r-Fr?tF.wtßr I .r I * 'FEACE J. ANO FREEITilt nHRU NONVTOLFIû7 ACnON , I lune 27,î974/ . 20d ,r . lÌ UP AÊA"UST I THE NUKES : Nucleár Power. " -Fighting Plants in Two Cornrnunities ,\, 1a I I i r with my peace movement liiends on só many vìtal issueò, and not agreeing with them about Israel got me tõ thinling that maybe my ideas about Zionism ,o"rñrong_ how could all o1 them be out of step? And sq I went back to see for myself. -I spent my three weeks iñ lsrael justiitch hiking around (yes, there is still á phce ù where a \.voman can hitchhike without too much risk) and talking to people My command of conversational Hebrew is gôod enougll so that I wasn't viewed as a touiist_ people opened up and really spoke about ) ) Dcar Larry E¡ickson Ire: Letter, WIN 61201741: Your childhood was like my own, and so I do f'eel for you. What I was making in that WIN fun&raising letter was ajoke-pcrhaps a bad one-intended at the cxpensc of thc WIN publishing empfue, and alsq unóonsciously I think, to draw a rcsponsc such as yours. The white, middlo class, hcterosexual maledominated society is also cruel to white, middleclass heterosexual males! Its values arc rigidly oppres sive and even Richard Nixon can't livc "up" qut issues Yeq there's dissatisfaction with the government, the prices and enormous taxes, but the people really know what it's all for_ itsfot wrvival As long as you don't come out fo¡ Hitler's idea of Jewish genocide, then there must be an Israel Itis smalf and there's lots of land that the Arabs irave on which to resettle their palestinian b¡ethren Israel ¡esettled all the Jews who came out of A¡ab countries and would like to be able to resettle those few Jews who still sufer in Arab coqntries (liké the approximately 5000 Jews still in Syria, who are imprisoned and not allowed to leave). I can really empathize with the Palestinians; I know what it feels like to want a homeland-a place of refuge. But I'm sorry, it can't be in the sovereign state of Is¡ael The Jews who fi¡st settled in palestine came from the Pales of Setilement (where Jews we¡e forced to live in Russia), came from Lithuania and Poland to escape per- ' to theÍL Stokely Ca¡michael's assinine rematk (madq incidentally, before his mrirriage to Miriam Makeba, after which he has never been heard from again) refe¡red not just to white women, but to black as wel! and served to underline how pervasive sexist secution, and came, toq because as Jewg propaganda (perpetrated by men-who else?) they were not allowed to become full men¡ hæ been Even socalled revolutionary mèn bers of the nascent Socialist groups which Farrot it, even genuinely oppressed men. ¡ were forming in Europe. Añd so they built Women are the underdogs who even get their Socialism in Palestine, building a kicked by other underdogs. We are the higher standard of living and a sense of very bottom of the pecking order. working together for a common goal of a Neverthelesg Lury,l who was also a Jewish state which would be egalitarian for fat child with a pathetic lack of physical all its inhabitants coordination; I who was "reassured" that They have realized many of their goals; my shortcomings weren't important because despite the BritistL despite the Arabg. äll I would have t'o do was kóep house; I despite the Holocaust They have accomwho wanted to go to sea like Melvillq to plished making a flouishing, beautiful fornicate like Dylan Thomas (I am no less country out of that smalt neglected land. attractive), to blaze through the world like It needs to be! -DEET LEWIS Swift and Voltaire; I,'who have all these Chicago, IL things in mg and was trained to flirt and be chæte and behave likè a lady; I who ùe have just received a letter from Cao ngoc llike you, went mad at 14 and 19 and 3'1, Phuong of the Vietnamese Buddhist Peace extend to you a deeply felt compassion, r Delegation in Paris Following are excEpts and welcome you to weep openly with me I am writíng to ask if Women Volunteers And I apologize for my hasty, hurtfulr+ can devote morc time for frndíng sponsormafk. shíps for orpluns, Let's help each other'f¡om now ott. As you løtow the whole of Víetrum is . . -LEAHFRITZ York, NY I'm really moved to write, because I'm happy to have read the l4l2Sl74l aticle on the situation in Israel I wish I had written it; it isjust the way I feel Having been a part of the American peace movement since the old Ban the Bomb and Strontium 90 days, I have bpen surrounded, by people whq for the most part have been anti-Israel I grew up in America, but in a strong Zionist-Soìiafist youth movement, and lived on Israeli kibbutzim in 1953 and 1952. Agreeing 2 WlN øcpeúencíng economic crisß ønd even famílíes in the c¡ti¿s w¡th io;bs frnd it very difficuh to buy enough rìce to eat, In many areas starvatíon now øctsts, especíaþ ín the provinces which suffered tloodíng last November and in the pst month have been attacked by tornødo. lle have received rø ports of sevqol children alre¿dy havíng died from hunger, In Quang Ngaí over 28,000 people løve no food at ølL In Thw Thíen province we have hod repotts oÍ ovet , 23,000 people staning with descriptions of 8 víllages wherc the people øre fainthg ønd loam¡ng at theír mouths because of lack of nuuition These people høve been tryìng to survive for months on no nøre thon a bowl of thín soup a day and the Ieaves and roots of wíld plants, extent this results from the relatively low competitive urge in women, which does not shike me as bad. But low earning power is more the tesult.of female inhibitions aeainst developing skills and abilities, which .iomen have cultivated since childhood as â strategy to enslave solne man by becoming People ín these provinces wo*ed doy and nfuht to replant ûopsøftø the fall flæds but the ûrast rccent storrns hove. destroyed a prt of them ønd others have not grown because of the efects of chemi cal deþIiants in the soil lt)e are very worrÍed for their lives We lave been able to roíse some aíd ovqseøi but only enowh to buy enough rice to feed people for a few days, The workers in