January 19, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wake up call on nuclear waste!
Meet the National Radioactive Waste Coalition (NRWC)
Press Conference January 19, 2022
11am ET
The National Radioactive Waste Coalition (NRWC) advocates for environmentally safe, just, and equitable nuclear waste policy.
Over 40 grassroots organizations from across the country have come together to address the radioactive waste crisis. This is a global crisis. Radioactive waste poses an environmental threat in tandem with climate change. The sheer amount of nuclear waste threatens catastrophic health impacts. Much of the harm is inflicted on Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and low-income communities. Women, children, and others with limited resources are most vulnerable.
U.S. nuclear waste policy is broken. Legislative measures advanced over decades have failed. The NRWC is committed to positively impact national radioactive waste policies which are safe, just, and equitable.
Its specific goals are:
- Stop Yucca Mountain from becoming a permanent nuclear waste repository;
- Stop plans for consolidated/centralized interim storage (CIS);
- Keep high level radioactive waste as close to its current sites as possible and “harden” the storage so it is as safe as it can be;
- Reduce the inherent dangers with the storage of high level radioactive waste involved in the decommissioning of nuclear plants or other nuclear sites.
Nuclear energy is a false solution to climate change. It blocks progress by redirecting efforts and necessary funding from proven green energy solutions and adds to the ever-growing volume of toxic waste.
Our Coalition is a growing alliance of national, regional, and local organizations and impacted frontline communities united to address this radioactive waste crisis. We are exposed to radiation without our knowledge, without our consent, and against our will.
We are communities harmed by the radioactive waste that nuclear reactors produce and store. We are communities targeted for the proposed storage of nuclear waste coming from across the country. We live in the pathway of proposed shipments. We are communities burdened by radioactive contamination from nuclear weapons production and testing. We are communities subjected to the impacts of uranium mines and mills. We are the communities suffering health problems caused by nuclear contamination.
On behalf of the National Radioactive Waste Coalition:
Alliance for Environmental Strategies (Eunice, NM)
Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (Knoxville, TN)
Cape Downwinders (Harwich, MA)
Citizens Action Coalition (Indianapolis, IN)
Citizens Awareness Network (Shelburne Falls, MA)
Citizens’ Environmental Coalition (Albany, NY)
Citizens Resistance at Fermi Two (Redford, MI)
Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety (Santa Fe, NM)
Council on Intelligent Energy & Conservation Policy (Scarsdale, NY)
Fairewinds Energy Education Nonprofit (Charleston, SC)
Georgia Women’s Action for New Directions (Atlanta, GA)
GreenAction for Health and Environmental Justice (San Francisco, CA)
Green State Solutions (Iowa City, IA)
Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT)
Heart of America Northwest (Seattle, WA)
Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc. (Beacon, NY)
Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition (Cortlandt Manor, NY)
Manhattan Project for a Nuclear-Free World (New York, NY)
Multicultural Alliance for a Safe Environment (Albuquerque, NM)
Native Community Action Council (Las Vegas, NV)
Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force (Las Vegas, NV)
North American Water Office (Lake Elmo, MN)
Nuclear Energy Information Service (Chicago, IL)
Nuclear Information and Resource Service (Takoma Park, MD)
Nuclear Watch New Mexico (Santa Fe, NM)
Nuclear Watch South (Atlanta, GA)
Nukewatch (Luck, WI)
Occupy Bergen County (Woodcliff Lake, NJ)
Physicians for Social Responsibility-Chesapeake (Chesapeake, VA)
Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)
Safe Energy Rights Group (NY)
Samuel Lawrence Foundation (San Diego, CA)
San Clemente Green (San Clemente, CA)
San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace (San Luis Obispo, CA)
Shut Down Indian Point Now (New York, NY)
Snake River Alliance (Boise, ID)
Southwest Research and Information Center (Albuquerque, NM)
Stop the Algonquin Pipeline Expansion (Rye, NY)
Sustainable Energy & Economic Development Coalition (Austin, TX)
Uranium Watch (Monticello, UT)
Vermont Yankee Decommissioning Alliance (Plainfield, VT)
Women Changing the World (Atlanta, GA)
Women’s Energy Matters (CA)
Speakers:
Tim Judson, Nuclear Information Resource Service, Washington, D.C.
Rose Gardner, Alliance for Environmental Strategies, New Mexico
Deb Katz, Citizens Awareness Network, Massachusetts
Jesse Deer In Water, Citizens Resistance at Fermi Two, Missouri
Bryce Gustafson, Citizens Action Coalition, Indiana
Contact Information
Deb Katz
413.339.4374 or 413.834.3280
Rose Gardner
575.390.9634
Leona Morgan
505.879.8547
instagram.com/radioactivewastecoalition
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