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Nothing is more expensive than nuclear power

Readers sound off on the costliness of nuclear power, By VOICE OF THE PEOPLE, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |AUG 15, 2020    

Nuclear is not so cost-effective

Manhattan: Re “The inconvenient truth: We need nuclear” (op-ed, Aug. 10): Nothing is more expensive than nuclear power. Estimates for the cleanup of Japan’s 2011 Fukushima disaster range as high as $300 billion, albeit total removal of radioactivity from that land, and ocean, is impossible. In Japan, as everywhere, the costs of such disasters are born by the taxpayer, not the utility companies: There is no such thing as a $300 billion insurance policy.

The cost of creating nuclear-waste storage sites (we don’t know how to do that, so we don’t have any) will also be borne by the taxpayer. And, transporting nuclear waste from 95 reactors in 29 states to storage sites yields a high likelihood of spills. Today, the waste is stored at reactor sites, many of which show signs of leaking. Additionally, it is not possible to “shut down” nuclear reactors even after they have run their life spans. They remain a radioactive danger indefinitely, and will always require flawless maintenance of containment domes — assuming we design domes that can function indefinitely.

The Indian Point power plant, where numerous leaks and mechanical breakdowns have already occurred, is 36 miles from Midtown Manhattan. Since there is no way to evacuate NYC in the event of a serious accident, no such plan exists. Not to mention that Indian Point is already years past its original 40-year operating permit. The list of nuclear power’s unsolvable problems is much longer than this. Per capita, no country consumes and wastes more energy than the U.S. Let’s stop that. Ingrid Eisenstadter   https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-letter-august-15-20200815-z5emj4x33zaclka7efi4et3mme-story.html

August 17, 2020 - Posted by | business and costs, USA

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