Vietnom ore continuing to replant crcps but iÍ thqe ¡s no relíef from hunger noq how will they be able to contínue workingond who will thqe be living and strong to haruest the øops? This message needs to reach more people There is a way to helpi The Buddhistq tluough the School of Youth fo¡ Social Servicq have set up a system of sponsörships for Vietnamese orphans They hare photo $aphs of children who can be assureil á place with a family and get food and schooling for $6.00 a month Cörrespo¡dence can be set up between the child and thþ sporisoring American family. This can be arranged eitñer by sending the money directly to Laura Hæsler, Liaison Office of the Vietnamese Buddhist Peace Delegatior¡ Fellow- ship of Reconciliation, Box 271, Nyacþ NY 10960, or the money m¿y be sent to us. An important aspect of fhis effort is that in the process of trying to find American . families who would support a child one can talk about why there is need for this kind of help. The issre of starving children carr not be divo¡ced from politics Nirt only are the people not getting adequate help from the government due to corruption and minimal concetn for their welfarg but the government is actively oppressing them in denying large irumbers the rþht to return to their anceshal homes where they cifrld raise food fo¡ themselves This program is an example of help getting through via a norÞgoúernmental source. Ideally we would like aid to be channeled through the National Council of Reconcilia. tion and Concord" If hes..Thieu knew that that was the only way he could get any US assistance he would probably allow it to be formed in sho¡t o¡der. In order to encourage this process, we ask allreaders to write their Congresspersons to vòte against all ail to Thieu's gove¡nment and to channel any humanitarian aid from th€ US government through the National Council of Recorr ciliation and Concord" ' lVe urge readers to consider sponsoring a child themselves, or to contact other in dividuals or groups who might do so -IVOMEN VOLUNTEERS TO VIETNAM 474 Center Street Newton, Mass" 02158 Now it's Wendy Schwartz popping off against men and also against women who pop of on the wrong issues She coÍÈ. plains that $3 an hour is not enough to bring freedom to her. Welt $5 an hour doesn't liberate the men who get it eithertheir greed for ever higher wages and habits of consumption enslaves then¡ The main reason women earn less is they üe wofth less to the employer. To a minor him. " dèpendent on Now, súddenly, some women are re belling against that indignity, but failing to recognize how much the problem is of thei¡ own making. Hence all the loud outcrieg 166¡i¡g'for ân external source to explain ' petsonal houbles. But the deepest mistake of Wendy Schwa¡tz is one she shares with most citybound people, left & rþht, men & women, pacifist & wal-maker. It is her assumption that humiliatirg or dead€ning work is jus tified by the income it produces, and theJ leisure and pleasure it buys She extends this principle even to marriage. To all of this I want to suggest a simple and ancient idea: the work we do is the f¡st and decisive wayrve define ourselveq tÊgardless ofwhat we get in ¡eturn. Seconô ly and almost as important are the private 'relationships we form and maintain lf we cainot express love by our daily work, then .' personal relations will not lead to mucl¡" And if domestic.life is a jockeying for advantagg then it is hard to imagine how verbal or other dfpressions of noble feelings can have much MENU reality. The peace movement has its share of peqple frantically trying to compensate for the emptiness of thei¡ vscations and persònal lives. In women's movement writing s¡ch as WIN publisheg hostility and resentment against sociêty and especially men is a cor¡ stant theme, While that movement has Qther and healthier motives, why should a maga¿þe devoted to nonviolence give much sup port to the more negative parts of women's lib? It may be that rauçaus denunciation of "male chavinism" Úll sell more magazines But since when is the quality of nonviolence measufed by the mere bulk of its followifig? -ARTHUR HARVEY Soïth Acworth NH j 21,1974 Vol. X, Number 23 lune 4., No Nukes.isGood Nukes. .. . ...,. ..., What is the ¿NS ., AEC? ... Nuclear Power Plants Can Be TheTime ls Now!..:;:.. Peter D. G, Br'own .. .6 Stopped- ' r .....7' NOPE. in Mass. . . Harvey lüasser.'møn : OnTopplingtheTower. ..... Som Lorìëjoy 14 \., t Resourcer..... .ì17 Compiled by Peter D..G. Brown - Changes. .18 . Reviews. .20 Cover: Keystone Power Plant, PAr STAFF maris cakarE editor susan cakars, ed¡tor¡al ass¡stant nancy johnsonr des¡gn mary mayo, subscrlptlons Thanks to a special grant of $1,000 from the War Resisters League goal. $1 3,355.66 has now come ¡n towards our $20,000 campaign it has taken us that the fact it is, but ¿hd money a lot of líke That sou nds nine weeks to reach this pol nt means that this week we will probabl y agarn be late with salaries and last week we came w¡thin two days of having our phone cut off. The hounds of bankruptcy continue to nip at our heels. ' I want to emphasize that this campaign is no gimmick but a life and death matter for WlN.'Unless we achieve our goal-and soon-there will be no more WIN in your mailbox every week. No mtire Leah Fritz' Murray.Bookghin, l David tVlcReynolds, stolen FBI documents, Ean Berrigan, Barbara ' ¡ Deming and all the rest of the gang: Finislred. . Eigñt years of building "thJliveliest magdzine on the left" will be done.And it wiil happen at a timè of unprecedented growth for us while other i' movement pubiications are losing cirõulattôn, cutt¡ng back and ev9n'foldinglx\."'Wp firmly 6elieve-and the many, many letters-of encouragemcnt that.we rrä"" iãäé¡"ø rr.to* it'ài iñ eïlaiá thousands of people whã'sháre thii bel¡èf- . that WIN must not succumb to this trend of retrenchment" WIN can and must cont¡nue to grow. gut ¡t def,ends on.you. Can you afford$100 for a-lifetime subscription? Can you afford $20 fòr 200 more issues? Çan you afford to share a port¡on