More than 10,000 train cars of radioactive waste to proposed Holtec site near Carlsbad and Hobbs — a train wreck waiting to happen
Albuquerque, NM — Community members will tour the state with a mock radioactive waste canister starting Tuesday in Albuquerque to highlight the dangers of shipping and storing the nation’s most radioactive nuclear-reactor waste in New Mexico.
Holtec International has a controversial plan to store up to 100,000 tons of the nation’s most dangerous nuclear reactor waste for as long as 120 years at a site between Hobbs and Carlsbad.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will accept public comments through May 29 and hold public meetings in Roswell, Hobbs and Carlsbad. In response, community members are touring Albuquerque, Roswell, Carlsbad, Hobbs, Artesia, Gallup, Santa Fe, and other areas along the rail route through which waste could be shipped to call attention to the issue and urge residents to attend NRC’s scheduled public meetings and to submit written comments.
The waste would consist of fuel rods that have been inside more than 100 nuclear reactors across America. This waste, known as “High Level Radioactive Waste” still contains most of the original uranium, along with plutonium, cesium and strontium. Exposure to unshielded fuel rods is lethal. If this site is approved, there could be more than than 10,000 train cars of this dangerous radioactive waste, through or near major cities in New Mexico.
What: First stop of Halt Holtec! Cask Tour and News conference with mock life-size radioactive-waste canister featuring concerned residents and community groups
Who: Halt Holtec! Coalition
Speakers: Leona Morgan, Nuclear Issues Study Group; Pat Cardona, Alliance for Environmental Strategies; Sister Marlene Perrotte, New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light; Don Hancock, Southwest Research and Information Center
When: Tuesday, April 10, 2018 – 11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Where: Parking lot next to railroad at 110 Lomas Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87102 (immediately west of No Holds Barred Gym and across from Burger King)
Visuals: Inflatable mock radioactive-waste canister, 16 feet long by 8 feet tall
Other tour stops: Hobbs, Carlsbad, Roswell, Artesia, Santa Fe, Gallup and more!
For info about the Halt Holtec! Cask Tour, “Like” our page.
For info about proposal, click HERE.
For additional info: NoNuclearWaste.org