Don’t Let it Happen Here: Japan’s Nuclear Disaster Now on Par with Chernobyl
Representative Edward Markey (D-MA) is introducing new legislation - the Nuclear Power Plant Safety Act of 2011. Please urge your representatives to co-sponsor this Act. As Markey writes to his colleagues: “A nuclear disaster could happen here in America just as it has in Japan, our technological equal. This legislation will ensure that the lessons to be learned from the nuclear meltdown in Japan are incorporated into U.S. regulations to ensure the safety of our nuclear power plants in the United States.
“As these catastrophic events have unfolded, it has become clear that the meltdown did not occur primarily because of earthquake-related damage; rather, it occurred because of a prolonged loss of electricity to the reactor cores and their spent nuclear fuel pools. Such events could be caused not just by earthquakes or tsunamis, but by severe storms, terrorist attacks or other events.”
The Nuclear Power Plant Safety Act of 2011 will impose a moratorium on ALL new reactor licenses, reactor designs or license extensions until new safety requirements are in place. If your representatives need more information or would like to cosponsor the legislation, please have them contact Dr. Michal Freedhoff of Markey’s staff at 202-225-2836. Read the full Markey letter here.