of this week's paycheck? Many readers have already done whatever they can to help. We want to extend our deepèst thanks to them; Oühers are unable'to help because they are in pr¡son, uhempíoyed, on welfare oÍ rêtired. Nevertheless we very rnuch apprec¡ate their support and are cont¡nuing the struggle on their behalf. Can you help? 4^^-i C"["^. susån ptireí c-ompos¡tlon : ' , fred rosenr edlfôrlal,asslstánt ' martha thomases, edífbtiãl ass¡stänt t' FELLOW TRAVELÉRS#, lance belville + ¡erry coff¡n + lynne cofl¡n dlana davles + ruth dear + ralph clig¡a + chuck fritz fager + seth foldy + j¡m. forest t leôhgrace larly.gôra + neil haworth + ed hedeman + johnson + paul iohnson nedãman + Þecky .a!llson karpel + cra¡g karpêl + ¡Jetef k¡ger + joh.n jul¡e jackson + maclow.i+ linzer '{{<¡4rer.r+'e.tiot maas + david mcreynolds + mark morr¡s + llm + + nålcy peck + tacl r¡chards igal foodenLo rosen + wendy schwaftz + mike stãmm + brlan w€5ter + boverly box \iroodwald. 547, r¡fton new york ,,-t" ' 'úqlt telephone 914 339-4585 WIN ¡s publishect weekly exçept fór the first two weeks in January, 2nd wèek ¡n May, l¿st 4 weeks ¡n Auqust. and the last week ¡n OctÕber by ttre WIN Publish¡n9 Empire with the support oi the Wãr Res¡sters League, Subscr¡ptions are $7.OO per year. Second class postage at New York, N.Y. lOOOI. lnd¡v¡dual writers are re- sponi¡ble for op¡n¡ons expr'essed and accuracy df facts g¡ven. Sorry-manuscr¡pts cannot be returned -unless accõmpanied by . a self-addressed stamped enveloÞe. Pr¡nted in U.S.A. Maris Cakars .&412 WIN 3 .î, these safe, inexhaustible, and non-polluting means not only kept them secret but has refused to implement thém. Ñader said, "several large nuclear I þower plants are now opeiating in locations which ine nEb Regulatory Staff believes to be unsa'fe be-' cause of the large number of people that m¡ght bo exposed to lethal doses of radioactivity in an åccident: --: ', : bome of these plants are situated neai'New Ycírk City,i' Chicago, and Detroit 'According to the Staff's new " way of determining safe locations for nuçlear poyer' plahb, nearly one óut of every ihree nuclear.pows[ i ' plant sites now proposed is únsafe." ; *" ' "For the betler part ofa year. however, the AÊC by has refused to enact the siting standards drawn up the AEC Regulatory Staff. The Commission was t warne¿ Uy tñe industry that thère would be adverse public reácfion from issuance of the new criteria be' casue the criteria would alert the public to the nuclear safety problem. This wàrni¡8 came from industry " representatives-from Commónwealth Edison, Southqrñ California Edison, Pacific GaS and Electric, Consoiidated Edison, Philadelphia Electfic, and Public'service of New Jersey-who met secretly with AEC ' ofücialslon April 12, 1973. The Cominlssion hàs plain' ly heeded the public relations advice offered by the. .¡;dustry. Hg¡¿could the AEC tell people iqçne .t region that more heavily populated areas should be i T spãred but that their lives and propert)/ were worth the risk?" UCS called upon the Joint (Congressional) Committee on Atomic Energy to recommend lts own ,r disgolutio-n-an{.o¡ tho l-eader¡hip. of the Congress to set up-d SelectComm¡ttee to investigate and report 'ön the safety hazards associated with nuclear power. Clearly, the fight has been, and will be, a difficult one. lt must be waged on the national leúel, on state levels, and on local levels throughout the country. But the fight can be won. As Peter Brown says in the title to Èis story of the Highland struggle Nuclear Power'Plants Can Be Stopped=The Time ls Now! . , ' ' of has producing power. No Nukes isGood Nultes from two small communities trying to stop the construction of nucleai power plants in their back yards. These are two among scores of communities with similar stories. The utility companies decided that Highland, NY and Montague, Mass. were good sites for.the nukes, and began to make plans for their construction. ln both communities they met stiff opposition. ln both com' munities the fight goes on. While approaches to action may differ from community to community,.the goal ln this issue of Wl N, we present'reports is the same: stop the nukes while there is still time; restore some saniçy to our consumption of energy. A succinct case against the construction of nuclear power plants is made in question and answer form by the Concerned Citizens of Highland. We quote: ' Who is most actively supporting nuclear energy?. The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), the large utility companies, the maior oil companies who own most of the uranium reserves in the US, and those corporations which have already invested over $40 billion in the development of nuclear reactors, clearly stand to profit from their proliferation. All of these companies would obviously stand to lose their in' vestments if alternative sou.rces of energy were given priority. What is a reactor core meltdown and how could it happen? The heat generated within the reactor core exceeds 4000oF and is controlled by the continuous flow of cool water. lf this flow is interrupted by a leak or rupture in any one of the many pipes, then "the emergency core cooling system will have to spray into or flood the reactor core within 5 or 10 seconds. Other' wisg one is no longer dealing with a reactor core but a glowing mass of molten and melting material for which additional cooling or preventative measures are no longer effective" (Quoted from Dr. Ralph E' Lapp, noted energy consultant and a supporter of nuclear power). The resulting steam explosions would then ejectlarge amounts of concentrated radioactivity into our environment. Exactly what are the chances of a reactor mett down? 