Deadly nuclear waste is “accumulating at a rate of about 2,000 metric tonnes per year” according to the 2022 Stanford Report which also reports “that most small modular reactor designs will actually increase the volume of nuclear waste in need of management and disposal, by factors of 2 to 30.”
Neutron leakage is nine times higher in small modular reactors that contaminate its waste streams, incurring hidden remediation costs. “The study concludes that, overall, small modular designs are inferior to conventional reactors with respect to radioactive waste generation, management requirements, and disposal options.” Additionally, after 10,000 years, radiotoxicity is at least 50% higher.
Gov. Spencer Cox has not done his homework, nor has he learned from history when above ground nuclear testing didn’t go well for the long-term health of intermountain residents.
Everyone should agree with The Tribune’s recent editorial (“Spencer Cox’s nuclear dream deserves careful scrutiny”) and Pat Bagley’s cartoon that laments Utah’s inexplicable avoidance of safe solar, wind and geothermal energy in favor of solutions with toxic health implications.
Did the governor sleep through all his high school and college science classes, or is he being willfully ignorant by allowing a high-school dropout to waste our money and destroy our health?
Air and water pollution, radioactive waste, and toxic dust from the shrinking Great Salt Lake are all moral issues that will affect everyone’s health. Silence enables leaders to get away with making bad decisions.
Utah won’t adopt California clean air emissions rules; Utah won’t incentivize electric vehicles or rooftop solar production. Ultimately, it affects everyone if we allow our leaders to continue to be anti-environmental, and it affects the health of the current and rising generation.
The 2022 Stanford Report is a good starting point for critical thinking and wise decision making on this subject.
Scot Morgan, Salt Lake City
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