Nuclear power

Bill attempts to remove all safety standards to accelerate licensing process

January 24, 2008 -- Washington, DC — Nevada Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign released the following statements about a bill being introduced in the Senate to speed up the licensing process to store nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain. This irresponsible bill calls for nuclear waste to be shipped to Nevada and stored in Yucca Mountain for 300 years before any radiation standard whatsoever is applied to the dump.    » read more »

Letter sent to the Environment and Public Works Committee

January 11, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC- Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) today sent a letter to the Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) requesting the committee hold a field hearing in Pennsylvania to examine the security lapses at Peach Bottom Atomic Power station in York County.

“We respectfully request that you hold a field hearing in Pennsylvania so that the Senate can better understand what happened at Peach Bottom and the lessons to be learned,” the members wrote.    » read more »

December 17, 2007 -- More than 500 organizations from every corner of the U.S. and across the world have signed a statement explicitly rejecting the use of nuclear power as a means of addressing the climate crisis.    » read more »

December 17, 2007 -- Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada announced today that in the negotiations over this year’s final appropriations bill, he was successful in cutting an additional $54.5 million from the budget for the Yucca Mountain Project. This cut, combined with the previous $50 million Reid was able to cut earlier this year, brings this year’s total Yucca Mountain budget cut to $104.5 million below the President’s request and last year’s level.    » read more »

After Lax Security Is Discovered At Peach Bottom Plant, Sends Letter To Security Company Seeking Assurances For The Future

December 14, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC- U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) today wrote to Gary Sanders, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Wackenhut Corporation, demanding more information about incidents involving inattentive security guards at the Peach Bottom nuclear power plant in York County, Pennsylvania.    » read more »

December 13, 2007 -- Washington D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada made the following statement after learning of the release of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Quality Assurance and Engineering Assessments for the proposed nuclear waste dump:    » read more »

December 12, 2007 -- Washington, DC — U.S. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada released the following statement today after the presiding judges approved the Department of Energy’s (DOE) certification of the Licensing Support Network (LSN) for the Yucca Mountain. This ruling is the result of a hearing held in Las Vegas last week.    » read more »

Will examine conflicts by law firm hired to complete license application

December 12, 2007 -- Washington, DC – One week ago today, Nevada's congressional delegation sent a letter to Gregory Friedman, Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Energy, requesting an investigation into the $109 million contract awarded to the law firm Morgan, Lewis, and Bockius to represent the Energy Department. Today, the congressional delegation was notified that the Inspector General will officially investigate the contract.    » read more »

December 11, 2007 -- More than 185 organizations sent a letter today urging Congress not to provide loan guarantees for new nuclear reactors in the omnibus appropriations bill now being crafted on Capitol Hill.    » read more »

Science Group Recomments Stronger Federal Oversight, Safer Designs, U.S. Ban on Reprocessing

WASHINGTON (December 11, 2007) – An expansion of nuclear power capacity in the United States could help reduce global warming pollution, but could also increase threats to public safety and national security, according to a report released today by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).    » read more »

December 7, 2007 -- Since the release of the latest National Intelligence Estimate on Iran, the American people are asking themselves what did the Bush White House know and when did they know it? Despite being told to the contrary by President Bush himself Tuesday, CNN reports today that President Bush was told in August that Iran's nuclear program "may be suspended." Yet the President continued to mislead the American people on Iran's nuclear program with rhetoric about Iran's efforts to develop a nuclear weapon.

Below are excerpts from CNN's report:    » read more »

Delegation urges a closer look into the law firm hired by the Energy Department for licensing procedure

December 5, 2007 -- Washington, DC –Nevada's congressional delegation sent a letter to Gregory Friedman, Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Energy, urging him to review possible conflicts of interest related to the law firm Morgan, Lewis, and Bockius’s contract with the Department of Energy to perform legal services related to licensing Yucca Mountain as the nation’s nuclear waste dump.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2007 – A new intelligence estimate that says Iran stopped its covert nuclear weapons program in 2003 is good news, but also presents cause for concern, President Bush’s national security advisor said today.

Stephen Hadley briefed White House reporters today on the report, which was produced by the office of the director of national intelligence.

The estimate is the intelligence community’s judgment given the available information. All 16 U.S. intelligence agencies – including eight within the Defense Department – participated in the effort.    » read more »

December 3, 2007 -- Washington, DC – Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) issued the following statement today after the release of the National Intelligence Estimate:

"The conclusions of the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran's nuclear intentions and capabilities are, figuratively speaking, explosive. Iran stopped its weapons-related work in 2003. And while it has resumed work on uranium enrichment, it is still at least several years away from producing the fissile material it would need for a nuclear weapon.    » read more »

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Should Consider Threat of Terrorism, Earthquakes, and Adequate Evacuation Plans; Westchester County, A.G. Blumenthal Join Filing

NEW YORK, NY (December 3, 2007) – New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, and Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano today announced the submission of papers to deny the relicensing of the Indian Point nuclear power plant.    » read more »