CASE / Citizens Allied
for Safe Energy, Inc.
FPL
is endangering
our lives and making us pay for it!
Get
the scientific and economic facts presented at our Town
Hall Meeting before an audience of over
100 citizens on 10 Dec 2009 South Miami City Hall
If you are an FPL customer, you are being charged $4500 to put your life at risk for something you don't need and probably don't want.
FPL plans in Miami-Dade County
1. Two new nuclear reactors at Turkey Point to power
development upstate.
2. High
voltage power lines run through
our two national parks and along U.S. 1 near schools, hospital, residences,
businesses, Metrorail, and commuter traffic.
link
to FPL's application.
Here are more reasons to dislike this turkey...
Outragous monetary costs to
rate payers
FPL claims renewable power costs 2-3X nuclear, but a new study
shows just the opposite: nuclear power costs consumers 2-3X the price of renewable
power (read
the Univ. Vermont Law School report).
Navigant Consulting prepared a report for the PSC Florida's Renewable Energy Potential Assessment that shows renewable energy produces 9X more jobs than nuclear.
So, FPL seeks to redefine nuclear as "renewable".
FPL is now collecting $20 billion
from its 4.5 million customers to provide 2.2 GW of nuclear-generated electricity
for 750,000 houses –
that's $4500 per customer to provide power generation for non-exisitent
demand, assuming the costs come in as estmated (they're always higher). We
could provide the 2.2 GW of solar power for half the price (and photovoltaic
prices are
falling fast).
Where are 750,000
houses planned that need this new electrictric generation?
Not in Miami-Dade County.
We have enough power down here already.
In backroom
discussions, FPL engineers admit the new reactors and 230 kV powerlines are
planned to redirect power for hypothetical development upstate.
Assuming 750,000 new houses were
actually planned, that's still $25,000 to electrify a house.
With current state and federal rebates,
you can solar power your house for $12,000, with no operating costs for the
next 40 years.
FPL doen’t NEED to build new nuclear plants in Miami-Dade to provide
clean energy.
Local labor unions say we need jobs.
Rooftop solar installation produces 9X more jobs than nuclear plant construction,
and the jobs last longer.
Utilities
in other states are investing in rooftop solar and
cutting residents' electric bills in half.
Sounds appealing? Sorry
- "Not
in our business plan" FPL Chairman Lew Hay
told stockholders. "That
makes for really nice press. Every rooftop has solar and we can all hold hands
and sing Kumbaya."
Alzheimer’s
disease, senile dementia, & childhood leukemia are elevated near
powerlines
Peer-reviewed medical literature (PDFs available below) shows Alzheimer’s
and senile dementia rates are doubled in people living near powerlines (citations
below). The European Union has upgraded magnetic fields from powerlines to the
category of "a possible carcinogen". FPL’s own medical consultant now says the
cancer risks cannot be dismissed.
Situated along FPL's powerline
route are Carver
Elementary School, Carver Middle School, Ponce de Leon Middle School, South
Miami Hospital, Metrorail, Red Road Commons, South Miami City Hall, Shops at
Sunset... Check out the
figures.
Terrible
safety record at Turkey Point
Chronology of accidents, malfunctions, and safety violations at Turkey Point (text pdf) (graphic pdf).
History
of radiation leaks
at Turkey Point:
The Miami Herald reports that Turkey Point has repeatedly released radioactive
cooling water, including a 2500 gallon spill and 3500 gallons of radioactive
that water overflowed from a spent fuel storage pool (PDF
of spill history).
An FIU scientist reported that shrimp farmed in the cooling canals were radioactive. At
the agingTurkey Point nuclear reactors 3 & 4, the
NRC currently allows daily leakage of 150 gallons of radioactive primary
cooling water from any single steam generator (SG) tube, or 600 gal/day leakage
collectively. Don't believe it? Check the NRC's
posting in the Federal Register or the NRC
Inspection Manual.
Chronically lax
security at Turkey Point:
FPL has been fined in excess of $1.5 million repeated
safety and security lapses beginning in the 1980s and continuing through
this year. Violations include guards who could not see what they were guarding,
guards falling asleep, guards losing track of visitors, guards with inoperable
weapons. An
angry contractor sabotaged the reactor at Turkey Point despite the fact that
the law says no contractor can work unsupervised at a nuclear plant. On 26 Nov
2009, 34 Cuban migrants waited around on the grounds for 6 hours, then called
the control room to inform the plant operators that they had landed at the
plant [Miami
Herald article].
Turkey Point 2008 employees
report low confidence in safety commitment:
FPL was fined after half the plant operators at Turkey Point failed their recertification
test. FPL's licensed nuclear plant operator resigned rather than follow
orders to restart the Turkey Point nuclear reactor before finishing his
NRC-mandated safety checks – his contract required him to remain silent,
but details came out in a law suit when FPL tried to claw back his bonus.
In FPL's 2008 Turkey Point Employee Concerns Self-Assessment survey, over
a quarter of the employees responding lacked confidence that issues reported
through the plant's safety program would be thoroughly investigated, and
one third of employees responding feared retaliation for reporting problems.
Engineers who complained about safety issues have been fired after refusing
to see the company psychiatrist. We
are told by one whistleblower that FPL routinely fires employees who report
safety issues to the NRC, 20-30 firings to date.
