To all those concerned about headlong expansion of the nuclear industry in New York and nationally: here’s a not-to-be-missed opportunity to hear from and ask questions of leading experts, with information you won’t find elsewhere.
Forums for a Nuclear-Free New York, co-sponsored by the National Radioactive Waste Coalition and a network of citizen’s groups called Alliance for Nuclear-Free NY is a series of online educational webinars examining the industry claim that nuclear is a climate solution, and what nuclear expansion will really mean for New Yorkers’ health, safety, energy costs, and climate.
The inaugural Forum, January 15 at 2pm Eastern, features Stanford professor Mark Z. Jacobson and Radiation and Public Health Project (RPHP) Director Joe Mangano, and will be moderated by Alec Baldwin. It will address why renewables can meet New York's current and future energy needs and why nuclear can't, and present new data on elevated cancer and mortality rates near US nuclear plants.
The Forum is free, but registration is required. Please register here.
Last month, a new Harvard study was published showing that living near a nuclear power plant "significantly increase(s) cancer incidence." It found Massachusetts residents in zip codes within a 30 kilometer radius of a nuclear power plant had much higher cancer rates, while outside 30 kilometers those rates “declined sharply.” Meanwhile, RPHP is working with the same team at Harvard on a new study, currently under review, of mortality rates near nuclear power plants nationally.
Indian Point’s reactors have been shut down, but Holtec International, the current owner in charge of decommissioning, is poised to issue an initial public offering, and has proposed re-nuclearizing the site to boost its perceived value. This entails misusing Holtec’s current licenses to install and operate small modular reactors on it to power a data center, and/or to restart Indian Point’s shuttered reactors, as Holtec is doing at other nuclear sites it owns. While Governor Hochul issued a statement saying New York State does not support re-nuclearizing Indian Point, that hasn’t stopped nuclear booster groups from pushing for it and spreading misinformation about the feasibility and impacts of doing so.
Meanwhile, Governor Hochul strongly supports expanding nuclear in upstate New York. She has arranged a $33 billion ratepayer subsidy to keep four aging reactors in Oswego and Wayne Counties, already well beyond their designed lifespan (including the oldest and second oldest reactors in the US) operating for another 20 years. She has championed building one or more new nuclear power facilities in upstate New York, and recently signed an agreement with Ontario Power Generation to develop small nuclear reactors in New York.
The U.S. federal government, not New York State, has jurisdiction over radiological health and safety issues. Nuclear expansion in New York would be taking place against a backdrop of unprecedented dismantling of federal nuclear regulation, dumbing down radiation exposure standards, and rubber-stamping and fast-tracking new nuclear projects.
What might that mean for New Yorkers? Join us to find out. Forums for a Nuclear-Free New York presents leading expert sources with the best available information on these vital issues. Please take a moment to register for the inaugural Forum on January 15 and stay tuned for information on future Forums.