OK, I know that CNBC is owned by GE, who's building the reactors or at least some components of them. Of course they're going to try to promote nuclear energy in a subtle or subliminal manner.

But Patrick Moore, who founded GreenPeace, advocating nuclear energy? That's pretty strong. When asked if he would live next to a nuclear plant, he said he would live IN one with no problem. (Have we heard this before from somebody around here?)

As Mr. Moore pointed out, no fatalities have occurred in the U.S. because of nuclear energy. Even in the Three Mile Island incident, the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history, no lives were lost.

Dale Klein of NRC says an airplane will bounce off a reactor, being made of 4-foot thick concrete and 2-inch rebar. I cannot grasp this. I cannot see a 747 flying into a reactor at 200 mph and bouncing off. However, if the issue is terrorism then we also have the nucler plants already in existence to worry about and don't think the Feds aren't watching like a hawk. Fear of terrorism doesn't seem to carry much weight.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have folks like Salon, who lives in Glen Rose, Texas. As some of you may recall, I performed a survey of the people who live there around the "other" nuclear plant in Texas, and the overwhelming majority think it's the best thing ever to happen there.  Salon is not one of those people

I got am email from Salon this morning, and this is what he had to say....

Mark

Have you looked at the NRC logs? I post about them sometime, they’re on the NRC site and they show all the accidents and incidents that involve nuclear energy or even things like a doctor goofing up with some radioactive treatment. It’s funny, because lots of times there will be something and then the event report will be retracted, as in Oops, this happened, we fixed it, now let’s mitigate the damages. If the nuclear plants have operated without *public* incident, it’s because, first, corporate media doesn’t put it on the news (after all, for example, if you’re MSNBC and you’re owned by GE, which sells nuclear power plants, you don’t play up the accidents.) If you do a search on my site for NRC or Nuclear Plant news, etc, you’ll come up with stuff like THIS.

Diablo Canyon shut down because of fire http://salon.glenrose.net/d...

Nuclear Plant Engineer at Davis Besse Convicted of Lying to regulators about corrosion http://salon.glenrose.net/d...

GAO says nuclear power plants aren’t obeying fire regulations issues 3 decades ago http://salon.glenrose.net/d...

Oyster Creek’s 8 year Lapse in Security Procedures http://salon.glenrose.net/d... -I mean, they have found security guards drunk or on drugs.

Texas Rep Phil King (who is one of the most corrupt Texas Legislators) doesn’t have a problem with Texans picking up the cost if a nuclear power plant owner decides to default on decommissioning a plant http://salon.glenrose.net/d...

Water Levels fall at Indian Point in NY http://salon.glenrose.net/d...

From Victoria-Victoria government didn’t want to tell people about this at first http://salon.glenrose.net/d...

Let’s fool people by calling nuclear power plants something else http://salon.glenrose.net/d...

Airplane attacks to nuclear power plants - http://salon.glenrose.net/d...

In fact, Comanche Peak has had a couple of incidents in the past 10 years-but it DOESN’T MAKE IT TO THE NEWS http://salon.glenrose.net/d...

Here’s what you do. Go up to the NRC site and go look at the event reports. I post them on the site from time to time, they are NOT searchable, as you might expect, on the NRC site, so the only way for people to see what’s going on is to put the on a site that IS searchable. In fact, I need to do a new post because there are a bunch of problems from all over the country RIGHT NOW that are in the news, just not national news.

Should you leave? Well, heck, where really are you going to go? The nuclear power industry is up and running all over the world. You remember that about 2 weeks ago Congress passed selling nuclear stuff to India, EVEN THOUGH INDIA IS NOT A SIGNATORY TO THE NPT. (Heck, IRAN is a signatory, and you see where that gets them). There’s money to be made, and the good news for the nuclear power industry is that they don’t have to pick up the cost, the taxpayers do, or they can get loans through agencies like DOE. And then if they default, they have good old boys like Phil King to pass legislation to stick the cost of cleanup onto … the taxpayer. What a deal.

