Is nuclear energy truly safe when accidents like this continue to happen? M

Published on Saturday, July 12, 2008 by Agence France Presse

French Nuclear Facility to Shut Down After Uranium Leak

LYON, France — French authorities ordered Friday the temporary closure of a nuclear treatment plant in a popular tourist region of southern France after a uranium leak polluted the local water supply.

But site operator Socatri, a subsidiary of French nuclear giant Areva, said it would permanently shut down the facility at the Tricastin nuclear plant in Provence as part of a previously-planned upgrade.France’s ASN nuclear safety authority cited a “series of faults and human negligence that is not acceptable” when it ordered the closure following an inspection at the plant on Thursday.

Residents in the Vaucluse region have been told not to drink water or eat fish from nearby rivers since the leak on Monday night, in which 75 kilogrammes (165 pounds) of untreated liquid uranium spilled into the ground.

Swimming and water sports were also forbidden as was irrigation of crops with the contaminated water.

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URL to article: French Nuclear Facility to Shut Down After Uranium Leak - CommonDreams.org

People drown in bathtubs. Should we outlaw taking baths?

And do bathtubs pollute large areas of the environment for tens of thousands of years? Look at what is happening here in France where people are being warned against the local water for severe toxicity.

Your apologist position for the nuke industry does not work after decades of such accidents. We cannot trust the corporations to run something like this is any confidence in their promise of safety.

So let them drink Perrier. Do you want the government to run the plants instead? In the US, the Guv'mint is the largest polluter.

And if his was a solar facility, like the one in Portugal, there would be nothing to leak. If it was a wind farm like the one Boone Pickens is builing in Texas, there would be nothing to spill. If we simply retrofitted traditional coal fired plant cooling towers with vortex turbines, we would have a subsantial increase in energy production with no possible leaks.

At the solar plant, someone could get fried if they fell on a panel, or slip and fall on a banana peel. The wind farm will kill thousands of migrating birds, and possible alter regional climates by diverting winds. If coal plants had a cost-effective way to increase efficiency, they would.

"At the solar plant, someone could get fried if they fell on a panel, or slip and fall on a banana peel."

And what if you slipped and fell by grabbing the banana peel at the bottom of your barrel for arguments against solar energy?

What?

So your logic is essentially: "If there's a chance of an ecological accident and if one ever happens, if it's not absolutely 100% safe, it therefore follows we ought to abandon that industry!" Amazing. Especially since the alternatives are unrealistic and inadequate.

Typical empty-headed green nonsense. Note how France isn't abandoning nuclear energy. Just shutting down one facility. They aren't stupid.

If Mikey were in charge, we probably would have abandoned petroleum after the Exxon spill. After all, it must be 100% safe. ****e happens. Get over it. Grow up. Boo-hoo-fukity-hoo. Its well worth the risk. Nukes would still be a sound investment, even if it killed a thousand people a year around the world. It's well worth it and instrumental in civilization's survival and prosperity. The ends justify the means. Stop being such a baby. It's not as if Earth is underpopulated anyway. Accidents happen, people die--the world goes on.

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There is simply no such thing a perfection in energy. There are always costs. At this point, since we are rapidly reaching citical mass, we shouldn't dismiss anything. To a starving man, a **** sandwich looks pretty good.

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"I don't think we should be governing ourselves. What need is a king, and every now and then if the king’s not doing a good job, we kill him." - George Carlin