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BLUE RIDGE ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE LEAGUE FLORIDA
ROADSHOW
JUNE 19
Press Advisory |
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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FLORIDA NUCLEAR WASTE ROADSHOW CALLS FOR Today at a press conference in Miami, the Miami Sierra Club and the multi-state Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League called for a ban on barge shipments of high-level nuclear waste into Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. Also, local residents called for safer storage of nuclear waste at Turkey Point and St. Lucie nuclear stations instead of transport to Nevada. Claude Ward, Nuclear Campaigner for BREDL, revealed that 104 to 175 barge shipments of nuclear waste could enter the Port of Miami if the Department of Energy plan to transport the waste to a dump in Nevada is approved by Congress. Ward asked, “Is Miami prepared for nuclear waste barge accidents at sea or in port?” Federal regulations require an undamaged cask to withstand submersion in deep water for only 1 hour. Waste casks which are punctured must withstand submersion in only three feet of water. Ward said, “A damaged cask submerged in water deeper than three feet could leak radioactive waste.” Ward noted that Miami’s port channel will be deepened to more than 40 feet next year. He also reported that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has serious concerns about nuclear waste casks submerged in water. Ward said, “There is a real possibility of nuclear chain reaction caused by water entering a damaged waste cask.” Mark Oncavage, Energy Chair of the Sierra Club - Miami Group, ridiculed the DOE plan and advocated the alternative of safe, secure on-site storage of nuclear waste at the Florida Power & Light’s Turkey Point reactor. “Are there any reasonable scientists that would choose to bury thousands of tons of deadly nuclear wastes in an active earthquake and volcano zone? The Department of Energy is telling the senators to approve this plan because they have no other plan.” Miami resident Dorothy Serotta, past-chair of the Temple Israel Social Action Committee, called for an end to the plan to ship nuclear waste to Nevada, saying, “Nuclear waste should not be transported from state to state.” The Florida Nuclear Waste Roadshow, which began in Jacksonville on Monday, will continue from Miami to Gainesville, Tallahassee, and other communities, tracing waste routes from Florida‘s five nuclear reactors. Roadshow events include rallies, public information meetings, media programs, and press conferences. Early this year Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham recommended that 77,000 tons of highly radioactive waste from 103 nuclear reactors be sent to a waste dump at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. President Bush approved the plan. The state of Nevada opposes the $58 billion project. The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on the project early in July. -end- More info: 2-page excerpt regarding Barge Shipments from Yucca Final Environmental Impact Statement. |
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BLUE
RIDGE
ENVIRONMENTAL
DEFENSE
LEAGUE FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE STATEMENT OF CLAUDE WARD The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League launched the southern Mock Nuclear Waste Roadshow in Wilmington, NC on May 30 to oppose a high-level nuclear waste dump in Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Since then, we have hauled our full-sized replica of a highway nuclear waste transport cask 4,000 miles across the country to alert citizens to this threat. People we meet on the highways and byways of our nation oppose the US Department of Energy’s plans to transport high-level radioactive waste to Yucca Mountain. They join us when we say: Don‘t dump on Nevada! The people of Miami have much at stake if nuclear waste is shipped from the two reactors at Florida Power & Light’s Turkey Point. The US Department of Energy estimates that from 104 to 175 shipments of nuclear waste would enter the Port of Miami on barges. Turkey Point is 24 miles south of Miami. From the seaport the waste would be transferred to rail or highway vehicles. Also, Port Everglades at Fort Lauderdale could receive 73 to 166 barges of nuclear waste shipped 80 miles from FP&L’s reactors in St. Lucie. Is Miami prepared for nuclear waste barge accidents at sea or in port? An undamaged cask is required to withstand submersion in deep water (656 feet) for only 1 hour. Waste casks which are punctured must withstand submersion in only three feet of water. But a damaged cask submerged in water deeper than three feet could leak radioactive waste. The controlling depth of the channel in Biscayne Bay, where barges travel, is at least 8.5 feet. And the Army Corps of Engineers plans to deepen the channel to 43 to 52 feet next year. (Federal Register: August 28, 2001 Volume 66, Number 167) The Nuclear Regulatory Commission notes that there is a real possibility of nuclear chain reaction, or criticality, caused by water entering a damaged waste cask. Water in a submerged waste cask could act as a reflector of neutrons which are emitted by the intensely radioactive material. These neutrons could cause a nuclear chain reaction. Nuclear waste traveling through populated areas is a danger to the public. Nuclear waste from Florida Power & Light’s Turkey Point nuclear plant would come within eight-tenths of a mile of Miami City Hall. A fully loaded nuclear waste truck transport may hold 850,000 Curies, a train cask could carry over 5 million Curies. Even without accidents, people‘s health will be affected and their lives shortened by radiation exposure. The nuclear industry and their yes-men in government agencies tell us that nuclear waste transports have occurred without incident. But DOE experience with nuclear waste transport is but a tiny fraction of the 96,000 shipments that would be needed to transport thousands of tons of high-level nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain. A single mistake would affect thousands of people. The Titanic and the Hindenburg were accidents that were not supposed to happen. But happen they did and the results were devastating. Studies show that nuclear waste casks cannot withstand modern explosive charges and shoulder-mounted weapons. We do not need dangerous, radioactive hazards on our roads or in our communities. -end- Claude Ward is a Community Organizer on BREDL staff since 1997. His wife, Bonnie, is a BREDL Vice President and serves on BREDL’s Board of Directors. They live with their dog BJ in eastern North Carolina. |