New reactors proposed
are not hurricane resistant:
The NRC has deemed Toshiba's Westinghouse AP-1000
reactors intended for Turkey Point insufficiently engineered to withstand hurricanes
& tornadoes, and the NRC is requiring additional engineering to support the
emergency cooling water tank. If FPL cared about our safety, why would they
propose underdesigned plants in a hurricane zone?
Industry record:
Of 430 nuclear power plants in operation, two have had well-publicised explosions:
Chernobyl &Three Mile Island. Additional reactors in Siberia have blown,
and others in the US, including Florida, have had radiation
leaks blamed in the cancer deaths of children living nearby (the parents
couldn't prove the cause - nobody can prove why a particular child gets
cancer).
FPL stores all nuclear waste on site, above ground, and plans
to do so indefinitely.
How close are you to Turkey Point? Here's the link in Google
Maps.
Nuclear perpetuates energy dependence
The United States imports almost all of its uranium, half from Russia.
While it's good to get uranium out of the old Soviet states, don't fall for
the line that nuclear power gives us energy independence.
Water supply damage
Turkey Point is hastening saltwater intrusion into South Miami-Dade
well fields that supply water for Homestead and the Keys. Saltwater is traced
from Turkey Point by scientists who follow the tritium that escapes
the existing nuclear reactors. FPL's proposed rock mine, wanted for stone to
elevate the new reactors, will increase salination rates. Cooling water from
the new reactors will include treated wastewater that had been intended for futher
clean-up and restoration of the Everglades. FPL plans to take this dirty, re-use
water as is, use it for cooling reactors 6 & 7, and inject it into the leaky
Floridan Aquifer under Miami.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Here's a start (remember, 1 letter on
paper has as much power as 100 email messages):
Write or email the Florida Public Services Commission and key legislators:
Individual
PSC Commissioners
PSC
Docket No. 080407 Correspondence File and Docket Parties of Record
Representative
Stephen L. Precourt, Chair, Energy and Utilities Policy Committee
Senator
Alex Diaz de la Portilla, Chair, Committee on Communications, Energy
and Public Utilities
Senator
Mike Haridopolos, Chair, Policy and Steering Committee on Energy, Environment
and Land Use
Write YOUR local legislators
- they can lobby the big guys much more effectively than you can, and they
will if they hear from 100 residents. Tell
them:
“You must
press the Governor and his cabinet to stop FPL’s new nuclear reactor project
at Turkey Point if you want my vote."
Demand legislation of a solar feed-in tarriff to support renewable power generation. A feed-in tarriff requires the utility to pay a premium for solar-generated power fed to the utility grid. Gainesville, FL did this - we want it too.
FInd your State Representative: http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/
FInd your State Senator: http://www.flsenate.gov/
Write the governor and his cabinet members. (Find their addresses here)
Share this flyer with friends and neighbors [1-page PDF flyer] [PDF en Espanol]
Email
us and get on our list to be alerted of future community action plans:
contact@stopFPLnow.org
Stay
on top of changes:
Utility
Shareholders of Florida - Investor News
Recent
scientific literature on health problems near powerlines and nuclear
reactors:
Foliart, D. E., Pollock,
B. H., Mezei, G., Iriye, R., Silva, J. M., Ebi, K. L., Kheifets, L., Link,
M. P. & Kavet, R. 2006. Magnetic
field exposure and long-term survival among children with leukaemia. Br J Cancer,
94, 161-164.
link to pdf
Huss,
A., Spoerri, A., Egger, M., Roosli, M. & for
the Swiss National Cohort, S. 2009. Residence near power lines and mortality
from neurodegenerative diseases: longitudinal study of the Swiss population.
American Journal of Epidemiolology, 169, 167-175.
link to pdf
Lowenthal
RM, Tuck DM, Bray IC (2007) Residential exposure to electric power transmission
lines and risk of lymphoproliferative and myeloproliferative disorders: a
case–control study. Internal Medicine Journal 37: 614–619.
link to pdf
Kabuto, M., Nitta, H.,
Yamamoto, S., Yamaguchi, N., Akiba, S., Honda, Y., Hagihara, J., Isaka, K.,
Saito, T., Ojima, T., Nakamura, Y., Mizoue, T., Ito, S., Eboshida, A., Yamazaki,
S., Sokejima, S., Kurokawa, Y. & Kubo, O. 2006.
Childhood leukemia and magnetic fields in Japan: a case-control study of childhood
leukemia and residential power-frequency magnetic fields in Japan. Int J Cancer,
119, 643-650.
link to pdf
Mangano,
J. J., Gould, J. M., Sternglass, E. J., Sherman, J. D. & McDonnell,
W. 2003. An unexpected rise in strontium-90 in US deciduous teeth in the 1990s.
The Science of theTotal Environment, 317, 37-51.
link to pdf
Marcilio, I., Habermann,
M. & Gouveia, N. 2009. Extremely low-frequency
magnetic fields and health effects: literature review. Revista Brasileira de
Epidemiologia, 12, 105-123.
link to pdf
Svendsen, A. L., Weihkopf,
T., Kaatsch, P. & Schuz, J.
2007. Exposure to magnetic fields and survival after diagnosis of childhood
leukemia: a German cohort study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev, 16, 1167-1171.
link to pdf
NRC
reports:
Turkey
Point radiation self-monitoring results (p.12 of groundwater
report is interesting)
NRC's standards for leak of primary cooling water
NRC Inspection Manual (section on leakage limits)
Links
to like-minded organizations:
Clean
Water Action
Florida Consumer Action Network
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition
Southern Energy Alliance / CleanEnergy.org
CASE
Florida:
Who
we are