'know until it actually Nobody knows, and nobody will happens. lnlate1970, the emergency core cooling- syitem failêd six straight tests conducted by the AEC in a mock-up reactor. tn every test the emergency coolant failed to get through to the reactor because of steam accumulationl Despite this critical cooling'sys. tem weakness, the AEC would like us to believe that the odds against a meltdown are in the order of one billion to one. You can be sure, however, that if we , proceed with plans to rapidly increase the number of nuclear plants, we are hastening the day when that castastrophe wil I occur. How will radioactive discharges from a "normally" , operat¡ng Plant affect us? Although the AEC apparently does not feel that this question deserves a thorough investigation, indepen4 WIN dent scientists have studied the effects of nuclear plants on the health of surrounding communities. They have concluded that increased radiation has re sulted in a dramatic rise in disease, and infant mor-, tality. lt is the overwhelming consensus of radiologists, biológists, and geneticísts that any amountof radia' tion ðntaíls some genetic risks, resulting in increased birth defects. í724.7million 415.5 million 168.6mirrion 50.0 million . 44.7 million 41.8million.:.... What effect wilt several 400 ft. high cooling towers have on our area? cooling towers will be required for each Two gigantic u"r.i "oiunt built ilieach community, and mgst sites äventuily contain 3 or 4 plants. Thesè 400 ft. high cooling tówers, which will dominate the landscape trom aÏt directíons, will spew 80,000 tons (19 million gallóns) of water vâpor into the air every day' Much of ih¡s water will be visible as a heavy, thick vapor cloud many miles long; The climate around plants with cool' ing tôwers has been significantly altered,. with the added-moisture and decreased sunlight causing fog,frozen roadways, ánd croP damage. How long will the deadly radioactive wastes from a nuclear plant have to be stored? Plutonium 23g, the longest-lived waste product and the most dangerous substance known to man, will ' have to be safely stoy'ed away for 24Q000 years. lç order to prevent leakage or theft for use in atom bombs, it must be kept absolutely protected from geologícal disturbances, civil strife; or enemy attack. Íne REC readily admits that the problem of radioac' . :t tive disposal is far from being solved. . ls the government investing equally in these ¡lterira' tive sources of energY? Again we find'the AEC playing a doininant role and, actually formulating President Nixon's energy budgèt. Ãn examination of ihe nat¡on's,energy resêãr'ch and developrhent budget for'1975 shows what an unbalanced approach we are taking: ..'.... .nuclearfission .::::::;:;::.ilr;;;i;iåil .....: i.. ...... .geother.malenergy But won't my taxes go down? Our taxes will go down only if privge corporations build the olants. lf the Power Authóritv oT the State of New Yórk (PASNY) builds the plants, tþey will not be taxable. In fact our Axes will have to go up to compensate for tlle 1,900 acres that the State would .remove from the Town tax rolls. Spokesmen have indicated that PASNY will probably become an agency like the TVA, and will have the responsibilitl' foi building New York's power plants, all of them tax free The reason for this is the desperate financial plight of the electric companies, as indieted by the State's recent take:over of two Con Edison plants. Power compâhies just cannot afford to buìld $800 million dollar power plants. In the event that a private' utility would'buifd here, our,taxes would go down, but low taxei would be an. ince.ntive for people to move here, creating steadily gròwing demandsfor schools, sewers, police and fire protection, highways and their maintenance, etc. Our taxes would soon start to go up again. . lf nuclear power really is dangerous, why does'the government want to use it? The government did not fsresee the current energy shoriage and was'not prepared to meet it Nor did it' anticipãte the many still unresolved safety problems posed by nuclear energy. The Administration has ielied on the,AEC, the only governmental agency dealing with.energy, for its energy policy; thereforê; it is hardly surprising that this policy would emphasize the increased use of nuclear energy' , Can the growirlg demand for power be met without nuclear energy? 2O% of our electrical needs are for the heating and cooling of our homes. Solar energy can fill this need¡ and can be commercially profitable within two years (Business l\eek Mogazìne). Tnis would be much cheap er for the homeowner'thán relying on fuel and utility companies, because the equipment requir-ed is a one timeonly expense, and the sun is free, safe, and un' limited. Although additional research is needed, we already know that gasification of coal will soon be commêrcially availáble to us. The US has more coal than any other nation in the world. Furthermore, fhe wind, tlie earth,,and the sea,contain practically un-, limitéd amounts of urútapped energy. We waste as much as 4O% of the power produced in the count¡y, lf we eliminated such còstly waste, there would be no energy shortage and we-would have time to implement About five months ago Ralph Nader and the Union of Concerneil Scientists (UCS) ma¿e public the results of a secret Atomic Energy Commissio4rstudy on the safety of nuclear power plants. The October 1973 AEC Tæk Force report concluded that serious safety problems are ttbesieging" the country's nuclear power plants and that the level of safety of nuclear power þlants is "still an unanswered question." Scattered throughout this issue are quotes from that report (in bold - .'"This seciet 1 91 - pàge report com pletely.contradicts AEC offcial pronouncements on nuclear power plant safet¡" Nader told the Joint CongresSional Corn mittee on Atomic Energy. "AEC Chairwofnan Dixy Lee Ray has been telling everyone that there is only'one chance in a million' per re¿ctor'year of a major ntr clear power plant accident, but she is plainly mis - tYPe). . representing the facts. The secret Tapk Force study concludes that it has not been est¿blished that ac" cidents are that remote. Moreover, so many mal' functions in nuclear power plant safety eq¡ripment have occurred in recent years and so many new safety problems discovered that the Task For-ce'does not ' believe' that there is'the