Without doubt, climate change is one of the most urgent threats of our time. But nuclear generation of electricity is not a viable answer, given the economic and environmental downsides and the risks of radioactive releases, whether caused by accident or by terrorist attack.

• Nuclear energy is costly. Federal support of construction costs will only shift the burden to taxpayers instead of rate-payers, but it will not change that reality. Similarly, since no insurance companies will take the risk of insuring nuclear plants, it has always been the taxpayer who has provided that insurance in the form of the Price-Anderson Act.
• Nuclear power creates a lethal byproduct with no permanent repository.
• Nuclear facilities pose safety and security risks. They have been identified by the NRC and the Office of Homeland Security as terrorist targets, with the “spent” fuel pools and the control room being the most vulnerable parts of a nuclear reactor, for neither has domes protecting them.
• The daily operation of a nuclear plant poses health risks. Equipment ages and employees make mistakes. Over time, the tubing and vessels that make up the nuclear plants crack and fail. Human error was a major factor in the accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl.

A major radioactive release could result in thousands of cancer deaths, environmental destruction, and cost hundreds of billions of dollars. The Mothers for Peace believes that better solutions exist to mitigate global warming. Wind, solar, bioenergy, and other renewable sources of energy – coupled with energy efficiency and conservation – can meet our electricity needs. They are less expensive, clean, and readily available.

• Nuclear Energy is Not a Panacea
• Five Myths About Nuclear Energy