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All Rights Reserved THE "BLUE RIBBON" COMMISSION Obama's so-called "Blue Ribbon Commission" has been considering sites in the Pacific Northwest to store the nation's ever-growing junkpile of dangerous nuclear waste. The articles linked below declare: "Some of the first sites considered are so-called orphan sites where nuclear reactors are no longer operating but their waste is stored there." The Trojan nuclear facility on the banks of the Columbia River, near Rainier, Oregon, would fit this description perfectly. It is very clear that the Hanford Nuclear Reservation is also being considered. Actually, Hanford is already being used as a dangerous nuclear junkyard. The articles declare: "An estimated 65,000 tons of spent fuel rods are being stored at sites in 35 states." What will it be like once the govenment gets a foot is in the door with a dangerous nuclear garbage dump established in the Pacific Northwest, possibly even at the old Trojan site? How long will it take before the government suddenly changes the rules and the highly radioactive nuclear fuel rods begin pouring into the Pacific Northwest from across the United States? Now for the linked articles. With piles more containers of highly radioactive nuclear waste from around the United States eventually being dumped at Trojan or Hanford, consider the risk potential for a serious nuclear catastrophy resulting from a massive earthquake or other natural disaster, or even a determined terrorist attack. That is what the Pacific Northwest is truly facing if it becomes any greater of a nuclear junkyard for the United States. LOOKING CLOSER AT TROJAN Let us turn our attention toward the old Trojan nuclear site, which sits on the banks of the lower Columbia River. It is located uncomfortably close to Portland, Oregon. Because it appears the government may be considering Trojan as one of the places in the Pacific Northwest to store radioactive waste from around the nation, we need to look even more closely at this site. FAULT FINDING The article linked below declares that "In 1978, a major geological fault line was discovered running through the Trojan site, creating the specter of an earthquake that could trigger a nuclear disaster." MORE CONFIRMATIONS Regarding a potentially dangerous and devastating geologic fault line at the Trojan site, the article linked below declares: "Trojan's problems began before the plant even began operating. In 1972, The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Geological Survey had found a 'concealed fault' running through the Columbia River next to the plant site. In the article, John Gofman, an Atomic Energy Commission scientist, compared Trojan to 'locating 2,500 atomic bombs worth of radiation in Portland's back yard.'" The page linked above speaks of the expected size of the quake to be experienced by the region. It speaks of an "8 or 9 on the Richter scale." In the sections below, this discussion will note were they are expecting the epicenters for this massive earthquake to be, as they plan things at this nuclear fuel rod storage site. This discussion will also note a more realistic location for the main epicenters of the next, massive Cascadia earthquake event. As another confirmation for the situation at the Trojan Nuclear Plant site, the Seattle Times newspaper article linked below declares: "The plant temporarily shut down in 1978 when PGE realized it had been built on an earthquake fault." THE OBVIOUS By now, we should clearly understand that there is a serious geologic fault line associated with the old Trojan Nuclear Power Plant property. It is serious enough that the plant was shut down and demolished. Yes, there is a strong potential for there to be a massive 9.0 or larger earthquake in the "not so distant future" that will affect this area. That brings us face to face with problems related to the storage of highly radioactive fuel rods and nuclear waste on this former nuclear power plant site. The picture and video on the page linked below show the closely spaced casks at the old Trojan site. Pictures linked here, here, and here also clearly show these closely spaced, round, cylindrical storage casks. These casks contain a large number of highly-radioactive nuclear fuel rods. In a 9.0 or larger earthquake which lasted for a number of minutes, ground movement (or ground waves) of up to six feet vertically, or possibly even higher, could potentially cause these casks to slam violently back and forth against each other. This opens up the possibly of these casks shattering and allowing their radioactive contents to spill out into the surrounding environment. In such a scenario, the nuclear fuel rods could become stacked closely together on top of each other. Could such a situation allow the rods to "go critical," rapidly heating and igniting, and eventually spreading their radioactive materials far and wide across the land, via wind and water? But, before we continue further in this line of thought, let us again consider the situation we are dealing with, in relation to the fuel rods, and the earthquake scenario the "pros" are planning around. ANOTHER LOOK It has been shown above that the old Trojan property still stores the highly-radioactive fuel rods from the years when the Trojan nuclear plant was in operation. According to the video in the article linked below, there are about 380 tons of nuclear fuel rods currently stored at the Trojan site. Once again, these dangerous fuel rods are stored in 34 concrete casks. The article linked below declares: "Portland General Electric officials said the storage site is engineered to withstand a 9.0 earthquake, even a Tsunami or dam break along the Columbia river." But, let us get realistic. Yes, talk is cheap. But can the Portland General Electric officials truly guarantee that their concrete casks with stainless steel liners can hold up to being slammed violently and repeatedly together during a 9.0 or greater earthquake which lasts for a number of minutes, with massive ground waves, without releasing any harmful or deadly radiation into the surrounding environment? And again, there is a lingering question which must be kept in mind. What is the actual earthquake scenario that the "pros" are planning around and where will the actual epicenters be located? FROM ANOTHER SOURCE Regarding the casks which hold the highly radioactive fuel rods, a spokesman for the Trojan nuclear facility claimed: "They are specifically designed to withstand a major earthquake like the one in Japan." This information if found in the article linked below. But, regarding the planned-for