Help Spread the Word: #NuclearIsDirty from the Start!

Help Spread the Word: #NuclearIsDirty from the Start!


March 21, 2016

Dear Friends,

Last week we launched a new campaign to put an end to the myth of "clean nuclear power," and we are off to a great start. We are rolling out the #NuclearIsDirty campaign with a series of online and social media events over 12 weeks. During that time, we will take you through the entire nuclear fuel chain, from uranium mining all the way to the impossible problems of radioactive waste and contamination.

We are not only going to put on a series of powerful and exciting events, we are combining it with actions you can take and new online (and offline) resources to supplement the campaign.

Our goals are simple: on the one hand to equip you with information and an opportunity to hear from communities and activists on the frontlines. And on the other hand, to spread the word and change the public's consciousness about nuclear power, so that everyone knows nuclear power is dirty energy, and has no place in our energy future.

But we can't accomplish either of those goals without you: both your activism and your support. We need you to participate in these events, and share your questions and insights.

And just as much as your participation and support, we need you to share the #NuclearIsDirty campaign with your friends and social networks. Every new person we can reach ... every new person who attends an event ... every additional action taken ... takes us one step closer to stopping nuclear power.

We also need you to help us take on the industry's PR machine--and to do that, we have to take advantage of a generous matching donation to build the #NuclearIsDirty campaign. That means we need you to donate, as well as activate. Every dollar you give generates another dollar donation to NIRS. And so does every dollar donated by your friends. All donations to NIRS are, of course, tax-deductible. Please donate now here.For decades, the philosophy of movement-building has been, "Each one, reach one." And for on-the-ground, grassroots organizing, there is still no more powerful tool. But the revolution of social media means each of us can reach dozens of people, if not more, each and every day.

With that, we can start our own anti-nuclear chain reaction, and make #NuclearIsDirty go viral!

#NuclearIsDirty ... From the Start! In the first "episode" of the rollout series we are focusing on the roots of nuclear power, the problems that are the very foundation of the nuclear industry:
- Uranium mining and the mountains of waste generated just to produce nuclear fuel.
- Environmental justice, and the targeting of vulnerable communities throughout the fuel chain.
- The dangers of radiation exposure, and its disparate impacts on women and girls.

We kicked things off last week with a presentation on the 1979 Church Rock uranium mill disaster and its impacts on Navajo communities in New Mexico and Arizona. Church Rock released more radiation than the Three Mile Island meltdown, and has never been cleaned up. If you missed it, you can listen to the briefing here.

This week, we will host a webinar with activists from the Clean Up the Mines campaign. Church Rock was just the tip of a massive, dirty iceberg: there are over 15,000 abandoned uranium mines throughout the country, leaking radioactive and toxic waste. And just like Church Rock, Native American communities are disproportionately affected. Communities from Arizona to South Dakota are uniting to take on this problem--and we hope you can join them this Friday, March 25, for a powerful webinar.

Click here to get all the details. And share it with your friends. We'll be posting about the webinar and the #NuclearIsDirty campaign on Facebook and Twitter all week long--jump in and help us spread the word!

Thanks for all you do,

Michael Mariotte
President
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
nirsnet@nirs.org

Stay Informed:

NIRS on the web: http://www.nirs.org

GreenWorld: (NIRS' blog chronicling nuclear issues and the transition to a nuclear-free, carbon-free energy system) http://www.safeenergy.org

NIRS on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nuclear-Information-and-Resource-Service/26490791479?sk=wall&filter=12

http://www.facebook.com/nonukesnirs

http://www.facebook.com/groups/nukefreeclimatefreemarch/

NIRS on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/nirsnet

NIRS on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/nirsnet

Comments re: Docket ID NRC-2015-0070 on behalf of NIRS, CAN, et al

Comments on Nuclear Regulatory Commission Request Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Regarding Regulatory Improvements for Decommissioning Power Reactors
Jointly Submitted by Citizens Awareness Network, Nuclear Information and Resource Service, et al

Comments on the Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities, submitted on behalf of Citizens Awareness Network, Nuclear Information and Resource Service, and seventy-five other organizations.

The comments will also be submitted electronically through Regulations.gov.

Sincerely,
Timothy L. Judson, NIRS
Deb Katz, CAN

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Action Needed: What would it take for YOU to CONSENT to Nuclear Waste

ALERT— ACTION NEEDED—public meetings and comments….

