The letter warned that the seriously damaged Unit 4 spent nuclear fuel pool contains Cesium-137 (Cs-137) that is equivalent to 10 times the amount released at the time of the Chernobyl nuclear accident. If an earthquake or other event were to cause this pool to drain, this could result in a catastrophic radiological fire.

The letter urged the United Nations to organize a Nuclear Security Summit to take up the crucial problem of the Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4 spent nuclear fuel pool. The letter stated that the United Nations should establish an independent assessment team on Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4 and coordinate international assistance in order to stabilize the unit’s spent nuclear fuel and prevent radiological consequences with potentially catastrophic consequences.

Letters were sent to both UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, the latter asking that Japan ask immediately for the UN’s help. Nearly all of the 10,893 spent fuel assemblies at the Fukushima Daiichi plant sit in pools vulnerable to future earthquakes, with roughly 85 times more long-lived radioactivity than released at Chernobyl.

Kaori Izumi of Shut Tomari stated, “Fukushima Daiichi is no longer a Japanese issue but is an international issue. It is imperative for the Japanese government and the international community to work together on this crisis before it becomes too late.”

Nuclear experts from the US and Japan such Arnie Gundersen, Robert Alvarez, Hiroaki Koide, Masashi Goto, and Mitsuhei Murata, a former Japanese ambassador to Switzerland, and, Akio Matsumura, a former UN diplomat have continually warned against the high risk of the Fukushima Unit 4 spent nuclear fuel pool.

Shut Tomari and Green Action are seeking endorsements from civil organizations abroad (deadline 20 May). More Japanese civil organizations are expected to sign on in addition to the seventy-two organizations. (Deadline for signatures: 20 May.)

For full text of letter/endorsements/signatories, see:

http://wp.me/p1FMPy-B6

Here is the footage of the Atlanta die-in at the state capitol.

While the NRC has granted a construction/operating license to these reactors, several environmental groups have filed suit in federal court charging that the granting of this license was illegal. Clearly, taxpayer loans must not be granted before the outcome of this suit is known.

The conditional loan guarantee was granted under the presumption that the reactors would be built on time and on budget. Today, even before real construction has begun, these reactors are already behind schedule and over budget, according to the Georgia Public Service Commission's own watchdog. The original Vogtle reactors were 1200% over budget when completed! The potential for taxpayer losses that would dwarf the Solyndra debacle is extraordinarily high. After all, this loan would be 15 times larger than the Solyndra loan, and is probably 50 times riskier.

At the time the conditional loan was granted, there was a belief that there might be a nuclear power "renaissance" in the U.S. After Fukushima, that is clearly not happening. Even Standard & Poor's last week found the prospects of such a "renaissance" to be "faint." The Georgia reactors have not been required to meet post-Fukushima regulatory guidelines, and will not inspire construction of other new reactors. There is simply no justification to continue with these loans.

Tell Secretary Chu to stop these loans now.

As usual, you can edit the sample letter - by clicking above- to reflect your own concerns. Support from our international friends is very welcome. Please help us organize and mobilize by using the icons on the top right. You too can be an organizer; it's easy. Our outreach only goes so far; by telling your friends about this action page, posting it on your Facebook/Twitter or other social network pages, you are helping expand our reach and making a real difference.

Senate Bill 41, sponsored by Senator Buddy Carter and others, is a bi-partisan backed bill that would allow third party suppliers to install, own, and maintain solar panels something currently allowed in 45 other states.

The bill encourages renewable energy expansion in Georgia and would give consumers more choice about who they purchase energy from and how that energy is produced.

Because of stalling, and strong opposition from Georgia Power and others, the provisions of SB 401 have now been attached to SB459, a bill that will be heard in the Regulated Industries and  Utilities Committee.

Please contact this committee to tell them you support solar power and consumer choice. Tell them you support SB 401 and the SB 401 provisions not attached to SB 459.