required confiCence level that the prob-ability for such [a major] accident is one in a million or less per reactor'yeat."' ln addition to the secret Task Force report on nuclear saf ely, Nader and UCS also disclosed that the AEC Regìilatory Staff has propospd new guide lines for nuclear power plant siting btit thãt the AEC '-l'VlN- : ' I \ilhat is thøAEG?: Early in March, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), on behalf of the White House, .sent'Congress Èropúed changes in legislation which Would leave nucle^ar pl4nt safety reviews presently done by the Advisory Committee on Nuclear Safeguards up to the AEC alone. This miive.seekf-io shorten, from ten years lo six, the time belwçen piôposál aná éompletion of a nu¡ clear Þowqtgl¿ìrt.Presjdent Nixon called for sucþ a -i . nlove i n h is eniiþy itretsäge'.to-C:ongress n J an uary. * ,rsinee lts creation by an act of Congress in 1946,' t the AEC has been continuously acôused ofan inherent conflict of interest in its dual role as both regulator and promoter of nuclear energy. William Doubt, an AEC Commissioner, said that the proposed measure would sþeed the cumbersome process of plant-by-plant review by allowing the AEC to approve standardized plants in advance., Because of these socalled "preclearance" features; a utility company proposing a nuclear plant woùld thqn face a hearing on a specific.operating license only, "if questions regarding technological changes or advances or violations of commission require¡nents were raised," said the AEC. The power behínd the Commission, including Coni- wlN 5 tî, mission Çhairwoman Dixy Lee Ray, b'elieves that the AEC's major role is research and development and promotion. A.minority position, inside ihe AEC, holds that its most important function should be regulating the nuclear power industry, contending that thc AEC, eager to comply with Nixon's order to shave four years off each nuclear plant application procedure, is willing to sacrifice public safety. It has becn pointed out that the regulatory safcty budget stands at less than 970 millton óompared to a total AEC budget of $3.9 billion. The AEC counters that the regulatory budget rose 25% for fiscal 1974. But regulãtory officialiinsist that their work load has increased at a far greater rate. Besides this organizational evidence that the AEC . . is committed more to promotion than to regulation, there is evidence that critics inside the AEC and in the nucleár power industry at largo haie suffered reprisals and faced harrassment when they made public criticisms of AEC policy and decisions. ln 1969, two scientists at the AEC's Livermore Radiation Laboratory called for a ten-fold reduction in thp amount of radiation considered safe for the public. These scientist¡ Dr.,John W. Gofman and Dr. Arthur R. Tamplin, asserted that if current limits were mainfained, about 32,000 additional deaths from cancer could be expected annually. Before the report was published, the AEC tried to get Tâmplin and Gofman to stifle iL When the report came out anyway, other scientists were found who would support the AEC's claim that the toaín's numbers were inaccurate, Since then, the prestigious National Academy of Sciences has said that the allowable radiation figure is indeed too high and has called for a 1OO-fold re- duction. At the end of 1973, Nixon simply reassigned authority.which had previously belonged to the Environmental Prorection Agency (EpA) tq the AEC. This was the authority to regulate the raäiation emissions in all phases of the uranium nuclear fuel cyclefrom mining of uranium ore, through fabrication, use in the power plant and subsequent disposal. Significantly, the decision calne just when the EPS was about to propose stricter radiation standards. One scientist who is a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists-a group which has been actively opposing AEC policies as unsafe and inadequatesa_id that the decision put the nation in the position of having "the goat guard the cabbages.', earlier, the Union of Concerned . - .About ahddyearforced Scientists the AEC to conduct public hearings on the pressing safety issues surrounding the nuclear power industry, especially the issue of emergency core cooling systems (FCCS). The emergency core cooling system is a babkup system to cool the hot reactor core if the regular cooling system is lost for any reason. lt tne gCCs doesn't work within seconds of the initial water loss, the.core will overheat and melt down, causing a release of radioactive gas. Tþis type of catastropþic accident could cause hundreds of thousands of radiation deaths, both im mediate and from premature radiation- induced cancers, not to mention property loss.and land con- tamination. Dr. Morris Rosen of the AEC's own staff testified at the hearíngs. The supervisor of technical stan6 WtN dards of the ECCS, Rosen spoke of ,,undeniably serious gaps," and went on to say that,,margini of safety once thought to exist do no! and yeireactor power levels continue to increase, resulting in an even more tenuous situation." . The AEC was shaken by his testimonv and Dr, Rosen was "promoted" out of his job to another post. Rober-t Çomar was Rosen,s assistant. He spoke openly of cuir.ent safety standards not proviàing adequate safety for the public. He has since ,,reiigned. J.C. Hare was Manager of Safety at Aerojet, w-hich runs'safety tests exclusively for thè AEC. Aiter complaining publicly that his reports were censored by the Commission, Hare found himself in another jób. And AEC experts aren't the only people who arg .harassed for making complaints. Utility company employees who ask too many questions have alio bêen fired or harassed. . John Ziegler, fôr instance, worked as a nuclear,engineer at the Trojan Atomic Plant in Oregon. He was worried about the design of the ECCS at the plant b-ecause the emergency water supply came through a single pipe and the power station was on the Paclfic Coast an area prone to earthquakes. He wrote a memo to the Project Engineer and the Chief Mechanical