For me, I know there aren’t a lot of people like me in this county. Do you know, and maybe this would be the same for Victoria, who knows, that the people in Somervell County don’t even get electricity through TXU? We all have a co-op here. So Comanche Peak actually doesn’t service THIS county but instead, Fort Worth and Dallas. If you get a chance, on the NRC videos I have up on the site, look for the ones with Lon Burnam, Texas Lege rep from Tarrant County, who asks about what kind of rates his constituents will pay for the 2 new reactors. Even then, I know that KKR and TPG are private equity companies who plan to beef up TXU/Luminant and then sell it off at a profit later on. They’re probably crying in their beer right now about the financial melt-down but I have no doubt they have their lobbyists up in Congress face making sure they get their share of the corporate welfare pie.

Arrgggh. I could go on and on. I love it here. I love the scenery. Another aspect of everything is oil and gas, saltwater (crap) disposal wells, wells going dry, waste pumped into the ground, etc. We don’t have uranium mining here but I have no doubt that if a company wanted to do it here, the chamber people would be all hugs and kisses.

A man at Three Mile Island boats, fishes and golfs next to the infamous reactor while a rancher worries about his water and cattle in Victoria, Texas.

Then there's the question of post-term nuclear waste storage and disposal, for which there is no answer at this time.  Yucca Mountain may or may not be approved.  Where else is there?  Outer space?  This is going to be very interesting.

Oh, Mr. Klein, could you do me a favor? Please take uranium mining regulation away from the State of Texas. That was a horrible mistake.

I got through to 40 folks in Glen Rose, Texas, where the “other” nuclear plant is in Texas.  Of the 40, 10 hung up on me, 28 said the nuclear plant is a great thing and only 2 had negative things to say and that was only because of on-site storage of waste.

The President of the Glen Rose Chamber of Commerce called me this morning.  He told me that since 1990, there have been zero incidences of environmental or health issues, and that the nuclear plant provides over 90% of their tax base.  Their state-of-the-art high school is second to none and they have the nuclear plant to thank for this.

He went on to tell me that two new reactors are on the table in Glen Rose, and that opposition is almost nonexistent (which coincides with the survey).  Also, the new reactors’ water will be returned at a cooler temperature, not warmer, than when it was withdrawn.

After researching in-situ uranium mining (near my home) for over a year, it has become quite evident that nuclear energy is a completely different ball game.  NRC (federal) regulates and oversees nuclear energy, while our feeble TCEQ (state) regulates mining.  While in-situ uranium mining historically exhibits a 100% chance that the water will be left in worse shape than before they start mining, nuclear energy plants exhibit only isolated incidents of mishap. 

For general knowledge, Australia and Canada produce so much uranium that it has become stockpiled, hence the recent drop in value ($138 down to $49 per pound).  There is absolutely no need to tamper with our water in the Evangeline Aquifer to acquire uranium.  The Goliad Project is driven by greed and nothing else.

So, there you have it.  That’s what the survey says.  A documentary on nuclear energy is scheduled for tomorrow night (Tuesday) at 8:00 p.m. on CNBC.  Be sure to watch it.

Few folks realize that Goliad County Commissioner Ted Long’s water well is the closest of all to the proposed uranium mine in Goliad County, lying only around 800 feet away.  One can only imagine waking up every morning, making a pot of coffee and wondering how much longer the water will be safe to drink, if it’s even safe today.

Commissioner Long is in a precarious position.  His primary responsibility is to represent his precinct, but what about his personal feelings?  Does he have questions?  You bet he does.

You see, some of the land owners in his precinct have leased their property for uranium exploration and mining without having all the facts.  It is those facts that he seeks.

Some Goliad County land owners, two of which live miles away in Kenedy and Runge, have expressed their disapproval of the Goliad County Commissioners Court’s decision to spend $150,000 of the taxpayers’ money on legal fees regarding uranium mining in Goliad County, with more budgeted for the future.  Well, folks, Kleberg County has already spent over a million.  They didn’t litigate until late in the game after the damage had been irreversibly done.  Goliad County officials do not want to find themselves in the same position.

