Bailout war rages over dangerously age-degraded Ohio reactors

The Davis-Besse atomic reactor, and the Great Lake, Erie, beyond, which it puts at ever increasing risk of radioactive catastropheBeyond Nuclear is thankful to our many friends and colleagues in Ohio for fighting the good fight against bailouts for dangerously old reactors, like Davis-Besse and Perry. For example, the Ohio Sierra Club, its Nuclear-Free Committee, and its national Beyond Coal campaign, have organized large numbers of grassroots testimony before state legislative committees against the bailout bill, HB6, in its ever-evolving (devolving!), various incarnations in recent weeks. Environmental Defense Fund has compiled arguments against the bailouts by various strange bedfellow coalition allies, such as the Koch Brothers' Americans for Prosperity. Beyond Nuclear has also re-submitted its testimony, focused on the ever-worsening safety risks at Davis-Besse (photo, left), such as its dangerously cracked concrete containment Shield Building. The cracking is so bad, that spalling of large chunks of concrete from its exterior face could damage or destroy safety-related systems, structures, or components below. In that sense, the Shield Building could cause the reactor core meltdown, and then fail to contain the catastrophic releases of hazardous radioactivity that would result. If you live in Ohio, please contact your State House Representative, and State Senator, directly -- urge them to oppose the old atomic reactor bailouts. If you know folks in Ohio, please share this action alert with them, and urge them to contact their state legislators, as well! Let's make sure Davis-Besse and Perry shut down for good, by FirstEnergy Nuclear's announced closure dates (May 31, 2020, and May 31, 2021, respectively) at the very latest, if not sooner, for the sake of safety! We must protect the Great Lakes, drinking water for tens of millions downstream, in both the U.S. and Canada, as well as a very large number of Native American First Nations!