How do you feel about the safety and well being of yourself and your children being jeopardized for hundreds of years for a profit of 19 Million Dollars in Tax revenue made between 2012 and 2016?

Well, that just happened on 03/30/2011 when the Texas Legislature passed the Law Bill HB 2184 by a vote of 9 Yays, 3 Nays, and 1 not voting.

This Bill in simple terms give one single private company the authorization to collect nuclear waste all across the country and dump it in Texas, while at the same time in a case of Emergency not the company, but the State of Texas accepts ownership and liability.

Endangering Texas Citizens for “probable Revenue Gain” of 19,000,000 (nineteen Million) Dollars in five years. Yes, not in one year that is a total of five years.

General Revenue-Related Funds, Five-Year Impact:

All Funds, Five-Year Impact:

Since 03.11.2011 when a Tsunami of biblical magnitude hit the northern part of Japan and not only killed thousands of Japanese, but also destroyed the nuclear power plant of Fukoshima damaging all four reactors the entire world has been discussing the use and the safety of Nuclear Plants.

According to U.S. NRC there are 4 power plants active in the State of Texas. “Comanche Peak 1” and “Comanche Peak 2” which are located on I-40 SW of Fort Worth in central Texas, but “South Texas Project 1” and “South Texas Project 2” are located in Bay City Texas directly on the Gulf Coast in an area well known for its Hurricanes.

Like many Americans I have never wasted much thought on the danger of Nuclear power and trusted in American engineering and professionalism.

But Fukoshima taught me that even the most technologically advanced and sophisticated Country is not immune from the power of nature and its lethal force.

It is the power of Nature in combination with the greed of some businesses that really worries me.

Following the news reports all over the world it is shocking how easy it is for nuclear plant operating companies to cover up and hide dangerous incidents and accidents in their plants, even in highly overregulated socialist countries, such as Europe.

When following the news reports the talk is always about the nuclear fuel rods as being the most dangerous part of a Power plant, but there is a real hidden danger in the nuclear waste. That stuff is at least as lethal and dangerous as the actual rods.

And it’s this nuclear waste that the Texas Legislature has now permitted to be dumped in Texas; by a company with no physical experience in that area, Debra Medina reports.

U.S. NRC classifies nuclear Waste in 4 categories:  

1)    LLW – Low Level Waste
2)    WIR – Waste incidental reprocessing
3)    HLW – High level Waste
4)    Uranium mill tailings 

But just because the Texas Legislature has determined the authorized Waste dump as LLW’s that does not mean the stuff is not dangerous.

The time frame in question when dealing with radioactive waste ranges from 10,000 to 1,000,000 years according to studies based on the effect of estimated radiation. Researchers suggest that the forecast of health detriment for such periods should be examined critically. More practical studies only consider up to 100 years as far as effective planning and cost evaluation (From Wikipedia).

Now putting this in context with a low experienced company and the fact that in any case of emergency the State of Texas takes responsibility, this 19 Million Dollars of tax revenue makes the whole thing look like a big joke.

And the Texas Legislature has not yet revealed where that nuclear Material is supposed to be stored?

And there are many things that can go terribly wrong here. 

1)    The company does not provide a proper financial assessment and local managers start to dump that stuff illegally

Sure, the federal government represented by the NRC is the superior controller, but let’s be honest since when has a Federal Institution run by a bunch of bureaucrats ever managed to do their job properly. 

2)    Material can be stolen by Terrorists

The material stored might not be weapon-grade plutonium and capable of building a nuclear bomb, but it could be used for a so called dirty bomb. Dirty bombs are small bombs with small contamination of biological, chemical, or nuclear pyrolyzed material. 

3)    Storage Units are targets of Terrorists

These storage Units, wherever they might be could be a target of Terrorists either for attacks or for theft, pilferage, and non-delivery.   

4)    Incompetent handling of Storage material and contamination of Grounds

This is not really made up out of thin air. Many previously “reputable” companies have been caught dumping their contaminated waste for economical reasons illegally or negligently.

But while chemical or biological waste has a measurable half-value-period nuclear waste when dumped negligently contaminates the ground for hundreds of years. And Texas is primarily a ranching State.

That nuclear contamination, once in the ground, can spread all over Texas. The contaminated grass can spread through pollination across the State; it will then be ingested by cattle and other animals affecting their health and then more than likely end up on your dinner table. 

5)    And there are many more things that can happen.

So, we have two plants right in a Hurricane area, and who is telling us that there is no way a Tsunami can hit the state of Texas? We also will now have nuclear waste dumped in our State and we the Texas Taxpayer are not only going to carry the burden of financial liability, but also take the risk of contamination.

And again, do you really think in case of an accident the information and warnings will be given out immediately or accurately? Observing (especially lately) how Nuclear Power companies deal with accidents and the release of information to the public, I doubt that.

As far as I am concerned I have already called members of the Texas Legislature to stop that nonsense and I urge you to do the same.

I am not one of those green activists or radical environmental protectors, but I am a resident of Texas, a proud Texan, and a father of a son who worries about the future and Japan has not only opened my eyes, but also made me re-think my position on this. 

Call your congress rep. today!

May

GOD BLESS TEXAS

Sources:

1)    Texas Legislative
2)    Texas Legislative
3)    U.S. NRC – Comanche Peak 1
4)    U.S. NRC – Comanche Peak 2
5)    U.S. NRC – South Texas Project 1
6)    U.S. NRC – South Texas Project 2
7)    Debra Medina
8)    U.S. NRC Waste Categories
9)    Wikipedia