April 2006 E-Newsletter

Once again, critical events delayed the production of the newsletter. On March 30, the Pentagon announced its plans to detonate a 700-ton ammonium nitrate/fuel oil bomb at the Nevada Test Site, on Western Shoshone land.

We would like to remind you about the BLM comment period, which will close May 8, for comments on the right-of-way requested by PFS. The right-of-way is necessary in order for PFS to ship nuclear waste across federal lands, whether it is by rail or truck. Check our resource page for details on how to participate. We have provided a number of tools to give you key information and talking points.

While it is clear to Utahns why we do not want the right-of-way to be approved, we will all need to do extra outreach to other states to convince them that even if they are ratepayers to a nuclear power company, it is immoral to dump your nuclear waste on someone else. We need to find real solutions to the problem of nuclear waste, including the complete phase-out of nuclear power, but in the meantime, the answer is not to move it all around the country in faulty containers, under inadequate security, to an exposed concrete pad under a military test range. To our supporters in other states, show this map to your friends and neighbors. Will this high level nuclear waste travel through their neighborhoods? Read the Environmental Working Group Report that tells of the estimated effects of a moderate accident in an urban area.

About Our Main Programs

Skull Valley

On March 30, an F-16 crashed just west of the Great Salt Lake, near Skull Valley. This is exactly the scenario opponents of the waste dump have warned could cause nuclear disaster to Skull Valley, and to the Salt Lake Valley, only 45 miles away. In 2003 the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board rejected the PFS license on the grounds that locating the waste dump beneath the flight path of fighter jets constituted too much of a safety risk. PFS appealed after one of the judges was replaced, and board granted approval in February 2005. Although the license has been approved by the NRC, two primary obstacles remain for PFS; the approval of the contract by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the granting of a right-of-way across federal land. PFS has acknowledging that it has started marketing efforts to nuclear power plant operators, although its web site reveals no specifics. It has also contacted key members of Congress and the Department of Energy offering the site as a federal waste repository, in light of the delays facing Yucca Mountain. To date these offers have been rejected by the DoE.

Yucca Mountain

Because of the numerous quality assurance issues, the opening date on Yucca Mountain has been pushed back to 2020. In response Sen. Pete Domenici R-NM threatened to introduce legislation to make changes in the project to ease industry concerns. On April 4, this legislation was introduced, and among other provisions, raises the ceiling on the amount of waste that will be accepted, and opens the possibility of " interim" storage on the site. The article linked above includes a link to the full text of the legislation. We are particularly concerned about the brazen language that moves to Department of Energy control 147,000 acres of land surrounding Yucca Mountain, certainly without Western Shoshone consent.

EnergySolutions

The Department of Justice has approved the merger of EnergySolutions with Duratek. Early in April it was revealed that Duratek was one of the firms bidding for a federal grant to develop waste reprocessing technologies. EnergySolutions asserts that the site will not be in Utah, but has declined to name the proposed site.

Recent Events

Weapons Testing

The " Divine Strake" test has been described as an attempt to simulate through conventional means, the lowest yield nuclear device that would be required to eradicate a " hardened target." Although Congress discontinued funding for the " bunker buster" or Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator in October of 2005, this test clearly supports the same objectives. In February we saw an underground sub-critical test, in June there will be a massive above ground conventional test. How long will it be before full-scale nuclear testing is resumed? Please visit our " Divine Strake" page for current news and commentary about the test, as well as information about direct action to oppose it.

Grassroots and Local Legislative Resistance to the Nuclear Power Industry

There have been recent local victories. In Illinois, the senate has passed a bill requiring disclosure of all radioactive releases, at levels beyond those required by the NRC. Organizations like the Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone, the Duxbury Nuclear Advisory Committee (Ma) and the New England Coalition (VT) are garnering more media time, states like Illinois, New Jersey and Vermont are imposing state regulations on power plants, and state legislative candidates like Susan Zimet in New York are running on platforms to shut down nuclear power plants.

Power Plant Safety Issues

On March 2, the operators of Vermont Yankee received approval to raise the power output by 20 percent, in 5 percent increments. After raising the output on March 4, vibrations were detected, and output was frozen until the source of the problem was found and fixed. The problem was found to be the steam dryer, the very part of the plant machinery that activists had protested could not withstand the higher power production. The safety sirens at Indian Point in Westchester County, NY failed again in a test. This followed an incident where a contractor hit a power switch that cut off power to the reactor control rods. The warning sirens at North Anna in Virginia also failed this month. There have been several other incidences of radioactive leaks from power plants, usually of Tritium, but there has been one instance of Strontium-90, at levels three times higher than federally allowed levels. On March 31, the operators noted that a hole had been " drilled" into a pipe that is part of a system that helps maintain pressure.

What We’re Doing

Outreach and Education

ON March 11, we pushed an op-ed in the Salt Lake Tribune " Nuclear Energy is not Clean or Safe." We are working with Margene Bullcreek to provide educational materials for tribal members, and with the " NO! Coalition" to intensify efforts to educate the public on the importance of responding to the BLM request for comment. We have made our letter writing resources to community organizations. We have worked closely with the Western Shoshone Defense Project to produce a joint press release in response to the announcement of " Divine Strake." This outreach has brought several requests for media interviews. As this enewsletter is being written, we are building a coalition to stage a protest event at the Nevada Test Site.

On Our Web Site

We are working on a new section: Documents. We will be placing press releases, reports and fact sheets here for you to use for outreach on a local basis.

Please Contribute

We have a very lean operation in Salt Lake City, but we do still have to keep the bills paid! Donations of any amount are always welcome. You can donate securely through PayPal by pressing the button below our logo.

Given the recent developments with " Divine Strake" and PFS we have urgent needs to help the Western Shoshone and the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes. We need to organize a resistance event on June 2, including all of the planning and logistical support such an event requires. We have been called upon to help bring elder indigenous women together to defend their communities against environmental racism. We cannot do so without your support. Please be generous.

Volunteer Opportunities

We are always looking for volunteers to help with outreach tables at community events, flyering, phone banking, and posting articles on our web site. We are also looking for particularly motivated volunteers who would like to become subject matter experts, and contribute in substantial ways to our fact sheets and web content. Please take a look at out Volunteer Opportunities page to see our current needs.

Special Thanks

Thanks to Kari Olsen (age 11) for organizing and stowing donations of office supplies, and to Rich Peterson for staffing our outreach table.

Stay tuned…