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PRESS RELEASE FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE FLORIDA NUCLEAR WASTE ROADSHOW ROLLS INTO DAYTONA Groups Release Report: Radioactive Roads and Rails Today at a press conference in Daytona, the Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice and multi-state Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League joined with Florida Public Interest Research Group to release a new report: Radioactive Roads and Rails: Hauling Nuclear Waste Through Our Neighborhoods. Standing near a full-size replica of an actual nuclear waste transport cask, they called on elected officials to oppose a nuclear dump in Nevada which would put thousands of shipments of highly radioactive waste on Florida’s interstates, highways and railroads. Heather Kane, field organizer for Florida PIRG which co-authored the report, said, “Florida alone could see 5,223 truck shipments over the course of 38 years. Commuters on I-95 could find themselves stuck in traffic beside three and a half tons of nuclear waste.” Kane faulted the Department of Energy’s selection of a dump site, saying, “At the end of the road, under this ill-conceived plan, the waste will be dumped at Yucca Mountain - a volcano on an aquifer in an earthquake zone. Yucca Mountain is unsound as the designated site for the permanent storage of nuclear waste.” Tony Ehrlich, spokesperson for the Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice and the Volusia County Green Party, cited the risks to residents of Florida who live near transport routes saying, “Over 2 million people live within 1 mile of the interstate highways and railroad tracks that would transport deadly nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain. My daughter and grandson in Daytona Beach live only 1.4 miles from the Florida East Coast Railway!” Claude Ward, nuclear campaigner for Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, said, “Nuclear waste traveling through populated areas is a danger to the public because of the risk of a terrorist attack.” Ward noted that hundreds of railcars with nuclear waste from Florida Power & Light’s St. Lucie and Turkey Point nuclear plants would come within one-tenth of a mile of the Daytona Beach City Hall. He added, “Studies show that nuclear waste casks cannot withstand modern explosive charges and shoulder-mounted weapons. A railroad cask fully-loaded could hold 5 million Curies of radioactive waste. We do not need dangerous, radioactive hazards on our roads or in our communities.” The Florida Nuclear Waste Roadshow began in Jacksonville and will continue from Daytona to Miami, Gainesville, Tallahassee, and other communities, tracing waste routes from Florida‘s five nuclear reactors. Roadshow events include rallies, public information meetings, media programs, and press conferences. Early this year Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham recommended that 77,000 tons of highly radioactive waste from 103 nuclear reactors be sent to a waste dump at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. President Bush approved the plan. The state of Nevada opposes the $58 billion project. The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on the project early in July. -end- More info: Download the FloridaPIRG report from the BREDL website. |
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IMMEDIATE RELEASE THIRD DAY OF FLORIDA NUCLEAR WASTE ROADSHOW MIAMI RESIDENTS WILL
CALL FOR SAFER WASTE STORAGE AT NUCLEAR PLANT On Wednesday, June 26th the Sierra Club of Miami, the Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice, and the multi-state Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League will hold a joint press conference in Miami. Residents will call for safer storage of nuclear waste at Turkey Point nuclear station instead of transport to Nevada. Present at the conference will be a 20-foot long, full-size replica of a high-level nuclear waste highway transport cask. The Florida Nuclear Waste Roadshow began in Jacksonville on Monday and will continue from Miami to Gainesville, Tallahassee, and other communities, tracing waste routes from Florida‘s five nuclear reactors. Roadshow events include rallies, public information meetings, media programs, and press conferences. Campaigners have logged over 4,000 miles since beginning the southeastern roadshow in North Carolina on May 30. Early this year Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham recommended that 77,000 tons of highly radioactive waste from 103 nuclear reactors be sent to a waste dump at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. President Bush approved the plan. The state of Nevada opposes the $58 billion project. The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on the project early in July. -end- PHOTO OPPORTUNITY
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IMMEDIATE RELEASE FLORIDA NUCLEAR WASTE ROADSHOW LAUNCHED IN JACKSONVILLE GROUPS
DENOUNCE FEDERAL PLAN TO SHIP WASTE Today at a press conference in Jacksonville the Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice and the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League kicked off a statewide campaign to alert the people of Florida to the dangers of high-level nuclear waste transportation. Displaying a full-size replica of an actual nuclear waste transport cask, they called on elected officials to oppose a nuclear dump in Nevada which would put thousands of shipments of highly radioactive waste on Florida’s interstates, highways and railroads. Claude Ward, nuclear campaigner for Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, said, “Nuclear waste traveling through populated areas is a danger to the public because of the risk of a terrorist attack.” Ward said that 980 truckloads of nuclear waste from Florida Power & Light’s St. Lucie nuclear plant alone would come within six-tenths of a mile of Jacksonville’s City Hall. He added, “Studies show that nuclear waste casks cannot withstand modern explosive charges and shoulder-mounted weapons. This highway cask fully-loaded could hold 850,000 Curies of radioactive waste. We do not need dangerous, radioactive hazards on our roads or in our communities.” Statewide, over