Ohioans should embrace the promise of Piketon

At a time when the United States is in dire need to move aggressively toward cleaner, safer and cheaper sources of electricity, it is no time for state and federal officials to continue stonewalling the revival of nuclear power as a viable energy option.

To that end, the planned development of the nation’s largest nuclear reactor in decades in southern Ohio must not be allowed to languish. But long before the $10 billion Piketon nuclear plant would open, the U.S. must ensure appropriate safeguards are in place. Most importantly, it must fast track development of a centralized storage facility for America’s colossal pileup of nuclear waste.

‘A wonderful day for Ohio’

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, U.S. Sen. George V. Voinovich, Duke Energy Chief Executive Jim Rogers and officials of Avera, the French-based nuclear energy company ranked largest in the world, recently announced formation of an alliance to pursue the project on the sprawling grounds of a U.S. Department of Energy site in Piketon, about 50 miles east of Cincinnati. Its preliminary design would allow it to power up to 1.5 million households.

“This is a wonderful day for the future of Ohio,” said Voinovich, a vocal advocate for nuclear power. “I know people are a little bit down right now, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and part of that light is nuclear power.”

Ohio’s senior senator is clearly on target.

Environmentally, nuclear-energy plants do not produce air pollutants that cause smog and acid rain, and they do not release dangerous greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.

Economically, the nuclear-power industry, in general, and the Piketon project, in particular, will produce thousands of secure 21st century jobs.

For those reasons alone, nuclear power must remain on the A list of energy alternatives this nation must pursue to reduce dependence on nonrenewable polluting fossil fuels.

That mandate is particularly cogent in Ohio. Over the past decade, Ohio has ranked first in the nation in the growth of filthy sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions and second in the nation in the growth of carbon dioxide emissions, according to an analysis of Environmental Protection Agency records by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

But the benefits of Piketon won’t materialize overnight. In the best-case scenario, the plant would not open until 2020. That gives state and federal officials ample time to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place.

Disposal issue

The pussy-footing around the long-delayed Yucca Mountain national nuclear waste storage repository must cease. Located in the Nevada desert 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Yucca Mountain would be the only permanent nuclear waste storage facility in the country. Today, some 60,000 tons of that waste are temporarily and dangerously stored at 126 sites with 2,000 tons of additional and dangerous waste generated yearly.

Numerous studies have concluded that Yucca Mountain is an ideal place to store the deadly materials. Safety tests have shown radioactive wastes can be stored inside the mountain with little or no chance of harming human health for thousands of years in the future.

In addition, Ohio must not look upon Piketon as the be-all, end-all. Energy companies and other groups must also explore other cost-efficient and environmentally sound options such as solar, wind and hydroelectric generation of power.

For now, the momentum must remain with the Piketon project. Overblown, outdated fears from Three Mile Island must be replaced with a positive attitude toward the promise of Piketon.

Ohioans would be wise to adopt the French example, where nuclear power accounts for 90 percent of that nation’s energy needs. According to reporter Jon Palfreman, the construction of the Civaux Nuclear Power Plant in France has been warmly welcomed by its local community:

“In France, unlike in America, nuclear energy is accepted, even popular. Everybody I spoke to in Civaux loves the fact their region was chosen. The nuclear plant has brought jobs and prosperity to the area. Nobody I spoke to, nobody, expressed any fear.”