Protect the Permian Basin (the US Largest, Most Important Oilfield) from Nuclear Waste
The Issue
Nuclear waste - the most dangerous material on the planet - is coming to the Permian Basin unless we stop it.
Two private companies are currently seeking to transport hi-level nuclear waste to be stored in the Permian Basin. Holtec International and Interim Storage Partners (a joint venture of Waste Control Specialists [WCS] and AREVA/Orano - a French owned company) are hoping to cash in on the hundreds of millions of dollars that will be paid for storing the nation’s spent fuel (high-level nuclear waste).
Their applications are currently under technical review before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and could take place as early as SPRING 2021.
QUICK FACTS
-
Nuclear Energy provides power all across the country. The problem with Nuclear Energy is NUCLEAR WASTE. - Nuclear reactor sites (utilites) across the country want to be rid of their nuclear waste and are seeking a permanent storage solution that is away from highly populated areas.
- They believe that the Permian Basin is a remote area with a population unlikely to challenge their goal of turning the Basin into America’s nuclear waste dump.
- They believe that by getting local officials on their side, by showing up to local events, being charitable and friendly - they will win us over. This is all part of their plan and it is called Consent Based Siting. These nuclear waste dump sites have to show that the locals WANT THEM there = CONSENT.
WHY WE NEED TO OPPOSE THESE PLANS: The risks are not worth it. This deadly waste can lead to cancers, genetic damage, birth defects and even immediate death. There is NO guarantee as to the safety of transport or storage. ACCIDENTS & HUMAN ERROR HAPPEN.
WHO WILL BE IMPACTED: There are tons of cities and towns along the transportation route: Dallas, San Antonio, Midland, Odessa and El Paso, and many smaller towns.
All of these places have thriving populations that could potentially be devastated by any incident concerning nuclear waste.
BRIEF HISTORY: In 1982, a federal law called the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) was created to solve the problem of nuclear waste.
NWPA makes the Department of Energy responsible for the disposal of nuclear waste that sits at nuclear reactor sites all over the United States.
These nuclear reactor sites desperately need to unload their nuclear waste, but this law requires a permanent storage facility before the government can take possession of that waste.
The Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository was designated as a permanent storage site after years of research — a deep geological storage facility to permanently house spent nuclear fuel and other high-level radioactive waste in the country. It is located on federal land next to the Nevada Test Site in Nye County, Nevada.
However, with strong opposition from the public and politicians at state and regional levels, the plan to create a permanent storage site at Yucca Mountain was scrapped.
With that, the government is unable to fulfill their promise to take possession of all that nuclear waste.
AN UNWELCOME SOLUTION: INTERIM STORAGE
Two companies saw this problem as an opportunity and offered a most unwelcome solution to this problem: Interim Storage of High-Level Nuclear Waste.
WCS/Interim Storage Partners and Holtec International have each applied for licenses to provide that temporary storage in Andrews County, Texas and Lea County, New Mexico, respectively.
That is, if you call 40+ years temporary.
The applicants’ selling point: instead of paying penalties to nuclear reactor sites all over the country, the Department of Energy would pay them storage fees and t
RISKS OF NUCLEAR WASTE: There are endless issues that arise with transporting hi-level nuclear waste and with having private entities like WCS/Interim Storage Partners and Holtec International store it.
There are legitimate concerns regarding terrorism, airborne release of radioactive materials and the decimation of the land and minerals that sustain the jobs and families that occupy the Permian Basin.
How will the hi-level nuclear waste get to the Basin?
Nuclear waste would travel by rail through major Texas cities to reach the storage site.
Transport by rail through major cities in Texas poses a threat to large populations. The rail lines are not equipped for this transport and the casks holding the highly radioactive waste are not absolutely secure.
Many Midland residents live or work near the railroad tracks and know full-well the number of derailments and accidents that occur. Transporting this waste through the Permian Basin could harm life, livelihoods and livestock.
