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ACT NOW! Tell the Natural Resources Committee – No New Nuclear Waste in California!

On Monday, the California Assembly Committee on Natural Resources will hold a hearing on AB 65, a bill that would overturn California’s longstanding ban and open the state up to massive amounts of new nuclear waste. The bill would allow the construction of “small” modular reactors (SMRs) – reactors that have higher risks and produce more waste than conventional reactors – and would direct the Public Utilities Commission to create a plan to increase nuclear power generation in the state.

Since 1976, California’s Nuclear Safeguards Act has barred new nuclear plants unless and until there is a permanent solution for the disposal of the radioactive waste produced by reactors, which is dangerous for ten thousand generations. Today, there is still no such solution for this extremely toxic waste. Nonetheless, AB 65 seeks an exemption to California’s nuclear ban, allowing many new nuclear power plants to be built and setting the stage for a nuclear power resurgence in California.

Urge Your Assemblymember to Oppose AB 65

DEADLINE: Sunday, April 9

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CA Assembly Natural Resources Committee

Subject: Oppose AB 65

Message:

Monday, April 10, AB 65 is before the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources on which you serve. I urge you to vote NO. Since 1976, California has banned new nuclear reactors, and for good reason. Nuclear power produces nuclear waste, which remains extremely toxic for half a million years. Thus, our state’s longstanding Nuclear Safeguards Act has stipulated that no new nuclear power plants will be built in California unless and until there is a permanent solution for disposal of high-level nuclear waste. Today, the fundamental situation is unchanged: there is still no permanent solution to the nuclear waste problem, and our nation is no closer to developing one than we were decades ago. Yet now, AB 65 seeks to overturn California’s nuclear ban and set the state on a course for ever-increasing amounts of nuclear waste. The bill would create an exemption in the Nuclear Safeguards Act to allow for the construction and operation of so-called “small modular reactors” (SMRs). Such reactors do nothing to address the waste problem, and in fact have been found by Stanford University to produce even more waste per megawatt than conventional reactors. It would be reckless to add to our state’s nuclear waste burden while we remain unable to responsibly handle the waste from the previous generation of reactors. SMRs also come with a host of decreased safety and security measures that may make them even riskier to Californians than conventional reactors. The prominent SMR designs call for greatly reduced operating and security staff, much smaller and weaker containment domes, and the reduction or even elimination of the emergency planning zone around the reactor. Such dangerous power stations should not be allowed in our state. AB 65 would also direct the Public Utilities Commission to create a plan for increasing the portion of California’s energy supplied by nuclear power. Yet this would be directly at odds with our state’s longstanding ban on new nuclear power, the logic of which is still fundamentally sound. Further, nuclear power is not needed for our efforts at addressing climate change. Nuclear power emits more carbon than renewables when one takes the fuel lifecycle into account, and every dollar spend on nuclear power is a dollar that could have been spent on renewable energy, efficiency, and storage. There is no good reason for our state to take on the risks and hazards of an expanded nuclear industry when we have so many alternatives. More nuclear waste from more risky nuclear reactors is not the future California needs. The Nuclear Safeguards Act is sound; no new nuclear reactors should be constructed unless and until there exists a permanent solution to the long-lived toxic waste problem. Please oppose AB 65. Sincerely,

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CA Assembly

Subject: Oppose AB 65

Message:

Since 1976, California has banned new nuclear reactors, and for good reason. Nuclear power produces nuclear waste, which remains extremely toxic for half a million years. Thus, our state’s longstanding Nuclear Safeguards Act has stipulated that no new nuclear power plants will be built in California unless and until there is a permanent solution for disposal of high-level nuclear waste. Today, the fundamental situation is unchanged: there is still no permanent solution to the nuclear waste problem, and our nation is no closer to developing one than we were decades ago. Yet now, AB 65 seeks to overturn California’s nuclear ban and set the state on a course for ever-increasing amounts of nuclear waste. The bill would create an exemption in the Nuclear Safeguards Act to allow for the construction and operation of so-called “small modular reactors” (SMRs). Such reactors do nothing to address the waste problem, and in fact have been found by Stanford University to produce even more waste per megawatt than conventional reactors. It would be reckless to add to our state’s nuclear waste burden while we remain unable to responsibly handle the waste from the previous generation of reactors. SMRs also come with a host of decreased safety and security measures that may make them even riskier to Californians than conventional reactors. The prominent SMR designs call for greatly reduced operating and security staff, much smaller and weaker containment domes, and the reduction or even elimination of the emergency planning zone around the reactor. Such dangerous power stations should not be allowed in our state. AB 65 would also direct the Public Utilities Commission to create a plan for increasing the portion of California’s energy supplied by nuclear power. Yet this would be directly at odds with our state’s longstanding ban on new nuclear power, the logic of which is still fundamentally sound. There is no good reason for our state to take on the risks and hazards of an expanded nuclear industry when we have so many alternatives. Nuclear power is often touted as a necessary step in addressing climate change, but this is not true. Nuclear power plants take many years to license and construct – yet we need carbon emission reductions now. Funneling money into nuclear reactors delays action and wastes critical funds that could be spent on renewable energy, efficiency, and storage, solutions which are far more quickly deployable and affordable. To top it off, nuclear power isn’t actually zero emissions; when one takes the full lifecycle of nuclear fuel into account, nuclear power has a carbon emissions profile higher than renewables and closer to natural gas. More nuclear waste from more risky nuclear reactors is not the future California needs. The Nuclear Safeguards Act is sound; no new nuclear reactors should be constructed unless and until there exists a permanent solution to the long-lived toxic waste problem. Please oppose AB 65. Sincerely,

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ACT NOW! Tell the Natural Resources Committee – No New Nuclear Waste in California!

Urge Your Assemblymember to Oppose AB 65

DEADLINE: Sunday, April 9

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