Regulated Industries and Utilities  Committee:

David Shafer, Chair:  (404) 656-0048,  david.shafer@senate.ga.gov

Renee Unterman, Vice-Chair:  (404) 463-1368,  Renee.Unterman@senate.ga.gov

Ed Harbison, Secretary, (404) 656-0074, ed.harbison@senate.ga.gov

Gloria S. Butler, (404) 656-0075, gloria.butler@senate.ga.gov

Buddy Carter, (404) 656-5109, bcarter331@aol.com

Frank Ginn, (404) 656-4700, frank.ginn@senate.ga.gov

Steve Henson(404) 656-0085, stevehenson@mindspring.com

Jack Hill, (404) 656-5038, jack.hill@senate.ga.gov

George Hooks, (404) 656-0065,  george.hooks@senate.ga.gov

Rick Jeffares, (404) 656-0503,  rick.jeffares@senate.ga.gov

Phone Bank to De-fund Nuclear Weapons

The Congressional super committee has been charged with cutting $1.5 trillion from the federal budget by November 23. Congress will vote on their proposal one month later, December 23. Now’s the time to let them know that nuclear weapons spending has got to go!

Help us reach out to the one Southeasterner on the super committee, South Carolina Representative Jim Clyburn. We’ll call Clyburn’s constituents to enlist their help to de-fund nuclear weapons and ask them to convince Clyburn to do the same!

Join us at the Georgia WAND office November 10 or November 15 6pm-8pm pm at the Georgia WAND office, 250 Georgia Avenue, Suite 202, Atlanta, GA 30316. We'll provide pizza and a script. We'll also have some phones available, but please bring your cell phone and charger is you are able. If you’d prefer to call from home, let us know! We’ll send you your own list and a script just email Carolyn@wand.org for more details.

Sign the “Co-petition to prevent Fukushima in the US.”

Beyond Nuclear has petitioned the NRC to suspend the operations of 23 Fukushima-style reactors in the US. Co-petition with us by sending a letter to the NRC. Click here to sign.

Petition the Obama Administration to end taxpayer subsidies for new nuclear reactors

With federally implemented taxpayer subsidies for new nuclear reactors, and Georgia Power's nuclear construction cost recovery fee already on our power bills, Georgians are forced to pay twice for dirty, dangerous nuclear reactors that we do not want in our state.

Georgia is scheduled to build the first new nuclear reactors in the U.S. in 30 years. Please sign the petition below to let the White House know that we won't pay for new nuclear reactors!

Click here to sign. If you don't already have an account with whitehouse.gov, you will first need to set one up by entering your name, email address and zip code.

Oppose Radioactive Spent Fuel Storage and Reprocessing at the Savannah River Site—sign the letter to Governor Nathan Deal!

Tell Governor Deal that we don’t want the Southeast to become a dumping ground for nuclear waste. Download the letter to Gov Deal here, print and send in or email it using this form.

Fight Against Nuclear Loans

Call:

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (202) 224-3521 (Washington D.C.)

Sen. Johnny Isakson (202) 224-3643 (Washington D.C.)

Your REP. via the Congressional Switchboard: (202) 224-3121

Ask them to OPPOSE any increase to the TITLE 17 NUCLEAR LOAN PROGRAM, and instead to push for the PROGRAM TO BE ENDED AND ALL UNSPENT MONEY RESCINDED. (Previously approved: %18.5 billion for new reactors and $4 billion for uranium enrichment plants)

Media Contact:
Courtney Hanson
courtney@wand.org
404.524.5999

Representatives from Georgia Women’s Action for New Directions (Georgia WAND) will attend and speak at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s presentation during the National Academy of Sciences’ (NAS) third committee meeting of the NRC-sponsored study, “Analysis of Cancer Risks in Populations Near Nuclear Facilities: Phase 1.”

Georgia WAND will facilitate the participation of members from Shell Bluff, a community located near Georgia Power’s nuclear Plant Vogtle. A primary concern of Shell Bluff residents is the compromised quality of health and lack of safety to which they are subject due to the presence of Plant Vogtle in their community further impacted by their close proximity to the Savannah River Site in neighboring South Carolina. Members of the Shell Bluff community will be in attendance to speak about their experiences, concerns, and goals for a future of environmental responsibility.

“We’re pleased the National Academy and the NRC are coming to Atlanta for this cancer analysis with limited public participation. We need additional scrutiny on the Savannah River Site area that includes the nuclear reactors at Vogtle in Burke County, Georgia.  I hope the National Academy will seriously consider how these high risk nuclear dumps by the riverside have impacted the health of those living downwind and downstream for decades.”  Bobbie Paul, Executive Director, Georgia WAND said.