Engineer who said that it wasn't their business as long as the AEC requirements were being met. Then he wrote a letter to the AEC in which he outlined the situation. He wanted to bring up the matter in a public hearing, a request which upset his employers. They persuaded him to withdraw the letter promising that they would do an "in-company" study of the problem. He withdrew the letter, the public hearings passed, ànd_!he.promised study never took place. Subsequent- ly, Ziegler was fired. Cail Houston was a welding specialist at thq, du'ú rey Atomic Plant in Virginia who was fired halfway lh¡-ough construction of the planl He reported over 550 welding faults and was told e¡ther to go along with their standard welding procedure-which he said was unsafe-or be fired. After beíng fired, Houston tried to get authorities to investigate his charges and was blackballed from all construction and utility work. FBI agents harall his relatives and neighbors and are still following and annoying him. r Two weeks after he left the plant, a secondarial steam line blew and killed two workers. This type of harassment is not surprising when you consider that critics of the nuclear power iãdustry' t¿ke on the- most powerful business lobby in América:. the energy industry: At those A-EC public hearings on safety, lawyers were present flom all the big corporationi that build atomic energy plants. . General Electric, with assets of $7 billion; Westinghouse Electric, 93.5 billion; Babcock and Wiison, $660 million; Combustion Engineering, $721 miilion, represent a serious power bloc. The 18 power com-. panies who run reactors have assets close to g30 billion. And the policies of the AEC have proven ¡t to be more than responsive to pressure from industrv. ln the conflict taking place in rhe AEÇ publíc safety is the loser. assed him,..questioned -LNS Ntru l0¡u' lDowor lDlnilfs O:rn lï: Sfirypotl- * 'l'h:'l'¡mo ls NtÑ! 71" wogld bring the nation to its knees in the event öf nr"t"u, power issue is steadily shaping up as one successful enemy attack, even of the ma¡or environmental, political, apd economic struggles óf the 1 970's. lt cuts across class lines, since co.me to.a.standst¡lt me.¡iú.toilo*¡ne a maiõí nuclear would wish to -disasier àitywhere in the world; nobody 'risk continued use of this pqwer source, once such an event actually took place; who would want to live ¡ which is President Nixbn'.s use of nuclear energy as an ¡nstrument of foreign policy. He has agreed to sell Egypt, and probably also other nations in the Nliddlç Eãót. a.nuclear technology which will enable them to " masí produce atomic bcimbvin the foreseeable future, ali under'the guise of "atoms for peace" and magnanimous.foréign aid. Unfortunately, it will probably .take a mâjoi nuilear disaster to bring the world to its senses and force it to see the PandQ¡a's box that we have so eagerly been prying open over thê past two decades. if one were calried out with conventional weapons or guerrila sãbotage. An economy that relied heavily on nuclear energy would no õnL group has'a monopoly on ignoranbe, greed,. opportuiism, or apa(þy. lt cuts across nationai and ititãi"áiià"át'bouridai¡ós, the latest manifestation of I I a The anti-nuclear peo¡ile, scattered across the earth's most ¡ndustr¡ally advanced hations, face a formidable array of antagonists: the powerful, highly secretive, and well-funded shaper of our country'5 national energy policy, the Atomic Energy Confm-ission;,the majoîoil companies who control most o-f óur recov(along wíth moit of the oil, äiã'¡rl ,iunìrm deposits 'gas); the vast electronics empires shale. and natural suchãs General Electric and Westinghou;e; and a host of major business enterprises ranging from.the giant conglómerates to insurance compan¡es and financial instltutions. Anyoòe who has invested heavily in the exploitation of an energy sourc-e oþviously stands to lose a fortune if that method of electrical generation is no longer permitted to be put into comm.ercial use' For tñe pâst 20 years, literally tens ofrbillions of dollars haúe been poured into the research and de' ¡'peaceful atom." Now, with over velooment of the 40 nuclear plants in operation aroundJhe country and hundreãs more in the construction and planning stases. we stand on the awesome threshhold of a new ãnð térrifying age. A full-fledged nuclear economy anywhere near one that was still in operation? Even a fully developed, totally accident-free nu- 'clear economy could only maintain itself for several decades before completely exhausting all our recoverable uranium. Then for the next'240,000 years, , ; .' mankirid would have the task of guarding over the plants' radioactive waste products, notably pliitoñiuhi 239, the most carcinogenic element known to man. The proliferation of nuclear fission energy makes even less sense, and is certainly far more dangerous, than America's shameless involvement in lndochina' One major nuclear accident could easily cause more casualties than were inflicted on American soldiers 'durihg . thé entire war in Vietnam, Clearly, then, the, time to stop this nuclear proliferation is now, while rhere is sfìll a,çh,+ñ¿e ;\ Ny potqnäl dxþerience with anti-nuclear áctìvity has.been in tliree different capacities: ás head of the Mid-HuddöÈl'Þrrä Glùbls T3s(force on Nucleai ' r. Ehergyr.