Mar. 25, 2010: Renewed interest in nuclear power

>> POLLS NOW SHOW RECORD
SUPPORT FOR NUCLEAR ENERGY
AS PRESIDENT OBAMA PUSHES
FOR NEW PLANT CONSTRUCTION.
LEADING MANY LONG TIME
OPPONENTS TO WONDERING
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE NO
NUKES MOVEMENT.
>> FOR THOSE WHO TOOK PART
IN THE ANTI-NUCLEAR POWER
PROTESTS OF THE 1970s AND
'80s, SEEING A LIBERAL
DEMOCRAT CHEER LEADING FOR
THE FIRST NEW NUKE PLANT IN
30 YEARS MUST HAVE BEEN
JARRING.
>> WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO
BUILD A NEW GENERATION OF
SAFE, CLEAN, NUCLEAR POBER
PLANTS IN AMERICA.
>> LAST MONTH THE PRESIDENT
SAID HE NOT ONLY SUPPORTS
BUILDING A NUCLEAR POWER
PLANT IN GEORGIA, BUT
PLEDGED $54 BILLION IN
FEDERAL LOAN GUARANTEES TO
HELP BUILD MANY MORE.
>> WE CAN'T KEEP ON BEING
MIRED IN THE SAME OLD STALE
DEBATES BETWEEN THE LEFT AND
THE RIGHT, BETWEEN
ENVIRONMENTALISTS AND
ENTREPRENEURS.
>> Rooney: NUCLEAR WATCHDOG
MARY LAMB PART OF DUXBURY A
VETERAN OF THOSE DEBATES HAD
THIS REACTION FOR THE
PRESIDENT.
>> GIVE ME THE MONEY BACK I
GAVE YOU FOR YOUR CAMPAIGN.
>> Rooney: BUT THE RETURN OF
NUCLEAR POWER IS NO JOKE.
A NEW GALLOP POLL SHOWS 62%
OF AMERICANS THINK NUCLEAR
POWER IS THE LESSER OF TWO
EVILS WHEN COMPARED TO THE
EFFECTS OF FOSSIL FUELS ON
CLIMATE CHANGE.
THAT PLEASES INDUSTRY
OFFICIALS LIKE STEVE BETHAY,
SAFETY DIRECTOR AT THE
PILGRIM NUCLEAR POWER
STATION IN PLYMOUTH WHICH IS
UP FOR RELICENSING IN TWO
YEARS.
>> I THINK IT'S TERRIFIC.
YOU KNOW, IT SHOWS THAT THE
ADMINISTRATION IS WILLING TO
BE RESEPTEMBERIVE TO REALLY
THE ONLY LARGE SCALE,
NONGREENHOUSE GAS-EMIT POG
WE ARE SOURCE THAT WE HAVE
AVAILABLE.
>> BUT FOR MARY LAMB PERT
SHIFTING ATTITUDES TOWARD
NUCLEAR POWER MEAN HER
DECADES LONG FIGHT AGAINST
PILGRIM HAS BECOME MUCH LONE
LEEER.
>> WHAT MI LOOKING FOR, I'M
A REALIST, IS NOT TO SHUT
THEM DOWN.
I KNOW THAT CAN HAPPEN
UNLESS SOMETHING BREAKS IT
IS TOO EXPENSIVE TO FIX.
WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR IS
INCREASED SAFETY FOR THE
PUBLIC.
>> LAMB PERT WANTS BETTER
MONITORING OF TRADEIUM, AN
ISOTOPE THAT IS LEAKED FROM
COOLING PIPES THAT OTHER
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS INTO
LOCAL GROUND WATER.
BUT STEVE BETHAY SAYS
PILGRIM HAS BEEN OPERATING
SAFELY FOR 40 YEARS NOW.
>> AN WE'VE SEEN ONLY LEVELS
OF TRADEIUM IN OUR
MONITORING WELL WAS BE INDYK
TIP-- INDICATIVE OF WHAT
WOULD YOU FIND IN NATURE.
>> YET PILGRIM HAS ABOUT THE
SAME NUMBER OF MONITORING
WELLS THAT YOU WOULD SEE AT
OUR AVERAGE CORNER GAS
STATION, THAT AND THE AGE OF
THE PLANT STILL WORRY MARY
LAMBERT.
>> I LOOK IN THE MIRROR AND
TRUST ME, I'M DIFFERENT THAN
I WAS 40 YEARS AGO.