earthquake, keep in mind the words: "Like the one in Japan." Potentially, any spokesman for a nuclear facility could claim that their fuel rod stoage facility is safe from major earthquakes so their facility could avoid having to do something more costly, secure and safe with the dangerous fuel rods. If the casks were to split apart in a massive earthquake and spread their radioactive contents into the Columbia River and across the land, the spokesman may simply say, "Well, they weren't supposed to do that." Bottom line, especially in this situation, it may be best not to trust spokesman for the nuclear power industry, especially when they say something is safe. Let us learn the very important lessons from the Fukushima disaster in Japan. Once a nuclear disaster gets unleashed, it can be very hard, or possibly even impossible, to fully "put the Genie back into the bottle." BASIS FOR DISCUSSION Let us now begin to examine the real truth about what is being dealt with in this particular situation. Regarding the numerous stored nuclear fuel rods at the Trojan site, the article linked above, titled 'PGE: Nuclear rods at Trojan are safe,' states that the storage casks "are specifically designed to withstand a major earthquake like the one in Japan." Let us consider the words "like the one in Japan" a bit further, and see what is really being stated here. The webpage linked below states: "The storage system is specifically designed to withstand foreseeable hazards, including a 9.0 subduction zone earthquake off the coast of the Pacific Northwest." The page also states: "No significant physical damage would be expected from earthquakes within planning parameters..." And again: "No significant movement of the casks is postulated to occur as a result of the seismic margin earthquake event." The "pros," in their safety declaration, are planning around a "seismic margin earthquake event." They are planning around "a 9.0 subduction zone earthquake off the coast of the Pacific Northwest." Therefore they state: "No significant physical damage would be expected from earthquakes within planning parameters..." But, what will be the outcome and problems created if the next Cascadia earthquake event is well outside their "planning parameters?" THE NEXT CASCADIA EARTHQUAKE EVENT The "pros" are planning for the epicenters of the next Cascadia megaquake event to be located far offshore in the Pacific Ocean, at the Cascadia Subduction Zone. But, there is reason to believe that the epicenters for the next, massive and devastating Cascadia event could be relatively close to the Interstate-5 freeway corridor. This information is presented in another report, titled 'Current Expectations for a Cascadia Mega-Quake,' which is linked here. If it truly turns out that the epicenters for the next Cascadia event are located relatively close to the Interstate-5 freeway corridor, that will greatly change the impact upon the Trojan nuclear fuel storage site. In such a case, there could be immense damage done to the storage casks. This could possibly result in a catastrophic nuclear event unfolding relatively close to Portland, Oregon. DRY CASK STORAGE RECONSIDERED It is time to take a look at a webpage which includes an article with information from the Union of Concerned Scientists. It is called 'Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel,' and is linked below. Scroll down to the section called 'Advantages of Dry Cask Storage'. This section declares: "Dry casks are made of steel and concrete, with the concrete providing shielding from radiation, and are stored outdoors on concrete pads." Now, take a look at the picture of casks sitting outside, fully exposed, on a concrete pad. Isn't that a perfect target for a determined, suicidal terrorist cell, who are armed with the proper devices? What would be the situation for these casks if a terrorist cell were firing at them with armor-piercing depleted uranium weaponry? For a number of reasons, it appears that dry cask storage of dangerous nuclear fuel rods at the Trojan site is a very bad idea. Wisdom indicates that these casks should be moved far from this site as soon as possible. For further information on dry cask storage, including some of the serious problems discovered, click on the buttons below. In the third article linked below, it should be noted that dry casks have a design life of about 25 year. Some declare that they will last longer. Only time and a major disaster will give us the true answer on this one. The article linked below presents some further concerns about the safety of dry cask storage units. VULNERABILITY OF DRY CASKS Under the section titled 'Radioactive Waste: Terrorist Bull's Eye,' the article linked below declares the following: "A 1998 test at the U.S. Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland showed that radioactive waste storage casks are vulnerable to anti-tanks missiles. The first missile obliterated the concrete shielding around the cask, and the second missile punched a hole through the cask wall to the inner waste chamber. Combined with incendiaries, the resulting fire could release catastrophic amounts of radioactivity into the environment." The tests by the U.S. Army prove that highly radioactive nuclear fuel stored outdoors in casks, on concrete pads, are truly vulnerable to terrorist attack. In these tests, it took two anti-tank missiles to expose the interior of a cask, where highly radioactive nuclear fuel rods would be stored. But what would be the case if depleted uranium weaponry were used, rather than conventional anti-tank missiles? Would it take only one missile to penetrate a cask? In the times ahead, a number of the nuclear waste sites could be attacked by terrorists, with devastating effects on the citizens of this country. Dry cask storage of highly radioactive used fuel rods, in open-air settings, shows a total disregard for public health and safety. This method of storage is actually a total invitation for a terrorist attack. These storage sites turn Americans into "sitting ducks." Other information about the nuclear power industry is contained in the article above. It includes records of leaking radioactive materials, including tritium. FINAL QUESTIONS Considering the information presented above, plus considering wind currents in the region, do you think it is wise to store nuclear fuel rods at the Trojan nuclear site on the banks of the Columbia River, downstream from Portland, Oregon? Are we truly protected from a nuclear disaster by the concrete casks in which highly radioactive fuel rods are stored? |
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