Oak Ridge May be Site for New Nuclear Facility

            Once again, a Tennessee site is being considered for an expensive, Federal government subsidized experimental nuclear project.  This time it is a “recycling center” for nuclear reactor waste from around the entire Earth.  That’s right, tons of highly radioactive nuclear materials will be shipped to this Oak Ridge facility over our highways and rail lines.  

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, “these technologies focus on separating Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) into its usable and waste components, fabricating and recycling fast reactor fuel from the usable components of SNF, and converting those components producing electricity in an advanced recycling reactor.”

This process will be extremely costly, highly inefficient and will leave dangerous radioactive and toxic byproducts that will need to be disposed of in a yet to be determined manner.  The ultimate nuclear waste disposal solution has not been resolved, despite decades of work and untold millions of our tax dollars being spent (wasted).   Reprocessing was abandoned as a colossal failure in the United States in 1977 due to the inherent safety, economic and environmental problems.  The process creates material that can be used to build nuclear weapons.

            The U.S. Department of Energy awarded grants on Wednesday, November 29^th totaling up to $16 million for 90 day studies at the 11 sites around the country being considered.  This project is a part of the Bush administration’s Global Nuclear Energy Partnership with a proposed $250 million price tag in 2007 alone.

            TEC urges you to demand that no more of our tax dollars be wasted on dead-end nuclear fission technology.  This money needs to go toward developing real solutions to the global warming crisis.  Contact Senators Alexander and Frist, and your Congressman with your grave concerns.