AND SO ARE THOSE PIPES, AND
SO IS THAT REACTOR.
>> AND SO IS THE DEBATE OVER
NUCLEAR POWER.
>> JOINING ME NOW IS ERNIE
HADLEY, A CAPE COD ATTORNEY
WHO HAS FOUGHT AGAINST
NUCLEAR POWER.
AND DAVID TARANTINO OF THE
PILGRIM NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
IN PLYMOUTH.
WELCOME TO BOTH OF YOU.
IT SEEMS INCREDIBLE TO ME
HAVING COVERED THOSE STORIES
BACK IN THE '70s AND '80s
THAT, YOU KNOW, SO MUCH
PROTEST ABOUT NUCLEAR POWER.
SOME OF IT IRRATIONAL,
EMOTIONAL, SOME VERY
FOCUSED.
THAT HERE WE ARE 40 YEARS
LATER.
YOU ARE ABOUT TO GET YOUR
PLANT.
RELICENSED.
I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT WILL
WORK, FOR HOW MANY MORE
YEARS BUT WHAT IS YOUR
REACTION TO THIS KIND OF
RENEWED DEBATE OVER IT.
>> WELL, I GUESS WE ARE A
LITTLE BIT SURPRISED AS WELL
WHEN YOU THINK OF THE
FACT-- WHEN YOU THINK OF THE
FACT THAT IN 1999 WHEN THE
PLANT WAS SOLD BY BOSTON
EDISON MANY OF US THAT WORK
THERE DIDN'T THINK ANYONE
WOULD BUY IT.
AND NOW TO THINK OF A NEW
GENERATION OF NUCLEAR POWER
PLANTS COMING IN SOME PARTS
OF THE COUNTRY, THERE IS A
LITTLE BIT SURPRISING.
BUT I THINK, AND IT WAS IN
YOUR INTRODUCTION THAT THIS
RISING CONCERN ABOUT CLIMATE
CHANGE AND HE
MOTION-- EMISSIONS FROM
FOSSIL PLANTS HAS HAD PEOPLE
RELOOK THE IDEA OF NUCLEAR
POWER.
THE ONLY WAY TRUTHFULLY THAT
WE CAN MEET THE GOALS SET BY
MASSACHUSETTS FOR CARBON
EMISSIONS IS FOR PILGRIM TO
KEEP RUNNING.
>> WHAT DO YOU THINK OF
THAT?
ARE YOU STILL A PROTESTOR
AFTER ALL THESE YEARS?
>> WELL, NOT A PROTESTOR PER
SE.
BECAUSE WHAT I HAVE REALLY
DONE IS REPRESENT
WHISTLE-BLOWERS WHO BROUGHT
FORTH SAFETY PROBLEMS.
MI CONCERNED ABOUT THIS NEW
INITIATIVE.
BECAUSE THE PROBLEMS THAT WE
HAD 15, 20, 25 YEARS AGO, WE
STILL HAVE TODAY.
AND THE MAJOR PROBLEM THAT
WE STILL HAVE, THAT THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HASN'T
ADDRESSED IS THE SPEND FUEL
POOL.
>> SPEND FUEL.
>> THESE POOLS HAVE BECOME
PERMANENT RESIDUALS FOR
SPENT NUCLEAR, FOR FUEL.
THEY WERE DESIGNED TORE THAT
THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE
TEMPORARY FACILITIES.
WE WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE
YUCCA MOUNTAIN AT ONE TIME
IN 2010 AND GOD KNOWS WHAT
IT WILL BE NOW.
>> BUT THIS NOT THE FAULT OF
THE PEOPLE WHO RUN THE NEWER
CLEAR POWER PLANT IT IS
REALLY THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT WHO HASN'T
ESTABLISHED ANYPLACE TO PUT
THESE SPENT FUEL ROD.
>> THAT PART OF IT IS
ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.
IT IS THE FAILURE OF THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO COME
THROUGH ON A COMMITMENT THAT
THEY MADE, WHAT, 30, 40
YEARS AGO.
>> 1982.
>> 1982.
>> AND THEY TRIED TO DO IT
IN NEVADA AND THAT WENT BUST
FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS.
>> YEAH, AND I THINK THAT
YOU CAN SORT OF SYMPATHIZE
WITH NEVADA, PEOPLE SAY HEY,
WE DON'T HAVE ANY NUCLEAR
POWER PLANTS.
