30 years since TMI and there still isn't much going on, go figure
– By Randy Brich –
Facts, Not Fear
Saturday is the 30th anniversary of the worst commercial nuclear power plant accident in the United States and the antinuclear activists are not about to let anyone forget it.
Activists like Harvey Wasserman continue to claim that the accident at Three Mile Island killed people http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harvey-wasserman/people-died-at-three-mile_b_179588.html. Yet, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission states that no one was injured let alone killed at TMI http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/news/2009/09-033.html.
Why are antinuclear activists, who conveniently masquerade as environmentalists, desperately trying to make the case that TMI was a disaster? Never mind that with the passage of time, the case against TMI evaporated, though not as quickly as the cooling water in the #2 reactor near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania thirty years ago.
The American Nuclear Society itemizes what did and didn’t happen at TMI at:
http://www.ans.org/pi/resources/sptopics/tmi/whathappened.html. Suffice it to say that although mistakes were made and lessons were learned, only an inconsequential amount of radioactive material was released. No China Syndrome. No injuries (other than the initial stress) and no detectable health impacts.
Which brings us back to the question: why are the antis going critical over TMI?
With 30 new plants on the drawing board, could the U.S. nuclear energy industry’s recent resurgence be what’s making the antinuclear activists a bit nervous www.nuclearstreet.com?
Maybe the increased interest in uranium mining in the western U.S. – 15 new uranium recovery applications have been received by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission – is causing the antinuclear activists to get a bit more tense
http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/materials/uranium/#apps-in-review?
Or, perhaps the antinuclear activists were shocked by a recent Gallup Poll which indicates the greatest majority ever of Americans support nuclear power http://nuclearstreet.com/blogs/nuclear_energy_institute/archive/2009/03/20/nuclear-energy-on-the-gallup-a-new-poll.aspx.
A majority of Americans have been supportive of the use of nuclear energy in the United States in recent years, but this year's Gallup Environment Poll finds new high levels of support, with 59% favoring its use, including 27% who strongly favor it.
If I were an antinuclear activist I would also be on the verge of panic, especially since their latest environmental boogey man plays right in to nuclear power.
How ironic can it be that the same antinuclear activists decry the perils of manmade global warming while concomitantly rejecting nuclear power — the only realistic solution to manmade global warming — out of hand. Except for re-runs of the science fiction movie, “The China Syndrome,” they don’t want to hear about nuclear power. They won’t read objective books about nuclear power. They want to live in a world where there is no informed discussion. They detest facts. Please, they irrationally entreat, my mind is made up; don’t confuse me with the facts.
In the U.S., 104 nuclear power plants, the most of any country in the world, quietly, reliably, safely and efficiently provide about 20% of the electricity that powers America daily. As I write this piece, 76 of these amazing machines are generating clean and affordable electricity at 100% capacity www.nuclearstreet.com. It doesn’t matter if the wind is blowing or if the sun is shining, their output is predictable.
As a solution to the intractable problem of foreign oil imports, only nuclear has the potential to provide the kind of reliable carbon-free electricity 24/7 that will be needed to power America’s future fleet of electric vehicles.
So, as the 30th anniversary of Three Mile Island comes and goes, and the antinuclear activists go back to doing whatever it is they do, rest assured that nuclear energy will continue to power America now and well into the future.
About Randy Brich
Randy graduated from South Dakota State University in 1978 with a M.S. in Biology. After developing the State of South Dakota’s environmental radiological monitoring program, he became a Health Physicist with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, eventually transferring to the Department of Energy where he specialized in environmental monitoring, worker protection, waste cleanup and systems biology. Later in his career he published a multi-sport adventure guide book and became a regular contributor to The Entertainer Newspaper’s Great Outdoor section.
Since then he has retired from the federal government and, after taking time out to build an energy efficient house near the Missouri River, has formed Diamond B Communications LLC. Diamond B Communications LLC uses a multimedia approach to explain complex energy resource issues to technical and non-technical audiences. He also guides for Dakota Bike Tours, the Relaxed Adventure Company, offering tours of the Badlands National Park, the Black Hills and Devils Tower National Monument.
If you have questions, comments, or know of a book that you think Randy should review Email Randy Brich>> randy@nuclearstreet.com