Act now to stop the Plutonium Economy in its tracks!
Write the Department of Energy's Office of Fissile Materials Disposition concerning its test shipment of experimental mixed oxide (MOX) plutonium fuel. Demand an extension to its fast closing comment period, and challenge DOE's finding of no significant impact to the environment from this cross-continental shipment of plutonium.
"The Plutonium Is Coming! The Plutonium Is Coming!" Where is Paul Revere when you need him? The Dept. of Energy is proposing to truck a test shipment of plutonium fuel from Los Alamos Lab in New Mexico (the birthplace of the atom bomb) to Chalk River Lab in Canada (site of the first major nuclear reactor disaster in the world in 1952) through Michigan. DOE calls its proposed shipment the Parallex Project.
However, there is tremendous resistance in Michigan to this shipment — both from concerned citizens and public officials (from mayors to U.S. Representatives). The reason? This shipment, even though it contains only 6 ounces of plutonium, is but the opening salvo for a full-blown plutonium economy, if the nuclear establishment gets its way. One proposal would involve the shipping of tens of tons of plutonium fuel from the U.S. and Russia to be "burned" at the Bruce nuclear reactors in Ontario, just 100 miles across Lake Huron from Michigan. Transport accidents --or even worse -- reactor accidents there involving plutonium would endanger the heart of the Great Lakes and the entire region. Such intense public concern has forced DOE to schedule at least four public meetings in the State that it would much rather not hold, for the more light that is shined on the MOX program, the more dangers and concerns are revealed. Such resistance forced DOE to delay for years and ultimately to cancel its shipment across the Blue Water Bridge at Port Huron, Michigan into Canada, and this present resistance may very well pressure DOE to cancel its proposed route across the border at Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan. The danger is, if Michiganders are able to stop the shipment through their State, the DOE will simply look for another route through different States.
The still proposed route through Michigan originates at Los Alamos in New Mexico, passing through Santa Fe and Alburquerque; on through Amarillo, TX; on through Oklahoma City and Tulsa, OK; on through Springfield and St. Louis, MO; on through Springfield and Chicago, IL; on through Michigan City, IN; and then through Kalamazoo, Lansing, Flint, and across the border into Canada at Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan.
An alternate route to that one would veer south of Springfield through IL; on through Terre Haute and Indianapolis, IN; on through Columbus and Cleveland, OH; on through Erie, PA; and across the border either at Buffalo, NY or Watertown, NY (thus passing through Syracuse first).
Yet another proposed route would traverse New Mexico, through Colorado Springs and Denver, CO; through Lincoln and Omaha, NE; through Sioux City, IA; through Sioux Falls, SD; through Fargo, ND; and across the border into Canada at Pembina.
If the resistance in Michigan is successful against its impending shipment, folks along these other routes should beware. There is still time to act. The DOE Office of Fissile Materials Disposition is still accepting public comments on its Parallex Project Environmental Assessment until Saturday, October 30th. The DOE determined that none of the routes pose a significant impact to the environment.
Well, we all need to ask them if they considered the routes WE are familiar with. In northern Michigan, winter (exactly when DOE is considering its shipment) makes for very treacherous roads, especially at the Mackinac Bridge spanning Lake Michigan and Lake Huron connecting the upper and lower peninsulas, !QW! ice and high winds make for a white knuckle four miles across one of the longest bridges in the world. Communicate to DOE the road hazards in your State.
And what about emergency responders in your State? Are they trained, equipped, and prepared for a possible radiological emergency involving one of the deadliest substances on Earth? The ambulance drivers who rescued the irradiated workers in the recent Japanese nuclear accident were themselves seriously contaminated in the process. The firefighters who fought the blaze at Chernobyl received deadly doses of radiation. What's to insure that emergency responders in your State won't be put similarly in harm's way without adequate protection and preparation? Demand DOE truthfully address that question before rushing ahead with its nuclear experiment on our nation's roads.
Just how prepared is DOE to handle a terrorist attack on the shipment? In the past year, members of the Michigan militia were convicted for planning to target Interstate 94 — the proposed route for Parallex through Michigan — for terrorist attack. What precautions is DOE making in your State against terrorism?
And how can DOE claim no impact to the environment from a shipment of some of the deadliest stuff on Earth? If there is an accident that results in a fire, will the plutonium be contained, or vaporized to blow away on the wind? If plutonium is burned and inhaled, it is a guarantee for lung cancer. Studies have shown that a single atom of plutonium in the lung could be enough to initiate cancer. Plutonium is a deadly poison that needs to be isolated from the living environment forever, not trucked across the continent and "burned" in nuclear reactors, all just to attempt to give the dying nuclear industry a boost. Tell as much to DOE.
Demand that DOE extend its public comment period at least 30 days, so that folks in States who have not even been alerted to the possibility that they live on a transport route have a chance to comment too. Demand that DOE hold hearings in your community on this issue. At this point, only four Michigan communities have been granted public meetings with DOE. This excludes other Michigan communities also on the route, but excludes countless communities in other States also on the route. Also, these meetings in Michigan are not formal hearings, and thus are less binding upon DOE than they should be. Demand a formal hearing in your State.
Contact the DOE Office of Fissile Materials Disposition at the following address:
If you have questions, please contact Kevin Kamps at NIRS: ph. (202) 328-0002; e-mail: kevinkamps@yahoo.com NIRS also has hard copy versions of the national map showing these transport routes, which we can fax to you. Phone us with your fax number. This map is also viewable on the DOE Office of Fissile Materials website, at http://www.doe-md.com/ Look under "What's New," and then "Environmental Assessment for the Parallex Project Fuel Manufacture and Shipment" (DOE/EA-1216, dated September 1999). Thank you for whatever action you can take. Together, we can nip the plutonium economy in the bud, starting with stopping Parallex in its tracks.
Prepared by Kevin Kamps, nuclear waste specialist, NIRS on Oct. 25, 1999
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