Beyond Nuclear files Nuke Waste Con Game contentions against 4 atomic reactors

Yucca Mountain belongs to the Western Shoshone Indian Nation, as recognized by the U.S. government in the 1863 "peace and friendship" Treaty of Ruby Valley. This photo by Gabriela Bulisova shows Yucca Mountain as framed by a traditional ceremonial sweat lodge.Beyond Nuclear has filed intervention contentions against a total of four atomic reactors (proposed new reactors at Grand Gulf Unit 3, MS and Fermi Unit 3, MI seeking construction and operating licenses, as well as degraded old reactors at Grand Gulf Unit 1, MS and Davis-Besse Unit 1, OH seeking 20 year license extensions) based on a recent U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruling gutting the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) "Nuclear Waste Confidence Decision."

That confidence game has been used against states, environmental groups, and concerned citizens for decades, blocking them from challening the generation of high-level radioactive waste in atomc reactor licensing proceedings, as the NRC has flippantly expressed "confidence" that storage on-site was safe for decades or even centuries, and that a geologic repository for permanently disposing of irradiated nuclear fuel was just over the horizon -- despite mounting evidence to the contrary.

The court victory was won by a coalition, including state attorneys general from NY, NJ, VT, and CT, environmental groups Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, NRDC, Riverkeeper, and Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, and D.C. attorney Diane Curran. In addition to Beyond Nuclear's four intervention contentions, similar motions were filed on July 9th by environmental groups against another 30 applications for proposed new reactor construction/operating licenses, and degraded old reactor license extensions, across the U.S.

Ironically, the July 9th filings came on the 10th anniversary of the U.S. Senate's 2002 60-39 vote to shove the Yucca Mountain radioactive waste dump down the State of Nevada's throat, and the 8th anniversary of another D.C. Circuit ruling nullifying the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's misguided attempt to cut off radiation protection regulations at Yucca just 10,000 years after high-level radioactive waste burial there. Under court order, EPA was forced to admit that high-level radioactive waste is hazardous for a million years. Since 2009, fulfilling a campaign pledge to Nevadans, President Obama has zeroed out the funding for the Yucca dump, cancelling the unwise project targeted at Western Shoshone Indian Nation sacred land (see photo, above left).

The Attorney General of the State of New York, Eric T. Schneiderman, a lead plaintiff in the recent court victory against NRC, stated in a press release "This decision means that the NRC cannot license or relicense any nuclear power plant -- including the Indian Point facilities in Westchester County -- until it examines the consequences of long-term on-site storage of nuclear waste."

Despite this, Platts has reported that the very recently resigned NRC Chairman, Greg Jaczko, said last week that, despite delays in reactor license extensions due to the need for NRC to undertake a court ordered Environmental Impact Statement on storage and disposal risks of high-level radioactive waste, NRC regulations would allow reactors to keep operating (and generating high-level radioactive waste) despite their initial 40 year licenses expiring. Platts reported: "...Although no license renewals will likely be issued until a new environmental impact statement is complete, the industry impact may be slight, Jaczko said. Existing reactors that have applied for renewal of their operating licenses probably could continue to operate past their original license expiration, he said...'I think it will be fairly straightforward,' he said. 'It will take some time, a few years, so that may have an impact on the timing on some decisions on licensing, but in the end it may not necessarily impact the operation of any facility.'

Such a mockery of the rule of law has previously happened, at the Oyster Creek in New Jersey, the oldest operating atomic reactor in the U.S. An environmental coalition had so effectively challenged the proposed license extension at this Fukushima Daiichi twin design that its 40 year license expired before NRC could rubberstamp its 20 year extension. In the interim, NRC let it operate anyway!

Pro bono attorney Terry Lodge of Toledo represents Beyond Nuclear, and coalitions of environmental groups and concerned local residents, in the Davis-Besse and Fermi 3 proceedings on the Lake Erie shoreline in Ohio and Michigan. Beyond Nuclear's Paul Gunter, who helped lead the effort against Oyster Creek's license extension mentioned above, is serving pro se in the Grand Gulf interventions in Mississippi. 

