The great plunder of the nuclear Industry and the States following the pied piper !

 

After my intervention to stop the Summit Nuclear Power plant in Delaware I was involved with the States energy policies.  And on November 1, 1978 I received the Governors Energy Awareness Award for my participation. Recognizing my knowledge on matters of nuclear power and waste it was therefore no surprise to me, when I received a call from Governor DuPont asking me to serve on the advisory board concerning the disposal of low level radioactive waste, which at that time has become an enormous problem.  All such waste was going to Barnwell South Carolina. (Now remember this was in the early 1980’s)

 

The federal Government decreed that States form “Compacts” with one state designated “Host State” (receiver of the waste with the financial contribution from the member states). Delaware joined the Appalachia compact  with

Pennsylvania being  the Host State.

A dozen compacts were formed throughout the United States

See them here

http://www.nrc.gov/waste/llw-disposal/compacts.html

 

I strongly objected to Delaware joining the compact  on the basis that Delaware does not have a nuclear power plant , should not involve itself with this costly proposition and would be able to dispose of its medical waste quite easily ( I suggested how). The advisory board all but one voted with me.

 

Little did I know that this board was merely a formality. The contract went through the legislature without a dissenting  vote  (as did all other compacts)

 APPALACHIAN STATES LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE COMPACT

The State of Delaware hereby solemnly covenants and agrees with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the State of West Virginia and any other eligible states as defined in Article 5(A) of this Compact and the United States of America, upon the enactment of concurrent legislation by the Congress of the United States and by the respective state legislatures, as follows:

http://delcode.delaware.gov/title7/c080/index.shtml

Now fast forward to 2008 :

The compacts have fallen by the wayside one by one . The Appalachian Compact had its last meeting in Harrisburg a few months ago. As Dr. Otto told me, “ we closed the office, got rid  furniture………” Here are the members of the Delaware commissioners to the Compact, if you desire more detailed information  (Commissioners were not paid other then the usual cost for travel)

STATE	COMMISSION MEMBER	COMMISSION ALTERNATE
Delaware	Honorable Vincent P. Meconi Secretary Delaware Health and Social Services Office of the Secretary 1901 North Dupont Highway New Castle, DE  19720	K. Frieda Fisher-Tyler Director of Radiation Control Delaware Div. Of Public Health Division of Public Health Office of Radiation Control 417 Federal Street Dover, DE  19901
	Honorable John A. Hughes Secretary DNREC (Dept. of Natural Resources & Environmental Control) State of Delaware 89 Kings Highway Dover, DE  19901	Harry W. Otto Administrator, Interagency Programs DNREC-Div. of Water Resources State of Delaware 89 Kings Highway Dover, DE  19901

 

What is the problem?

All low level nuclear waste has been shipped to Barnwell South Carolina.  But Barnwell is closing the end of this year accepting waste only from  3 States.  Very slowly even the general press is beginning to see the disaster coming

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Nuclear waste piles up in state

“What are we going to do with it, send it to the sun?" said Gregory Rogers, director of the Intelligence and National Security Program at Point Park University. "We should be looking at it not as a panic right now but as what should we be doing        No suggestions are available anywhere….

Read the whole article here

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/mostread/s_600513.html

It is time that the pushers of nuclear power come clean, admit the enormous problems

 facing it , admit the fact that   many future generations will have to pay for the mistaken idea  that nuclear power is cheap.

I strongly urge all of you not residing in Delaware to examine the status of your own compact and raise the issue with your State.