¿s codrdinator of the New Paltz Faculty Rgàiñst Nuclear Pollution, and as a founder and ': executive committee mqmber of the Concerned Citizens of Highland. While my experience'is limited in time and place, there are a number of ideas that I would like to share with those readers who are con'. sidering forming, or are already in the process of run' ning a group opposed to nucle4r power. I will begin w¡th the very basics: Start immediately by getting as much factual information as possible. A sizeable amount of materials relating to questions of safety and siting can be ob' l¡T lDofi:r D.G. lSron'n wlN 7 .: T, power plants is through appropriatgfederal i.li.lation. lt w¡ll certainly require an enormous part l"åãrnt of cooperation and perseverance on the the multimill¡on overcome lÏ'iurttur opponents to i"ifar l'oUuving efforts on behalf .of the nuclear in' ï;rv, Goverñment officials and business executives It¿ie þuuliclv that they don't think the anticnuke 'ñu.lt.nt has a prayer of a chance for ultimate suc.o.. but neither did these same men think ten years äi\nã¡the anti-war movement would prevail. And i"f,o-woul¿ have dreamed of Richard Nixon's im' ntrcleat "' ' 'freedom ' from accidents does not necessarily.demonstrate a sufficiently-low level of risk. is especialty uasó-ólä¡ri".dñ;erat¡ng history has notThis been estabrished.,, true in an emerging technology wherein a uroad P.10 "The ultimate determination of the accepìabte levet of public risk is actually a mafter which should be dçbated and established in the public arena. lt isä potitical q"LJtñ'*'híi'h'ännot "d; a regutarory {"rrËit;öËä technicar decision. rt ii reco-qnizeJìr,ât æJr,îiä ¡rüi"iär"il'ñ'i,-iiitäï *,"1;ñ#dîåäîoî"¿, especiarry or as related to the occurrence oflow probability ¡n ttre case ôînr-.¡.", ,oaorE the level of risk is presentty diffcult for even the engineer to quantify,-áñ""gnt-r. ¡" ä.t, ¡i'ñrt ff;åöl;"" fñit;rd'biilå.;' oeachment in1971, only three years âgo? Getting information to the people is not an unfamiliar tãsk for professional educators, lawyers, For the i;i;ñ", politicíans, PR'men, and clergymen.con' üv puulitist as well, this task, which requires rêextiemely be can ingenúity, planning ind riá.iiu¡t p. t 1 "The risks to the public from a reactor is trulv a vatue iudgement. For simplicity it may be expressed as the total of all risks which result in a degradation ot tÉe humãn'ãü¡ro;"ü;;r the respective accident probabÍities. However, quantificatùn;f;'Ë;l;lt,ä¡l .oh"uiuà6te-icclðónts, weighted by rinlî,¡¿rnt¡ficarion of all possible accident combinarions has not ueehä"-i-omp¡¡;ir;;.;; "'-"' ' ñöi¡.;i,;ä p..r2 k ;';if ilz';:ii:ä:[,*i Reoctor Licensins Process," the secret AEC sìudy on the sørety or nucteat power r ["jJ: f :.8 nergy co ion tf DC 20545). lf you want to address your 1S::9, Il: (wash¡ngton, r j mm i ss i rse Lequests to an individuai, yoú.un *r¡iãio ÀÉc .C.hairwoman Dixy Lee, Ray or AEC Commissioner William Doub. Be sure to ask for copies of the1957 n Re porr ( wash-t¿oj uná'i ñã iii t-tãassifie¿ Rasmus:enReport, due to be released in,,early sum-. mer." Tte.Rasmussen Report, on which the R'gC has spent 92 million, explores the potential damage from a. catastrophic_ nuclear accident. lt will also seil" us rne basts lor the current legislatíve struggle over re newal of the 1957 priceAñderson Act ã-nd the whole question of nuclear insurance. The Joint Committee on lJgpj: Enersy (House offce Buitdíng, Wãihington, OC Broci k have 2051S)..can also be used as a source oíomiiâi-ies"ar"n and policy reports. A detailed list of peoplq books, and ^.oaniration to plug into appears at [nJen¿ of th . le. 'itl ¡ - minimum of half-a-dozen firmly committed, tüe. rroïr€d voters in your area, establish a ci¡tizens,' group to oppgle (or at least invesíigate) the ihreatened power plqnf, The meetings ¡nit¡ally-can'simplv be Uullsessions irr the privacy ofì livíng-rãor. U.ãtät l"urt twrce a honth tiling to add enthusíastic housewives, educators, resp-ci.ed citizens (senior as *eli aiirnioii 1nd, if-a! att possibte, scie¡tifit."frrii riålfi.ín¿r. uut or. üny acorns do mighty oaks grow. A citizens' group opposed to a n-uclear power plant __ serves several purpoJ.. . to ascertain, acquiie, and' orgest retevant data concerning the proposed' site and nuclear energy ín general; to cómmüniåiã thlilnt"rmat¡on to as many members and groups *itfrin community as.possible; to persuaãe legislators, civic grgups, and other sensitive pressure sources to pub_ licly oppose the planr; and Lltimatelv, io iiop it tt, " 8 WtN plant through court action. îhus the functíons of the y þroad.t spea ki ng orienred roward gatheri ng fl 3^11 ^T.,,d ísseminati ng i nformati on, apptyi ng politica pressu.re,. and instÍtuting appropriate legal aciión. At_ îT1f{, though these four primáry iunðt¡ons i a" logical 5equerfce lITlTr[,y..prbined, rhere is a cerrain"uïot"n llY9'Ild; Io' can't applv political pressure untii you nave an tnformed electorate, 4nd you can,t educate about a comptex tecÍrnololy ting the facts. . Gathering information on nuclear energy usually is a long painstaking task, one that *qrirãrïr"ths and somertmes years. Actuall¡ it is a never.ending process, devetopmenrs áíe ocurring *uéilv'ãrou n¿ :!ry: rne counrry. Make sure to get on the mailinþ lists of the national nuclear resource centers as sooñ as po$ -rrã* (see sible appended l¡sfl. ño ;;her ããli"*".¿ peop.le *i*,""iiñüä.¡ ".y parücúlar tgwrr or u"il./ vär1ru, there are equaily dedicated irôups tilie your ow.n fighting nr¡kes frorircoãrt ioiõiitl'!úe have lE¡eat dgal to learn from each other's tr¡umpñs an¿ litigarion it .õnrt"ntly l1'jy*^q: l1ergy nor ar "all to be oúertooked] fld-,I"ally,.bur conti n u i ng devel o pments i n the nation,s ,at" 11". -tl_"1-9 caprËr, rn rhé form of federal eneîEy legislation. AEC and hea.rings before irl, c-onsr.J'Jo¡ni Lommtrree on Atomic Energy. ,. Allof these seemingly reñiote activities have a : :ll.:.