"Nuclear power is a very risky and unsustainable option for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Trading one potentially catastrophic health, environmental and security threat for another is not a sensible energy policy." Dr. Brice Smith

Building more nuclear power plants is a hazard-filled strategy for reducing global warming, according to a newly released book. Insurmountable Risks: The Dangers of Using Nuclear Power to Combat Global Climate Change, produced by the non-profit Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER), documents accident, proliferation and contamination threats associated with reviving the nuclear industry as part of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The book also details economically competitive alternative fuel sources which can address U.S. and world electricity needs.

Excerpt from the first chapter:

The widespread failure of nuclear power in the U.S. from an economic perspective, coupled with the unique problems of safety, waste disposal, and nuclear weapons proliferation has forced its proponents to look for new rationales in their attempt to revive the “nuclear option."

Over the last 20 years, the prospect of global climate change driven by the emission of greenhouse gases has provided just such a rationale…However just as the claim that nuclear power would one day be “too cheap to meter” was known to be a myth before ground was broken on the first civilian reactor in the United States, this book will show that a careful examination today reveals that the expense and unique vulnerabilities associated with expanding would make it a very risky option for trying to address the problems of climate change. These costs and vulnerabilities are well known and, in fact, are essentially the same set of problems that led to the failure of nuclear power the first time around.

As summarized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2001:
"In spite of this advantage [negligible greenhouse gas emissions], nuclear power is not seen as the solution to the global warming problem in many countries. The main issues are (1) the high costs compared to alternative CCGTs [Combined Cycle Gas Technologies], (2) public acceptance involving operating safety and waste, (3) safety of radioactive waste management and recycling of nuclear fuel, (4) the risks of nuclear fuel transportation, and (5) nuclear weapons proliferation."

It has been more than 50 years since ground was broken on the first civilian nuclear power plant and more than 25 years since the last reactor order was placed in the United States. It is time for nuclear power to finally retire so that the globally community can move on to focusing its efforts on developing more rapid, effective, and sustainable options for addressing the most pressing environmental concern of our day.

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Interested in reading more? Contact HEAL Utah at info@healutah.org or 801-355-5055 for a copy of Insurmountable Risks.