Another radioactive project leaves the question whether
residents in
purchase alcohol products. The home of 45000 tons of Cold War-era nuclear waste
is considering the implementation of a “High Temperature Teaching and Test
Reactor.” This $450 million reactor will
be cooled by helium instead of water thus eliminating any risk of a
meltdown. Another draw for this project
is that it will use spent nuclear reactor fuel.
However, the alcohol situation comes into play when considering the
safety of the workers and residents with such high volumes of nuclear material
being handled. The Keep Andrews Dry
Coalition asks “what company wants you to drink all night and work with
radiation the next day?” The opposition
states “going wet is totally economic” to keep workers in the area.
The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership is planned for the fiscal year 2008 awaiting ratification. President Bush’s plan is designed to “transform nuclear leftovers to fuel new types of nuclear reactors.” These new processes will potentially allow for 100 times the energy production with 60% less waste than current methods. It is estimated that America’s energy demands will jump 45% by the year 2030 to 5,800 billion kilowatt-hours. The DOE feels this plan may be the best alternative to meet the rising demands while providing a solution for the 2,300 tons of radioactive waste produced annually by our country.
Another argument for the project is the recycling process’ ability to not allow isolation of pure plutonium thus making it harder to produce nuclear weapons form our country’s resources. However, the opposition makes several valid points.
Therefore, in a time when the world feels so much tension between countries and many Americans fear the possibility of nuclear war, we should ask ourselves where does environmental safety on such a large scale rank in our country’s priorities.