^3?lllq ol you.r particular situatíon. Nor onty 1!9:f 9wn don't Jorr. forget lfll ;;;ü;s pi{,:1li:ll can naüonal anti-nuclear organizations help your pãitláninciarry f-","*:]:u'..c.lou.p¡houïJil'9'rf ano ornerwrse-the vihl.work being performed by the tobby in wasñington."Evãl ii ¡ø¡r¡áuãi99_119rvati9n states eventually pass moratoiium leg¡slatiort ïhãðiiy way we are ever going to get a natioñwíde bán on warding. News releases from your grrup to the press åîåÏtðu¿.utt media can be most efective,'especially ìi'uorit.ltutes deal with genuinely newsworthy items' wJIf-*riit"n releases are Jften printed verbatim in.the öõ;t; ánd topica[.statements-can be telephoned into stations for newscast tapings. iadio '--ii *"tt helpful for a qualified spokesp.erson to be designated by the group as early as possible' A suc' cessful spokesperson will est¿blish good worktng coniiãir wiitt the pr¡nç¡pal newspaper reporters and iiaio/tu news àirectors. After an initial pprsonal meet' iñ*. ór'ton. and mail contacts should generally suffce' -informat¡onal meetings, slide and film presenta' t¡ons. suest lectures Uv lðcãt or outside experts (phys- ' icists, 6¡ otog¡sts, geneiicists, radiologists, geologists, etc.). oublic debates, talk show,appearancés, these are all wavs of bringing necessary information dirøctly to ifre pàãp1". vtany õt these activities can be carried out witti t¡tite or notmoney expended. Some local and ,ái" tot¡t"tuation groúps distribute réntal-free films, and the best, cþeapest location for showing them is åfien the town hail or local school auditorium' The iour most widely'distributed films can either be Ë"*d ãi purchaied for about $250-."(They are: reactorr unJ $lutonium fìlms available frôm lmpact Films, t+4 gteeðker Street, New York, NY 10012-,.and nu' clear and alternativés films from Churchill Filmq p.62 North Robertson Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90069)' lf ánly 25 activists in every state raised $1 0 and ;";i;á their resources, we could have ey'e'opening nuclear education films circulating around every,state some i;;ñ. scre"nines. These movies, whichonfg?ture nuclear and authorities o-utstanding olthe nation's ü¿i"i¡"n physics, are probably the sing-le rngst effectivà tool iir awakôning large numbers of pçople to the dansers of fission reactor plants' Nonetheless, a iesoäcted local physician, a high school science teacher, oiå tottrnity cóllege biolggist can be iust as effect¡ve ¡n àxoláinins,thehazards of radlation as a dis' tinguisheå NobeI Prize winning geneticist from Harvard. '-'Ë"* oeoole would disagree with the a4ion1 that exoert les;l advice should be brough{ into the groqp at [lt" .irÏiétt possible stage..saving your lega-l battle till ttre ÀEC heärings mean-s almost certainiefeat (more thang}t%of thãcases are lost past this point), and process' lf w¡ä ptóuautv cost you $-100,000 in the ãtiiutty, just the right lawye¡-will volu-nteer his pur' Since top-notch legal services generallymust be 'rl ai exorbita-nt costs, it wisc to begin.sctruting r around as early as possiblé for likely fìnancial resources' groups, counconservation be they from itate'or local ty, city, or town governments' Further advice and' :. tom.tímet even monetary support can be obtaiired r ." ': irom such national envirónmental-legal-dcfenie or- t eu;itiiiont as the Environmental Defense Fuñd and ¡h-e ir r stt' st.. NW. w;;hTüd;; Dc 20036) (two rcgionalaf; Õounçil Ñ;t*"i R;t;uices óefense î..tr ìzló N Street, NW, Washington, DC; 15 West'' 44th Street, New York, NY). strategy that There isîo one genérally applicable 'Some feel that groups for all ituations. can be valid r you can't win by uttu"ling nu.lear inergy per,se, .but íaìtrer sfroul¿ póint ort defects in the-particular site, e.g., detectablä seismic activity, insufficient amount oi-iut.t for cooling purposes,'or other local environ" mental hazards. Thãie lócal factors should cortainly li¿,î ñ ¡eñõi"álttìev have oftén proved decisive in de' feating ã plant that would otherwise have become a . realitv". H'owever, I am convinced that there is also are a 'hope îor residenis of an "ideal" site,.siñce therë of question entire the for sound'reasons nrtU"t of nutf"ut energy to be legally called into questign' The ãnuse¿ sij Êãurteenth Ãmen¿meñt to the Constitution clearly iurisdictioñ the equal.protection of the laws'"'The un¿ safety'of tÉose residents in communities surrounding nuciear plants can hardly-be said to'en- hiul* "orotectioñ'r by the state; if nuclear plants forbidden by law to be are thev that ü¡sute ärå so ð'ontttr"t"d in or anywhere near major population concentrations, then the residents of sparsely populated areas are not enioying equal protection under iov "equal laws. the state's ' I Oth., safety questions that might be raised in con- nectiãn with liii¡iat¡on to prevent an environmentally "ideal'r site: NUCLEAI=IVTASTES MñI\¡G¡- H\rcI{ì'EnlT 0rl¡ral I ..,i .a lhtâ{l I..EI.þSTæAEE trtrd¡ co á/\¿\& Vo, when't'tre group ii initially formed' Chances á.1. ttrãunrr. he wõn'L You may be best off with a mo.st active and ¡;"; õ;t '"f leial advisors, with.the.the i n ¡t¡at¡ve' ,étãrt..trf ãnes"grad ual ly assu mi ng I I toiÚ¡¿s any s1¿te to "deny to ariy person within its .oo' t o ' ..o! í.ivii.i I¡TAL l¡ur¡rtu¡l TlEl wA:fGn - (lrtidl ÎC¡An tlrl¿dl LNS WIN 9 l 1.) Nuclear fission reactors represent one of the a very slim chance of ultimately being able to defeat the plant. ln a crunch, though,ã referen¿um, no matter.which way ir goes, will b-uy precious t¡rnJ¿uiin[which other delaying strategies can be improvised. " tcleally, there should be several monthi before the actual vore for the issues ro be rhoroughly ããOltãJ - c The Ave. Help flght nuclear power, bump€r stlckers, 25ç and/or contrlbutlon, .from Nuclear Objectors for a Pure En v¡ronmênt, Box 30, Montãgue, Mass. 01351, Free llterature also ava¡lable. * The NATION 333 Sixth Ave. New, lot1 : Guardlan, 33 We6l ¡?ah St., New York, N.Y.i t00ll i : N¡me.'.'-.................,.....,....,.....,,..,..... : York, N. Y. 10014 and mention Cnif> when you do. Address.'........,'...........'.."...............'..'i C¡ry,..'.'....."...'......,...,St¡ae..,......21p.'.. r.4..........r... : WIN 23 T 'Tis Bcfter t! contact your local \Aâr Resisters League group -- ) NATIONALOFFICE "'^wãi' ããg Lafavette st't New Yðrk cltv' NY 10012 OFFICES ---*ãr' REGIONAL WEST. 1380 Howard st, 2nd Fl' Frañclsco, C4.94-103 ian Po Box 25363' Albuquerque' NM 87125 woqxsFloP lN NoNnrlÁÑià '" v.roieruce. Box v4771Atlanta' wnÏ'souinwEST, Ga 9o3oP . PtÃtlqs dlAres, 395o Ralnbow wnl '- Rd.,'Kansas city' Ks 66103' ' to Give a CALIFORNIA i wRL, 4840 W¡llowbrookj . tharlto lf you send a friend a gift subscrþr!9! j"'!-!,ry- ' ,i,óirã:of two free bõoks. FREE FIRE zoNE ,¿oiïä"i ,r*r;;-;.,i1-r.n¿ of 24 short stories written bv Vietnam iii,.otl"aion price: $Z;91) ïilîî;Ë'; g,