Could GE have prevented the Fukushima Daiichi catastrophe, involving four GE Mark I reactors?

NRC file photo of Fermi 2, on the Lake Erie shoreline 35 miles south of Detroit, MichiganThe General Electric Stockholders' Alliance (GESA), Beyond Nuclear, and Don't Waste Michigan has published a media release two days before General Electric's annual shareholders meeting. GESA has tapped Kevin Kamps of Beyond Nuclear, and Michael Keegan of Don't Waste Michigan, to represent its anti-nuclear resolution at the meeting. The meeting is taking place in downtown Detroit, 35 miles north of the Fermi 2 atomic reactor (see photo, left), identical in design to the four reactors involved in the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe.

Kevin is quoted: “The high-level radioactive waste storage pool at Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4 is at precarious risk of failure, which would lead to a fire and catastrophic radioactivity release even worse than what has already occurred, due to the lack of radiological containment over the pool. But the Fermi 2 pool contains far more high-level radioactive waste than Fukushima Daiichi Units 1 to 4 put together, and is itself an accident waiting to happen.  With the loss of ability to circulate water, the Fermi 2 irradiated nuclear fuel pool could begin to boil off in 4.2 hours.” 

Michael is quoted: “The potential of a cataclysmic accident at an untested General Electric-Hitachi ESBWR design is always there.   The next greatest immediate impacts are costs associated with the loss of opportunity to move toward renewable and energy efficiency. With the cost of Fermi 3 now projected at $15 billion, and the potential of skyrocketing cost overruns, we can either go nuclear, or pursue the promise of efficiency and renewables, but we can’t do both. To lock the state of Michigan into pursuit of the proposed Fermi 3 is a colossal travesty.”

Reporters and the public can watch the GE Annual Meeting during a live webcast at 10 am EDT on Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at  www.ge.com/investors/index.html.