Letters to the editor

Nuclear waste
poses danger

Editor,
Valley residents have been misinformed about the costs and risks of nuclear power. From the mines to the 100-year containment canisters, nuclear waste is a dangerous reality.
Nuclear power is not clean – it kills American workers. Compensation claims for illness and death from radiation exposure have been granted to tens of thousands of Department of Energy workers and contractors.
Only 1 percent of the uranium produces electricity, 99 percent produces nuclear waste, and routine releases of radioactive poisons move up the food chain and are cumulative. They are known to cause cell alterations and DNA mutations. There is no safe dose of radiation.
How can TVA justify this unnecessary, expensive and short-term power source against the terrible long-term risks for our valley?
Nuclear power is also expensive.
Three bailouts in three decades, yet we continue to socialize the risks with government liability and loan guarantees. We are in denial about the endless costs of radioactive waste management for future generations.
The U.S. is lagging behind the world in green energy. Germany produces 7.4 times more solar electricity than America, with far less land and a cloudy northern location.
It is time for a long-term, secure, sustainable solar plan for the Tennessee Valley, and TVA should implement an almost immediately attainable 30 percent improvement in energy efficiency, which will bring us jobs instead of rate increases.
For more information, backup data and resources, please visit our website at MATRR.org- Because It Matters.

Gretel E. Johnston, member
Mothers Against Tennessee River Radiation