NuclearPlanRevivesDebate

By JOE GROSSMAN, UPI Science News

WASHINGTON, May 19, (UPI) - - The Bush administration's recently released energy policy calls for increased nuclear power generation of electricity. The plan proposes expediting the construction of new nuclear plants and encourages extending the licences of aging plants. Most controversial is the recommendation for the development and deployment of a type of nuclear fuel processing called pyroprocessing. The process yields large amounts of bomb-grade plutonium.

Critics say the plan will accelerate the spread of plutonium and create more nuclear plants that are vulnerable to terrorist attack. Plant operating safety and nuclear waste storage are also issues. Defenders of the plan say that there are technological and security precautions that make it a safe policy.

While safety gains have been made in the 28 years since the last U.S. nuclear plant was ordered, critics maintain that mechanical failure and operator error pose additional unjustifiable risks to expanding the industry.

Meanwhile, the debate about long term storage of waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada continues as radioactive waste accumulates at existing facilities. Nevada is adamantly opposed to the project, stating that "much evidence shows that Yucca Mountain is not safe for nuclear waste disposal in that it is geologically and hydrologically active and complex."

America's 103 nuclear reactors produce 20 percent of the nation's electricity. Almost all the reactors use refined uranium at a concentration of 4 percent as their energy source. After a few years in the reactor, the 4 percent uranium degrades and is replaced. Pyroprocessing allows for some of the used uranium to be concentrated and put through the reactor again. But pyroprocessing also produces plutonium. With about 10 pounds (4.5 kg) of plutonium a bomb can be made that will destroy a large city.

Critics of the administration's plan fear that development of the pyroprocessing technology will encourage other nations to use it, resulting in many more countries having nuclear weapons. England, France and Russia currently use the technology. Additionally, there is the fear that plutonium could fall into the hands of terrorists as more plutonium is produced, sold and transported.

While pyroprocessing can be used to concentrate used nuclear fuel, reducing the permanent storage volume needed, the administration's energy plan envisions its use in a new generation of nuclear reactors. This would involve the so-called breeder reactor, or similar reactors. The American breeder reactor program was terminated by Congress in 1994 for economic and environmental reasons as well as the threat it posed by the spread of bomb-grade plutonium.

One leading critic is Paul Leventhal, president of the Nuclear Control Institute, who was co-director of the Senate investigation of the Three Mile Island nuclear accident. Leventhal told UPI, "We think the proposals are potentially very dangerous because they could, if carried out, lead to a revival of plutonium technologies that could impose the additional burden of having to tend to nuclear fuel that could be made into atomic bombs." Leventhal says that Bush is responding to a push from the nuclear industry for a new lease on life.

Also expressing concern is James Warf, one of the leaders of the World War II Manhattan Project, America's first effort at making an atomic bomb. "The idea is to develop the technique for a breeder reactor which would put the plutonium back into a reactor specially made to accommodate it," Warf told UPI. The pyroprocessing procedure allows plutonium to be manufactured in relatively small plants and poses a proliferation danger, Warf added. Warf, professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Southern California, said that reactors that use 4 percent uranium fuel could be built today to be much safer than the plants built 30 years ago.

When asked about these concerns, White House spokesperson Tucker Eskew told UPI, "The technologies for nuclear power today are very different from 20 years ago. Those breakthroughs that have advanced technology make it cheaper, cleaner and one of the safest ways to produce electricity and protect the environment. It keeps the air cleaner. It produces no greenhouse gases."

As far as the spread of plutonium into the hands of terrorists, Eskew said, "This president has a realistic understanding of the threats that face our nation and our allies, and that includes terrorists. We're in a different environment with rogue nations and terrorist organizations. You can be sure that this president will oversee policies that focus on the safety of any reprocessed waste or nuclear material of any kind." Eskew said that the need to improve security had "been acknowledged repeatedly by previous administrations, by the Congress, and is a serious mission."

The president is committed to long-term geologic storage, Eskew said, if it is supported by "sound science and solid data."
However, some critics in Congress are adamantly opposed. Democrat Representative Ed Markey of Massachusetts said, "The Bush plan proposes to revive nuclear power plants that produce deadly nuclear wastes, without any assurance that there will be a safe way to dispose of these wastes. It also proposes to revive nuclear reprocessing, a discredited boondoggle that would create even more deadly forms of nuclear waste."

Markey is concerned about terrorist attacks. Last month, at a conference on nuclear power, he said, "After all, why build a ballistic missile to rain down a nuclear payload on the U.S. when all you need is a small, well-trained, well-armed force to break inside a reactor, cripple safety systems, and send the whole thing critical?"

A big supporter of the proposed nuclear policy is Republican Senator Pete Domenici of New Mexico. According to a statement from his office, Domenici urged Vice President Dick Cheney to feature the use of "the environmentally-friendly energy source," meaning nuclear power, in national policy.

Domenici said in a prepared statement, "The plan addresses nuclear power, the forgotten source of energy that I believe will permit America to develop the energy it needs and not bother our ambient air. It recommends the development of a new generation of nuclear power plants that will be small and modular and safe. We are also moving ahead on waste, not only for repositories but for new technology to reduce dramatically the toxicity of the waste that comes from nuclear power."

Melanie White, a spokesperson for the Nuclear Energy Institute, a nuclear energy industry organization, told UPI that security at nuclear plants is very good and that plant operators get more training than airline pilots, in addition to spending one week each month in training.