US to be Nuclear Dump?!

[RioBravoReptiles]

In today's Lowdown Jim Hightower warn us..
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You can listen to Jim read this at this link:
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http://jimhightower.com/sites/jimhig..._16_r_show.mp3
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EnergySolutions Inc. That name has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? But whose energy problems is this company trying to solve?
Italy’s, for one. That country has 20,000 tons of nuclear waste that it wants to dump somewhere, so this Salt Lake City corporation says that, for several million dollars, it will gladly import Italy’s waste and bury it in Western Utah. Great. Our country can’t figure out what to do with our own nuclear nasties, yet this corporate huskster would throw open our borders to everyone's trash. Send us your tired, your poor… your nuclear waste!
Not wanting America to be turned into a global dumpster, some lawmakers are trying to ban the importation of radioactive foreign waste. EnergySolutions has responded by applying the handy, dandy solution used for wiping away all corporate problems in Washington: money. In the last four years, company executives and investors have upped their political giving tenfold, dumping nearly $400,000 into congressional campaign coffers. They’ve also ramped up the corporation’s spending on Washington lobbyists, topping a million bucks last year.
When confronted with the obvious charge that they are trying to buy votes, Energy Solutions asserted that it is merely buying “access” to lawmakers. As a corporate spokesman explained, campaign cash “gives us the opportunity to participate with elected officials."
This is Jim Hightower saying … In other words, “the opportunity to participate with elected officials” requires a major cash transaction – a corruption that shuts out ordinary citizens, perverts the public interest, and mocks our democracy. This is a bigger, more toxic problem than nuclear waste, and one solution is to take the corrupt money out of the system with public financing of congressional elections.
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“Nuclear waste company in Utah boosts donations,” Durango Herald, April 27, 2008
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[X-Factor]

Working in that industry I can tell you that yes we do have our own issues in dealing with radioactive waste, but that's only a temporary problem; offering to import other countrie's waste is good practice (Italy is a small, heavily populated country with very little space to properly dispose of it) in an international sense. Trust me when I tell you, the handling of nuclear waste is WELL regulated.

[RioBravoReptiles]

Originally Posted by X-Factor

Working in that industry I can tell you that yes we do have our own issues in dealing with radioactive waste, but that's only a temporary problem; offering to import other countrie's waste is good practice (Italy is a small, heavily populated country with very little space to properly dispose of it) in an international sense. Trust me when I tell you, the handling of nuclear waste is WELL regulated.

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That the nuclear industry is heavily regulated is a well-known fact. Despite this we have accidents, melt-downs and a lot more we don't get to see. The same people that are supposed to be in charge of all this are telling us it's perfectly safe! then warning that bad-guys have access to everything they need to hurt us with nuclear materials! I'm sick of salespeople (politicians or industry salespeople) trying to make vital public policy for personal profit.
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The problem isn't lack of regulations it that the industry is self-regulating and we see where that get's us.. look at Mattel..
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Sorry, when it comes to the issue of nuclear waste I have no reason to trust you at all. I don't know where you are in the hierarchy of the nuclear industry! .. but pass this on.. 99% of people don't want nuclear waste disposed of in their state (properly or improperly) and that if asked.. the American people would soundly reject importing anybody's nuclear waste or trash of most any kind..
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..the 1% of people who don't see an issue want to make money off of it AND won't be living near any dump site soon..
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That's what I think on that.

[mhartmann]

Wow, that's interesting. This related presentation really opened my eyes. The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard It's really surprising!

[RioBravoReptiles]

Originally Posted by mhartmann

Wow, that's interesting. This related presentation really opened my eyes. The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard It's really surprising!

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Danged-straight, skippy.
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More seriously.. if more people were like you and took the time to run things down the world would be a better place!