The meeting’s public session will take place May 23 at the Renaissance Concourse Atlanta Airport Hotel, located at One Hartsfield Centre Parkway in Atlanta.

In the morning session, the NRC will explain the agency’s oversight of the nuclear fuel cycle and civilian nuclear fuel facilities, and be available to answer committee member questions. Georgia WAND and its community affiliates will be particularly interested in raising the issues of environmental monitoring, accountability for the poor health of affected communities, and the added health stressors that will result from the addition of two new reactors at Plant Vogtle during this session.

In the afternoon session, the committee will hear presentations from speakers from other organizations on U.S. cancer registries and issues that could affect the designs and methods of the NRC-requested work.

In alignment with the requests of the NRC, Georgia WAND is particularly concerned with the deteriorating health of communities located near nuclear facilities. Georgia WAND is committed to working closely with and aiding in the political organization of communities that have experienced increasing rates of cancer and other health complications due to the high levels of radiation in these areas.

Phase 1 of the NAS study will determine whether a technically defensible approach to meet the goals of the study request is feasible—and if so, the approach will be developed using scientifically sound processes for evaluating cancer risk that could be associated with nuclear facilities.

###

*Your voices matter! The House and Senate Appropriations Committees have begun work on their FY 2012 energy appropriations bills. This is the time they are most focused on these issues. Now is the time to act.*

Congressional Switchboard for every member of Congress: 202-224-3121.

Calling your members of Congress

*When you call, introduce yourself with your name and where you live--so they know you are in their district.

*Ask that your Member oppose any increase to the Title 17 nuclear loan program, and that instead the program be ended and all unspent money (which is all of it--currently $18.5 billion for reactors and $4 billion for uranium enrichment plants) be rescinded.

*Ask if your Member has a position on your request

*Politics makes strange bedfellows: Please don't assume in advance your Member has a position one way or another. Some normally pro-nuclear members may well oppose nuclear loans on budgetary grounds; some nuclear skeptics may not yet fully understand this program. No matter what position your Member may have taken in the past, concerns over the federal budget and the impact of Fukushima may have changed things. Again: your voice and outreach matter.

Talking Points

Here are some additional talking points you may want to bring up if you can involve your Members' staff in a conversation:

*The Fukushima accident has demolished the entire public policy premise of the nuclear loan program. That premise was that, because private investors-Wall Street--have been leery of investing billions of dollars in expensive and financially risky new reactors, taxpayer support could jumpstart a new nuclear construction program. Congress and the Bush and Obama administrations believed that if utilities could show that they can build a few new reactors onbudget and on-time (neither of which occurred during the first generation of reactors), private money would follow.

*The reality in the post-Fukushima world is that private money will not follow. Not only are investors concerned about construction cost overruns,delays, and ability of utilities in deregulated states to find customer for high-priced nuclear electricity, now Wall Street has received another reminder that multi-billion dollar investments can turn into mega-billion dollar liabilities within hours. Even if a reactor is built on-time and on-budget, an accident that destroys it also destroys the ability of a utility to generate profit to repay loans.

In the wake of a recent settlement with ten intervening parties, Georgia Power defended their request of an 11.15% return on equity (down from 11.95%) to the  Public Service Commission at a hearing Wednesday, December 1. The hearing was the last in the case before the PSC comes to a final decision December 21.

Chuck Eaton: 404-657-2020; ceaton@psc.state.ga.us

Stan Wise: 404-657-4574; stanwise@psc.state.ga.us

Lauren “Bubba” McDonald: 404-463-4260; lmcdonald@psc.state.ga.us

Bobby Baker: 404-656-4515; bbaker@psc.state.ga.us

Doug Everett: 404-463-6746; deverett@psc.state.ga.us

The main PSC switchboard number is 404-656-4501.

Join Students from across the Southeast as we discuss how to fight dirty energy, and promote a clean, just energy future.

Learn about our region’s most critical environmental challenges from creating a Sustainable South to  Nuclear Power 101 !  The Southeast Student Renewable Energy Conference will educate and train young people through workshops, panel discussions, educational speakers and group activities. For information about workshops, speakers and to register visit: www.climateaction.net/ssrec

Get on the Bus from Atlanta to Athens!
Contact GA WAND at (404) 983-0177
visit www.gawand.org