I have blogged about the nuclear industry around the planet. I have also blogged about problems at Hanford in Washington State. Today I am going to talk about a new initiative in the State of Washington. A bill is working its way through the Washington State Legislature that calls for the consideration of building new nuclear reactors to provide future energy for the state's electrical grid.
The bill was first introduced in January 8th of 2014. It is " AN ACT Relating to studying nuclear power as a replacement for electricity generated from the combustion of fossil fuels; and creating new sections." (not sure what the new sections part is about.)
The first section of the bill states that "The legislature finds that nuclear power is a safe, reliable, cost-effective, and carbon-free source of electricity." I have a serious problem with this statement.
Nuclear power is not SAFE. The recent disaster at Fukushima should drive that point home. The design of the reactors at Fukushima is the same as the design of more than twenty of the 100 reactors in the United States. Engineers on the original design team for this type of reactor expressed concerns about their safety. Over twenty of the reactors in the United States are at risk for flooding in extreme weather conditions which will increase with climate change. Many of the nuclear reactors in the United States have had accidents and problems that could have threatened millions of people. Mining uranium is devastating to the environment and dangerous to plants and animals. Safe permanent disposal of nuclear waste is still a problem in the U.S.
Nuclear power is not RELIABLE. Nuclear plants in the U.S. often have to been shut down because of technical problems. Just refueling a reactor can shut down the plant for an extended period. Plants in the U.S. have had to be shut down temporarily because the cooling water they used had become too warm to be used due to global climate change.
Nuclear power is not COST EFFECTIVE. The world production of uranium is projected to decline over the next few years. There will not be enough to fuel all the existing reactors and reactors under construction in the next five years. The cost of electricity from cheap natural gas is undercutting the cost of nuclear power generation. A U.S. reactor had to be permanently closed recently because the owners could not operate the plant at a profit and could not find anyone to purchase it. Recently, a combination of wind and solar was found to be cheaper than a new nuclear plant in Colorado. While the cost of renewables will continue to decline, nuclear will continue to increase in price.
Nuclear is not CARBON FREE. A enormous amount of concrete has to be used to build a power reactor and it outgases carbon dioxide as it cures. Construction, mining, refining, transportation, and waste handling use large quantities of fossil fuels. It takes years for a nuclear power plant running constantly at full capacity to pay back the carbon debt for construction.
I take exception to what the bill assumes with respect to nuclear power. If the State of Washington wants to consider adding additional nuclear power to the mix of power generation in the state, they should start with accurate information in the wording of any bill that is proposed.
