Shadows loom over the horizon, the sunset is lost in the haze.

The Nuclear Engineering Department at UIUC is proposing to build a mini modular nuclear reactor, a smaller version of the nuclear power plants we are used to, in the middle of our 140,000 resident community at the current location of Abbott Power Plant.

This project is the first of its kind. Untested, it is being sanctioned by the US Department of Energy and the NRC, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, in hopes the research performed will justify the creation of more mini reactors.

Although termed "mini", these are still nuclear reactors which possess the devastating power to eliminate the continuity of life in the environment its placed in.

The University will argue Abbott Power Plant is far away from large gatherings of students and easily accessible to students and faculty. While Abbott Power Plant is located towards the edge of campus, it is still located close by Memorial Stadium, the 6-pack community, and various renters residing in the immediate radius of the proposed plant location. Not to mention the roadways and train tracks surrounding Abbott Power Plant have seen accidents in the past. The potential, however low, for accidents that affect the function of the nuclear reactor and harm the community should not be disregarded.

Do we really want the University of Illinois to test nuclear technology in the middle of our community?