What would it take for YOU to CONSENT to Nuclear Waste? DOE wants to know.

The US Dept. of Energy (DOE) is holding 8 Public Meetings and taking written comments on

“CONSENTING” to TAKE NUCLEAR WASTE

After decades of trying to force-feed the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear dump down the throats of Nevadans and the Western Shoshone Nation, the DOE and nuclear proponents want to know what it will take to get people to “consent” or appear to consent to take nuclear waste.

DOE openly acknowledges this is “consent” to future nuclear waste production as part of the “integrated waste management system.” They say that the future of nuclear energy in this country depends on this.

Meetings will be held from noon or 1 PM to ~ 5PM

CHICAGO, IL           March 29, 2016           University of Chicago Conference Center   
ATLANTA, GA          April 11, 2016             Georgia Institute of Technology Conference Center
BOISE, ID                              )
BOSTON, MA                        )           dates between now and July 2016
DENVER, CO                        )           and exact locations to be announced
MINNEAPOLIS, MN              )
SACRAMENTO, CA              )
TEMPE, AZ.                          )

DOE seeks our input on how to be FAIR, WHO to include, what RESOURCES it will take to induce participation.

They want to identify who adequately represents a community and will “consent” or claim to agree to take nuclear waste.

They are not defining exactly what or how much nuclear waste we would be “consenting” or not consenting to accept.

They are not asking how a community can refuse or express permanent “non-consent,” although you can let them know that if you choose to.

Although they have reports, diagrams of storage containers and systems, ideas and plans for the tens of thousands of tons of nuclear waste in this country, they claim to want to negotiate with communities who would “consent” to take it forever or supposedly temporarily.

NO CONSIDERATION OF THE RIGHTS OR CONSENT OF THOSE ALONG TRANSPORT ROUTES IS BEING MADE OR REQUESTED. Although one of the greatest dangers to the most people, environments and ecosystems is the movement of tens of thousands of tons of nuclear waste on roads, rails and waterways, DOE stated at its Washington DC ‘kickoff’ meeting that there is complete federal preemption over transport of nuclear waste so that would not be part of the process.

NO Consideration of  the rights of future generations who will inevitably be affected.

The nuclear industry is eager for volunteers or consenting communities to take the waste and for the US Department of Energy to take title to it.

Meetings will be in 8 US CITIES from MARCH TO JULY 2016.

Comment deadline is June 15, 2016 email to consentbasedsiting@hq.doe.gov.  Please include “Response to IPC” in the subject line.

DETAILS:
Federal Register Notice:
https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/12/23/2015-32346/invitation-for-public-comment-to-inform-the-design-of-a-consent-based-siting-process-for-nuclear

DOE website for more of their information and to REGISTER for MEETINGS: http://www.energy.gov/ne/consent-based-siting
 
Info coming soon at www.nirs.org at Stop Fukushima Freeways

More info: dianed@nirs.org; after March 21  maryo@nirs.org; For Chicago meeting neis@neis.org

NRC Presentation: March 11, 2016

Please note that the NRC’s presentation and handout are now publicly available in ADAMS at ML16068A095 and ML16068A100.  The meeting notice will be updated tomorrow with links to these documents.

View Online Presentation

Download Presentation

Security complaint at Susquehanna nuclear power plant; NRC issues violation

NRC INVESTIGATION REPORT NO. 1-2015-018

Download ML16063A473

Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1 - Notice of Annual Assessment Meeting on March 23, 2016

The U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will meet with the public to discuss the NRC’s assessment of safety performance at Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1, for 2015, as described in the annual assessment letter dated March 2, 2016. The NRC will respond to questions on specific performance issues at the plant and our role in ensuring safe plant operations.

Download ML16068A005

PPL nuclear power plant still requires additional inspections and oversight

NRC Issues Annual Assessments for Nation’s Nuclear Plants

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued letters to the nation’s 99 commercial operating nuclear plants about their performance in 2015. All but three plants were in the two highest performance categories.

“These assessment letters are the result of a holistic review of operating performance at each domestic power reactor facility,” said Bill Dean, director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. “In addition to ensuring that the nation’s nuclear power plants are safe by inspecting them, the NRC continuously assesses performance. The purpose of these assessment letters is to ensure that all of our stakeholders clearly understand the basis for our assessments of plant performance and the actions we are taking to address any identified performance deficiencies.”

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