Frank P. Belcastro, Grande Digue, NB

August 7, 2007

Energy Alberta Corporation is currently running an aggressive public relations campaign which neglects the caution and honesty that are absolutely necessary when dealing with nuclear issues. In addition, it is unfortunate that Whitecourt Mayor Trevor Thain thinks of nuclear power plants only in economic terms and ignores the safety and moral terms. And the Liberal government should also pause and reflect on these issues when considering a second nuclear reactor in New Brunswick.

Recently, the 20th anniversary was observed of the Chernobyl explosion, the worst nuclear power disaster in history. People are still dying from the long-term effects. An area the size of a small city is still off limits to human habitation. In the U.S., there hasn't been a new nuclear power plant built since the Three Mile Island accident of 1979. As long as there are nuclear power plants operating in this country, there will be high-level nuclear waste that cannot be moved to any "ultimate" storage facility.

High-level radioactive waste is so hot when removed from a nuclear power plant that it has to remain cooling at the plant site for years.

Hundreds of people who study the subject closely have been confirming that a rational combination of energy conservation and alternative renewable energy technologies can give us far more power than nuclear at far less cost and risk. Second, in purely economic terms, nukes are a horrendous investment because no reactor can be guaranteed not to melt nor can any be protected from terrorism nor from earthquakes as recently experienced in Japan. Third, there is a moral reason: if people are still dying from the long-term effects 20 years later, why take the risk of an explosion?