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Nuclear Waste Is Piling Up

NUCLEAR POWER SAFETY 2011 RADIOACTIVE 67,450 Metric Tons NUCLEAR WASTE is piling up in our backyard.. 40,000 1 OUT OF 3 AMERICANS LIVE WITHIN 50 MILES OF NUCLEAR WASTE. 20,000 1968 1 Metric Ton 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010 ..and it's not stored as safely as it could be. Most nuclear waste is stored in OVERCROWDED COOLING POOLS THEY RELY ON ELECTRICITY TO COOL AND CIRCULATE WATER, PREVENTING WASTE FROM OVERHEATING. Nuclear waste Cooling pools are meant to temporarily hold and cool waste at reactor sites. POOLS CURRENTLY CONTAIN MORE THAN 5 TIMES AS MUCH POOLS RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL AS ALL U.S. REACTOR CORES. REACTORS This poses LOSS OF COOLING FROM AN unnecessary ACCIDENT OR TERRORIST ATTACK RISKS CAN CAUSE THE WASTE TO OVERHEAT, CATCH FIRE, AND RELEASE RADIATION. Overcrowded pools could release much more radiation, with potentially SEVERE CONSEQUENCES* CANCER DEATHS UNUSABLE LAND LONG-TERM TENS OF THOUSANDS THOUSANDS OF DISPLACEMENT OF PEOPLE SQUARE MILES MILLIONS OF PEOPLE There's a safer alternative. Move waste from pools to on-site DRY CASKS Nuclear waste THEY USE PASSIVE AIR COOLING, AND DON'T NEED POWER OR Dry casks are constructed of steel and concrete and can be less BACKUP SYSTEMS. vulnerable to disasters or attacks. Congress should require plants to TRANSFER significant amounts of waste from pools to dry casks DRY CASK 60,000 POOL Metric Tons 40,000 DRY CASK 20,000 POOL TODAY IDEAL END OF 2011 SPENT FUEL OLDER THAN 5 YEARS MOVED TO DRY CASKS And guess what? WASTE MUST BE PUT IN CASKS FOR FUTURE TRANSFERS TO LONG-TERM STORAGE SITES ANYHOW-AND PLANTS HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO SO TODAY. This could greatly reduce the impact of a severe accident or attack on the plant.* REDUCE POTENTIAL REDUCE POTENTIAL CANCER RATE BY UNINHABITABLE LAND BY 90% 98% So what CAN YOU DO? CONTACT YOUR SHARE THIS WRITE A LETTER STATE AND WITH FRIENDS TO THE EDITOR FEDERAL AND NEIGHBORS REPRESENTATIVES For more ways to help, visit: www.ucsusa.org/nuclearpowertoolkit © Union of Concerned Scientists 2013 www.ucsusa.org/nuclearwaste *Source: 2013 NRC Analysis Design by Graphicacy. Art by H2H Graphics & Design.

Nuclear Waste Is Piling Up

shared by Graphicacy on Jan 08
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Nuclear waste is piling up in our backyard—and it's not stored as safely as it could be.

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