two million people live within a mile of a nuclear transport route. David Pred, Assistant Coordinator for the Florida Coalition for Peace & Justice, said, “By playing this atomic shell game, the industry is betting Americans will think we are solving the nuclear waste problem. What they don’t want to admit is that America’s operating reactors will continue to churn out thousands of tons of nuclear waste each year.” He noted that on-going nuclear power operation and waste generation would fill Yucca Mountain dump to capacity within a decade. Pred concluded, “Instead of solving the nuclear waste problem, Yucca just guarantees that the nuclear industry will have room to make more of it.” The Florida Nuclear Waste Roadshow will continue along nuclear waste shipping routes to Daytona, Miami, Gainesville, Tallahassee and other communities. Events this week include rallies, public information meetings, media programs, and press conferences. The Florida Coalition for Peace & Justice (FCPJ) is a long-standing coordinating organization of approximately fifty peace, social justice, environmental and faith-based groups and over 2,300 individuals throughout the state of Florida. FCPJ makes the connection between environmental destruction, social injustice and military escalation, and works to promote a more just and humane world through statewide action. The multi-state Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League was founded in 1984 in response to the federal proposal to build a high-level nuclear dump in the eastern United States. Since launching the Roadshow in North Carolina on May 30th, BREDL campaigners have logged over 4,000 miles with their Mock Nuclear Waste Transport Cask. -end-
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IMMEDIATE RELEASE FLORIDA NUCLEAR WASTE ROADSHOW ROLLS INTO DAYTONA GROUPS TO RELEASE NEW REPORT ON HIGH LEVEL NUCLEAR WASTE IMPACTS On Tuesday, June 25th the Florida Public Interest Research Group, Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice, and the multi-state Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League will hold a joint press conference in Daytona Beach to release a detailed report which exposes how trucks and trains carrying many times the radioactive material released at Hiroshima could rumble north on Interstate 95 and the Florida East Coast rail line if the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository project is approved. Press Conference Time and Place: 10:00 am at City Island Library parking lot (pavilions nearby if raining) Present at the conference will be a 20-foot long, full-size replica of a high-level nuclear waste highway transport cask. The Florida Nuclear Waste Roadshow began in Jacksonville and will continue from Daytona to Miami, Gainesville, Tallahassee, and other communities, tracing waste routes from Florida‘s five nuclear plants. Roadshow events will include rallies, public information meetings, media programs, and press conferences. Early this year Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham recommended that 77,000 tons of highly radioactive waste from 103 nuclear reactors be sent to a waste dump at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. President Bush approved the plan. The state of Nevada opposes the $58 billion project. The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on the project early in July. -end- PHOTO OPPORTUNITY
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IMMEDIATE RELEASE FLORIDA NUCLEAR WASTE ROADSHOW KICK-OFF MONDAY On Monday, June 24 the Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice and the multi-state Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League will hold a press conference in Jacksonville to launch the Florida Nuclear Waste Roadshow. The press conference will begin at 12:00 noon at Riverside Park, on the park side of Park Street. Representatives of the sponsoring organizations and local citizens will speak. Present at the conference will be a full-size replica of a high-level nuclear waste highway transport cask. The nearby junction of Interstates 95 and 10 could see hundreds of shipments of dangerous high-level nuclear waste from FP&L’s St. Lucie nuclear station if the federal plans for a dumpsite at in Nevada are approved. The Roadshow will continue from Jacksonville to Daytona, Miami, Gainesville, Tallahassee, and other communities. Events will include rallies, public information meetings, media programs, and press conferences. Early this year Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham recommend that 77,000 tons of highly radioactive waste from 103 nuclear reactors be sent to a waste dump at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. President Bush approved the plan. The state of Nevada opposes the $58 billion project. The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on the project early in July. Senator Nelson is considered a swing vote. -end- PHOTO OPPORTUNITY
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IMMEDIATE RELEASE FLORIDA NUCLEAR WASTE ROADSHOW The Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice, Florida Public Interest Research Group, local organizations across the state, and the multi-state Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League will sponsor the Florida Nuclear Waste Roadshow beginning June 24th through and continuing through June 28th. Events will include press conferences, rallies, public information meetings, and media programs. The itinerary includes:
Specific events, times, and locations will be announced. The centerpiece of the roadshow will be a full-size replica of a high-level nuclear waste highway transport cask which is tracing proposed shipping routes from nuclear power plants in Florida to a dumpsite in Nevada. Early this year Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham recommend that 77,000 tons of highly radioactive waste from 103 nuclear reactors be sent to a waste dump at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. President Bush approved the plan. The state of Nevada opposes the $58 billion project. The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on the project early in July. Senators Nelson is considered a swing vote. -end- Photo opportunity
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BREDL Southeastern High-Level Nuclear Waste Roadshow page - complete with pictures, reports, press releases, links. BREDL Yucca
Mountain page
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