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Minnesota opponents to Reprocessing of Radioactive Wastes

16 Minnesota Groups to MN Congressional Delegation: Reprocessing of Radioactive Waste From Prairie Island, Other Reactors ‘Not a Solution’ Higher Costs, Pollution and Proliferation Dangers if Congress Opens Door to Reprocessing

MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Minnesota’s Congressional delegation is hearing today from a diverse group of 16 Minnesota organizations — including Clean Water Action, Environment Minnesota, Sierra Club North Star Chapter and the Minnesota Peace Project — that strongly oppose any effort to open the door to the reprocessing of radioactive waste from Prairie Island and other nuclear reactors when Capitol Hill considers climate and energy legislation. In the case of Xcel Energy’s Prairie Island site, where the entire island, including the dry cask storage, sits in a flood plain of the Mississippi River, the waste needs to be moved to a more secure site as close to the reactor as possible as a necessary interim step.

The joint letter states that the controversial and dangerous practice of reprocessing is “not a solution to Minnesota’s or any state’s nuclear waste problem.” The letter explains in detail how reprocessing actually increases the volume of radioactive waste, is enormously costly, worsens proliferation concerns (including terrorist threats), increases pollution going into lakes, streams and rivers, and poses a range of safety risks. The full text of the 16-group letter is available online at http://www.carbonfreenuclearfree.org/state-groups/minnesota.

16 Minnesota Groups to MN Congressional Delegation: Reprocessing of Radioactive

October 1, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, USA, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, uranium, wastes