If the price of uranium continues to plummet, making uranium mining infeasible or unprofitable, then this situation will resolve itself.  Hopefully, if this occurs, they will not have commenced mining and then leave overnight as they did in the 70’s.  Today’s spot price for uranium is $64.50 per pound, down from $138(?) about a year ago. 

Uranium bottomed out at $7 per pound in the 70’s, causing uranium mining companies to file bankruptcy after which they simply walked away.  No cleanup…no restoration…no remediation…they simply walked away leaving horrible radioactive mess after mess without any obligation to clean it up.  So, who's still cleaning it up for them?...the TAXPAYER!

Is Commissioner Long concerned?  Wouldn’t you be?  Hats off to you, Commissioner Ted Long, and hopefully the resolution which you seek is in the near future.

Some of you may recall how close the St. Peter's Lutheran Church is to the proposed uranium mining site in Goliad.

After pointing this out to both EPA and TCEQ, the responses I got from each of these agencies were quite different.

EPA says "A key component of our evaluation of an aquifer exemption request would be the presence of domestic and/or public water supply wells in the area and the potential impacts on these wells from mining operations."

TCEQ says "However, whether or not the church is designated as a public water supply does not change the information considered in an application for an area permit for an in situ uranium mine or an aquifer exemption."

It then occurred to me that it's "the book" that's dictating these things, not human compassion or common sense.  Mr. Klotzman from Victoria recently suggested that we should leave these people alone and let them do their job.  Well, they are doing their job as "the book" defines it. 

The closest analogy I can think of is Planet of the Apes. The orangutan elders knew very well that their "book" contained erroneous information, but yet they preached the "book" as if it were gospel truth, knowing deep inside that it was a conglomeration of lies.

So, what is the big deal?  Goliad is not Victoria so why worry?  Well, if this uranium mine is approved in Goliad County, logic suggests that the mining will migrate quickly into Victoria County.  Weren't we just having a county-wide conversation regarding ground water, and how the City will ultimately rely upon ground water (again) in the event of a drought?  How will the City and County deal with radium and arsenic issues in the drinking water if a plume escapes and affects the groundwater wells? (This is assuming that mining ultimately will occur in Victoria County). 

Substantial levels of radium 228 have been found in several wells in parts of Victoria County.  Will these dormant pockets of heavy metals be affected by uranium mining?  Will the chemicals injected into the water table oxidize and mobilize these toxins?  These are all questions with no valid answers.

Very specific conditions regarding chemical balance, eH, pH, temperature, etc. were required for the uranium to deposit when and where it did, and once it's released, will it become "reduced" to its original state in a few days or weeks, or even a few years?  Will it precipitate within feet, yards or miles away?  It may have taken hundreds of thousands of years for this uranium and its byproducts to precipitate and turn solid.  How long will it take for this to occur again?  Nobody knows.  Only speculation and theories.

Contrary to popular belief, Goliad is not in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean somewhere, but only a few short miles away from downtown Victoria.  .

What's in YOUR water?

larger view

  This satellite photo shows the uranium mining zone in relation to St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Ander.  It's 1,900 feet away, plus or minus.  Will its water wells be affected by in-situ uranium mining?  Your guess is as good as anybody's.  Notice the elevations on the map.

  Even EPA has only theories to rely upon regarding the migration of liberated radionuclides and heavy metals in the water below us.  There are no scientific answers.

  How much money substantiates this risk?  Well, 5.3 million pounds x $60 (today's uranium price per pound) is $318,000,000, and I've read that the landowners get from 8-12 percent of this, depending on the lease agreement.  That equals from 25 million to 38 million going to the landowners.

  If this were your church, how would you feel?  Comfortable?  Threatened?  Would you volunteer your church as a guinea pig for the "greater good of America"? 

  Think about it.