NH #419: Radioactive Waste Storage Crisis SPECIAL: NUCLEAR NIMBY Targets New Mexico, West Texas: Kevin Kamps, Diane D'Arrigo, Leona Morgan, Karen Hadden

Radioactive Waste Storage – NUCLEAR NIMBY:
Activists rally against the proposed Holtec-Eddy/Lea consolidated so-called “interim” nuclear waste dump in New Mexico – January, 2019

SPECIAL REQUEST: Next week, I will be traveling to Navajo Nation in New Mexico to cover the 40th anniversary of the Church Rock disaster, the uranium tailings spill. Over 94 million gallons of radioactive uranium mining waste spilled into the Puerco River, contaminating water, land, and people over 80 miles downstream. It has never been cleaned up, nor can it be.  I’m going to help make visible this long-neglected radioactive disaster in our shared nuclear past. Donations requested to help defray costs. CLICK HERE to donate – and know that I am grateful for your support! – Libbe.

This Week’s Featured Interviews:

Radioactive waste generated by U.S. nuclear reactors stands at over 80,000 TONS of the stuff – with nowhere safe to store it long-term. The nuclear industry is pushing hard for an ill-advised so-called “interim” storage site in either New Mexico or West Texas – or both. Recent hearings held by the House and Senate barely allowed the public to be heard, and more hearings are on their way. But what does it all mean to the people most immediately affected?

Nuclear Hotseat’s Libbe HaLevy talks with four genuine experts on various aspects of the radioactive waste problem:

• Kevin Kamps, Nuclear Waste Specialist for Beyond Nuclear, gives the horrifying overview.
• Diane D’Arrigo, Radioactive Waste Project Director for Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS), goes into the legal issues and current manipulations being attempted by the nuclear industry.
• Leona Morgan, Nuclear Issues Study Group in Albuquerque, New Mexico, reveals what it’s like on-the-ground, protesting and working to raise public awareness.
• Karen Hadden, SEED (Sustainable Energy and Economic Development) Coalition, reports on the West Texas proposed site and how the state government is responding to industry pressure… and public outrage.