reliable, low-carbon electricity network at the lowest possible system cost.”

The report marks the end of a comprehensive review of the available opportunities in the fuel cycle. The process lasted for over a year and the Commission consulted extensively before proceeding onto site visits and interviewing experts on topics such as radioactive wastes, reactor technology, etc. There has been a sustained commitment to transparency throughout the process, with responses and interview recordings made publicly available via the Commission’s website.

Rising commented, “Other governments, both inside and outside of Australia, which are considering introducing nuclear energy could really benefit from the wealth of high quality information that has been collected through the rigorous South Australian Royal Commission process.”

Thank you David for demonstrating that there is a way for all to keep our Nissan Leafs fully charged and the Amazon drones in the air and delivering plastic electronic consumer items to our doorsteps. 

See also:
Ea O Ka Aina: Fukushima radiation damages Japan 4/14/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Indian Point Nuclear Accident 3/5/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Big Fat Radioactive Lie 12/6/15
Ea O Ka Aina: San Onofre left radioactive debris 9/30/15
Ea O Ka Aina: Nuclear is not alternative energy 8/7/15
Ea O Ka Aina: Fukushima - the end of atomic power 3/13/15
Ea O Ka Aina: Molten Salt Nuclear Reactors 9/25/14
Ea O Ka Aina: The false science of science 9/2/14
Ea O Ka Aina: Nuclear Wasteland 8/6/14
Ea O Ka Aina: WIPP Worse than you think 5/21/14
Ea O Ka Aina: Fukushima - What me worry? 11/29/13
Ea O Ka Aina: Nuclear Power on the Run 8/18/13
Ea O Ka Aina: Five reactors shutdown by Sandy 10/30/12
Ea O Ka Aina: Ten Chernobyls enter Pacific 5/27/11
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