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Would Utah firm open U.S. door to nuclear waste?
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Nuclear waste is nuclear waste. It doesn't matter if it comes from Italy, Israel, Iran, or Indiana.
My guess is you work for Energy Solutions. Only someone that has a vested interest in making $$ off of this would try to make it sound as if becoming a nuclear waste dump for the world is a good thing. Its like the old saying goes, no matter how you polish a turd, its still a turd. You can take the jobs and $$ you make somewhere else. I think Utah can much, much better.
If it's "Safe" to store a little, it should be "safe" to store a lot.
Europe will do "Anything" to dispose of their nuclear waste, that means Energy Solutions can charge "Anything" to take it off their hands. Utah can tax nuclear waste facilities at any rate they want. So some day Energy Solutions could carry the State's whole tax burden (like casinos do in Nevada) so we could do away with our Income Tax or Sales Tax (like in Nevada).
So someday Utahns may look to Energy Solutions and the Nuclear Waste industry in much the same light as Navada residents embrace or at least tolerate gambling.
I'm sort of kidding, but if we're going to accept nuclear waste at all and we are really convinced that it is 100% safe, why not expand it. The reason is... Because we all suspect that it ISN'T 100% safe and is probably going to bite us someday.
Nuclear power is the same way. We enjoy "clean energy" as long as the birth defects aren't happening to our daughter, the cancer didn't take out our best friend. This is one reason I am so opposed to people shipping toxic waste to other areas. Let the people who reap the benefits also feel the full brunt of the impact. In that way, we will all make more humane, educated, and intelligent choices.
It's sad how fast all our legislators sold out our state just to pad their pockets with a little cash.
Before you write me off as just some crazy left wing environmentalist, just take a look at all of their list of campaign contributors - I think there are only few that turned money down from engergy solutions.
They want to say it's safe - but there is just no way that it can be. You are talking about radio-active material (no matter how low level) that takes hundreds of years to break down. Really how is that safe.
The only people who are telling you it's safe are people who are in line to make money from this. Ask if any of those people would want to live anywhere near the plant - I don't think you're going to get any takers.
To the residents of the State of Utah the following needs addressing before this even approaches hearing 'two sides of the story.'
Has Energy Solutions put a perpetual bond (which would need to be billions of dollars) in place to cover any potential catastrophic events to either the environment and/or people, even long after Energy Solutions is gone (the reason for a 'perpetual' bond).
Has Utah State and the Federal Government (which has oversight/approval input on much of this) committed to a binding non-rescinding fund for covering their share of actual and punitive costs in the event of a catastrophic event resulting from these nuclear waste dumps?
Unless both are solidly in place, there is no other side of the story. Just a huge catastrophic event waiting to happen to which the public and/or individuals will have no recourse.
I have a great idea! If a State or country produced nuclear waste within their borders, then they should keep the waste within their own borders. They allowed for and created the waste, they should keep it.
I don't think accepting contributions from them automatically means they own you. I'd watch their record to see if there's any evidence of that first.
You have to understand the regulations that are met in order to have a site that has been approved for waste of this type. I'm sure millions of dollars have been spent to ensure there that one of these "catastrophic events" do not occur. The government and nuclear industry go to unthinkable lengths to make sure no such catastophe's occur. If they did occur they know that a valuable resource such as the nuclear industry will suffer do to the public's view which will take years and years to recover from. The public outcry, unwarranted or not, is what makes state and national governments shy away from handling waste.
As for safety and health of Utahns....there is no risk to you. The perception of risk is real but the actual risk is not. You drive you car, which statistically speaking is rediculously risky, yet you probably give it no thought. Swimming is statistically risky. Somehow putting low-level waste in an engineered containment miles away from anything is a risk deemed worthy of outcry. I disagree.
There is nothing to worry about.
Man is on his way out of this self-correcting system called Earth.
Man will be long gone and the Earth will be still rolling along as naturally as it has before man came along and mucked things up.
You do know that there IS a surety fund set up, as required by EnergySolutions' radioactive materials license, right? I guess you think that it's just not enough. You want all of the parties involved to put up billions more in case of a - as you put it - "catastophic event".
So that we all can see how much you know about the radioactive waste that's out there, exactly what kind of a "catastrophic event" do you anticipate happening?
Please tell us, so we can be prepared for it.
If you're going to try to instill fear in the folks here, I want you to tell us just exactly what it is we need to fear.
You haven't raised cattle have you? Where do you think Giardia comes from?
It will be by his own doing.
Then Mother Earth, with her self-correcting ways will be normal once again.
Then maybe God will have second thoughts about adding man to paradise again.
Brad Tew
P.S. I am glad you are going back to school. :)
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Please take more responsibility for your journalism and at least try to be impartial when reporting the news. And before anyone tries to crucify me for my comments, I have not decided wether I am for or against the plan. What I do know is I cannot count on the D News to give me equal time and reporting from both sides of the debate. Articles like this will only serve to make me cancel my subscription!