nuclear-news

Nuclear power is still an option at Comanche 3. These Pueblo activists want to change that

James Bartolo, The Pueblo Chieftain

Xcel Energy’s Comanche 3 power plant in Pueblo is slated to ditch coal by 2031, but what will replace the fossil fuel as the site’s energy source remains to be seen.

One of the the power generation options being considered by Xcel and the Pueblo Innovative Energy Solutions Advisory Committee (PIESAC) is nuclear energy. However, Nuclear-Free Pueblo, a coalition of local environmental activists that formed two years ago when the idea was first broached by Pueblo County commissioners, continues to fight against nuclear as a replacement.

The coalition believes a nuclear plant would pose a health risk to Pueblo County residents and siphon funds away from the county’s transition to renewable energy. Its members spent Saturday canvassing local neighborhoods before holding a rally outside the Pueblo County Courthouse during its “Day of Action.”

“As far as what can go wrong, it ranges from minor issues that can cause us to just be without power for a while to anything up to and including a meltdown situation like Chernobyl, Fukushima, or so many of these other nuclear reactors we have heard about melting down,” said Jamie Valdez, organizer for Mothers Out Front. “If we have a situation like that, Pueblo and surrounding areas could be rendered unlivable for generations to come.”

Radioactive waste and water usage among coalition’s concerns

In a “toolkit” distributed to community members in both English and Spanish, Nuclear-Free Pueblo lists its reasons for opposing nuclear energy in Pueblo.

Among them: the thousands of years that high-level nuclear waste remains reactive; the lack of a permanent disposal facility for high-level waste in the United States; and the average small modular reactor’s daily water use of 160 million to 390 million gallons.

The toolkit also sites a 2012 International Journal of Cancer study that indicated increased incidences of childhood cancer near nuclear plants.

What is Nuclear-Free Pueblo?………………………………….

more https://www.chieftain.com/story/news/2023/07/12/pueblo-activists-continue-fight-against-nuclear-power-at-comanche-3/70391322007/

July 13, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | opposition to nuclear, USA