Radioactive dog bowls sold at Chicago & other Illinois Petco Stores

Local media coverage of the Chicago radioactively contaminated stainless steel dog bowl scareAs reported by Treehugger and the Herald-News, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) has reported the discovery of radioactive stainless steel dog bowls at a Petco store in Chicago. It is feared that several radioactively contaminated bowls had been sold. IEMA and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission are supposedly trying to track down those purchased bowls, and IEMA warns shoppers who have purchased stainless steel dog bowls at IL Petcos to contact the store where they purchased the bowl as a precaution. The bowls are reportedly contaminated with radioactive Cobalt-60. Although IEMA was quick to trot out the deceptive "no immediate health risk" line (used by nuclear establishment spokespeople during the Three Mile Island meltdown, as documented by Rosalie Bertell, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear catastrophe, etc.), as syndicated pet columnist Steve Dale asks, what about pets which have eaten or drank from the contaminated bowls?! Also, no information has been provided on the source of the contamination. However, the nuclear power industry and its friends in government have long attempted to "de-regulate" "low-level" radioactive wastes, which they consider "below regulatory concern." These radioactive wastes, such as radioactive metals, can then be "recycled" into consumer items -- such as dog bowls, or anything made of metal.

Beyond Nuclear wakes U.S. up to Canadian radioactive waste dumps targeted at Great Lakes shoreline

With 9 atomic reactors on a single site (1 permanently closed prototype and 8 still operable CANDUs), the Bruce Nuclear Complex in Ontario on the Lake Huron shore is currently the biggest nuclear power plant in the world.The Toronto Star has reported that passionate expressions of opposition to the proposed "low" and "intermediate" level radioactive waste dump targeted at the Bruce Nuclear Complex in Ontario, Canada -- just a half-mile from the Lake Huron shore -- are rolling in from U.S. citizens to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency. Weekly email action alerts and website postings by Beyond Nuclear have helped spread the word across the U.S., not just in Michigan -- 50 miles across Lake Huron from Bruce. 

Ontario Power Generation, the nuclear utility which owns Bruce and is responsible for radioactive wastes generated at 20 reactors across Ontario, has proposed this "Deep Geologic Repository," which Dave Martin of Greenpeace Canada renamed the DUD (Deep Underground Dump). Beyond Nuclear's Kevin Kamps serves on the Great Lakes United team in opposition to the dump.

At the very same time, several towns near Bruce have volunteered to be considered as Canada's high-level radioactive waste dumping ground, for a total of 22 reactors across Canada. Bruce hosts 9 reactors -- 1 a prototype that has been permanently shut down, and 8 still operable CANDUs (Canadian Uranium Deuterium atomic reactors).

Kevin also spread the word against these Canadian radioactive waste dumps across Michigan in May, as he spoke at screenings of "Into Eternity" at more than a half dozen communities around the state.

Dr. Judith H. Johnsrud receives national Sierra Club Award

This quilt Judy is admiring was created by textile artist Margaret Gregg of Virginia, and was given to her on May 4th by the Sierra Club "No Nukes Activist Team" in honor of her 50 years of anti-nuclear leadership. It reads "JUDITH: PROTECTING LIFE FOREVER."Leon Glicenstein, a life-long friend and supporter of Dr. Judith H. Johnsrud, has written an article for the Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter's Summer 2012 newsletter The Sylvanian about the national Sierra Club and the Sierra Club "No Nukes Activist Team" recognition ceremony, held May 4th in Takoma Park, Maryland, honoring Judy's half-century of anti-nuclear leadership not only locally, regionally, and nationally, but even globally. Judy is a founding board member of Beyond Nuclear. Included in Leon's article is a partial list of anti-nuclear victories Judy helped win in her home state of Pennsylvania alone. These have included the following victories on the radioactive waste front:

Parks Township radwaste incinerator stopped;

Below Regulatory Concern legislation approved by the state (blocking attempts at dumping radioactive waste into ordinary landfills, incinerating it, recycling it in consumer products, etc.);

Appalachian Compact Low-Level Radioactive Waste (Dump) disposal (stopped);

Kiski Valley Water Pollution Control Authority Incinerator Ash Lagoon Closed.

Beyond Nuclear posted a tribute to Judy shortly after the ceremony, which includes more photos of the presentation of her quilt (see photo, left), as well as links to writings by Judy, such as her brief history of the Environmental Coalition on Nuclear Pollution, which she founded and led for many decades.

Yucca dump's cancellation, court's nullification of NRC's Nuclear Waste Con Game, blocks to nuclear expansion

In a blog posted at Forbes, climate denier and nuclear power proponet Larry Bell cannot deny the the Obama administration's wise cancellation of the proposed high-level radioactive waste dump at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, represents a powerful block to nuclear power's expansion in the U.S. Likewise, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals' recent ruling, that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's "Nuclear Waste Confidence Decision" assurances of irradiated nuclear fuel safety and security at reactor sites for 120 years was unfounded, powerfully undermines the Nuclear Relapse.