TAKE ACTION NOW AND HELP TO SPREAD OUR CAUSE
The Issue
Nuclear waste - the most dangerous material on the planet - is coming to the Permian Basin unless we stop it.
Two private companies are currently seeking to transport hi-level nuclear waste to be stored in the Permian Basin. Holtec International and Interim Storage Partners (a joint venture of Waste Control Specialists [WCS] and AREVA/Orano - a French owned company) are hoping to cash in on the hundreds of millions of dollars that will be paid for storing the nation’s spent fuel (high-level nuclear waste).
Their applications are currently under technical review before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and could take place as early as SPRING 2021.
QUICK FACTS
-
Nuclear Energy provides power all across the country. The problem with Nuclear Energy is NUCLEAR WASTE. - Nuclear reactor sites (utilites) across the country want to be rid of their nuclear waste and are seeking a permanent storage solution that is away from highly populated areas.
- They believe that the Permian Basin is a remote area with a population unlikely to challenge their goal of turning the Basin into America’s nuclear waste dump.
- They believe that by getting local officials on their side, by showing up to local events, being charitable and friendly - they will win us over. This is all part of their plan and it is called Consent Based Siting. These nuclear waste dump sites have to show that the locals WANT THEM there = CONSENT.
WHY WE NEED TO OPPOSE THESE PLANS: The risks are not worth it. This deadly waste can lead to cancers, genetic damage, birth defects and even immediate death. There is NO guarantee as to the safety of transport or storage. ACCIDENTS & HUMAN ERROR HAPPEN.
WHO WILL BE IMPACTED: There are tons of cities and towns along the transportation route: Dallas, San Antonio, Midland, Odessa and El Paso, and many smaller towns.
All of these places have thriving populations that could potentially be devastated by any incident concerning nuclear waste.
BRIEF HISTORY: In 1982, a federal law called the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) was created to solve the problem of nuclear waste.
NWPA makes the Department of Energy responsible for the disposal of nuclear waste that sits at nuclear reactor sites all over the United States.
These nuclear reactor sites desperately need to unload their nuclear waste, but this law requires a permanent storage facility before the government can take possession of that waste.
The Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository was designated as a permanent storage site after years of research — a deep geological storage facility to permanently house spent nuclear fuel and other high-level radioactive waste in the country. It is located on federal land next to the Nevada Test Site in Nye County, Nevada.
However, with strong opposition from the public and politicians at state and regional levels, the plan to create a permanent storage site at Yucca Mountain was scrapped.
With that, the government is unable to fulfill their promise to take possession of all that nuclear waste.
AN UNWELCOME SOLUTION: INTERIM STORAGE
Two companies saw this problem as an opportunity and offered a most unwelcome solution to this problem: Interim Storage of High-Level Nuclear Waste.
WCS/Interim Storage Partners and Holtec International have each applied for licenses to provide that temporary storage in Andrews County, Texas and Lea County, New Mexico, respectively.
That is, if you call 40+ years temporary.
The applicants’ selling point: instead of paying penalties to nuclear reactor sites all over the country, the Department of Energy would pay them storage fees and t
RISKS OF NUCLEAR WASTE: There are endless issues that arise with transporting hi-level nuclear waste and with having private entities like WCS/Interim Storage Partners and Holtec International store it.
There are legitimate concerns regarding terrorism, airborne release of radioactive materials and the decimation of the land and minerals that sustain the jobs and families that occupy the Permian Basin.
How will the hi-level nuclear waste get to the Basin?
Nuclear waste would travel by rail through major Texas cities to reach the storage site.
Transport by rail through major cities in Texas poses a threat to large populations. The rail lines are not equipped for this transport and the casks holding the highly radioactive waste are not absolutely secure.
Many Midland residents live or work near the railroad tracks and know full-well the number of derailments and accidents that occur. Transporting this waste through the Permian Basin could harm life, livelihoods and livestock.
TAKE ACTION NOW AND HELP TO SPREAD OUR CAUSE
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on April 18, 2020