>> WHY SHOULD WE HAVE YOUR
SPENT FUEL RODS.
BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT
THAT YOUR VIEW IS NO, THAT
IT'S NOT THE GOVERNMENT THAT
IS PAYING FOR THIS FUEL.
THAT THE GOVERNMENT SINCE
1982 HAS COLLECTED A MILL
PER KILOWATT HOUR, DOESN'T
SOUND LIKE MUCH BUT IT ENDS
UP BEING $20 BILLION THEY
HAVE COLLECTED AND $10
BILLION IN INTEREST.
AND-- .
>> Rooney: FOR WHAT.
>> .
>> TO HANDLE THE FUEL TO
DISPOSITION THE FUEL.
>> YEAH.
>> Rooney: .
>> SO THAT IS $30 BILLION.
AND RIGHT NOW THE CONTRACT
THAT WE HAVE SAYS IN 1998
THE GOVERNMENT WILL START
ACCEPTING THE FUEL,
NOTHING'S HAPPENED.
SO IT'S NOT A GOOD
SITUATION.
>> Rooney: ARE YOU CONCERNED,
ERNIE, ABOUT THE FACT THAT
PILGRIM IS ABOUT TO GO UP
FOR LICENSING RENEWAL.
IT'S 40 YEARS OLD.
YOU HEARD MARY HAM LAMBPERT
SAID, I'M SURE YOU KNOW HER
VERY MUCH.
>> THE AGE OF THE STRUCTURE
AND AGAIN THE LACK OF
REGULATION.
I MEAN WHAT YOU HAVE HERE IS
THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION THAT GREW OUT OF
THE ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION
WHICH WAS-- ITS MISSION WAS
TO PROMOTE NUCLEAR POWER,
NOT REGULATE IT.
AND PRESTO CHANGEO ONE DAY
YOU ARE THE REGULATORS,
THERE IS STILL THE REVOLVING
DOOR BETWEEN THE COMMISSION
AND THE INDUSTRY WHERE YOU
WORK FOR THE TRI, THEN YOU
WORK FOR THE COMMISSION.
YOU WORK FOR THE COMMISSION,
YOU GO OUTSIDE AN ARE YOU A
CONSULTANT THAT IS NOT A
GOOD REGULATORY SCHEEM.
THE PLANTS THEMSELVES SAY
THEY CAN'T POSSIBLY COMPLY
WITH ALL THE REGULATIONS AND
LICENSING REQUIREMENTS SO
THEY ARE MAKING DECISIONS
ABOUT WHAT REGULATIONS AND
WHAT REQUIREMENTS ARE GOING
TO COMPLY WITH.
AND THAT'S PLAYING WITH
SAFETY.
AND THE NRC IS ASLEEP AT THE
SWITCH AS IT HAS ALWAYS
BEEN.
>> I HAVE THIS BIG ISSUE
WITH ONE THING THAT ERNIE
JUST SAID.
AND THAT IS THE PLANTS DON'T
COMPLY WITH ALL THE LICENSES
AND TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS.
I ASSURE YOU THAT THE 650
PEOPLE AT WORK AT PILGRIM,
OUR HIGHEST PRIORITY IS
PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY.
AND IF WE WERE NOT TO COMPLY
WITH TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS, FIRST OF ALL
THE NRC WOULD FINE US.
WE WOULD BE IN VIOLATION.
WE WOULD BE SHUT DOWN.
PILGRIM WAS UNFORTUNATELY
SHUT DOWN FOR TWO YEARS BY
THIS COMPLIANT REGULATOR
THAT MY FRIEND ERNIE TALKS
ABOUT IN 1987.
SO YOU PAINT A LITTLE BIT
DIFFERENT PICTURE THAN I
WOULD.
I THINK WE'RE HIGHLY
REGULATED AND NOT JUST BY
THE NRC.
>> JUST TO THE ISSUE THOUGH
OF WHETHER IT'S SAFER AND
MORE CLIMATE FRIENDLY THAN
ALL THE OTHER FOSSIL FUELS
AND ALL THE OTHER HEATING
AND COOLING, DO YOU AGREE OR
DISAGREE.
>> I DISAGREE.
BECAUSE OF THE CONSEQUENCES
OF THE DAY CARE.
>> AN ACCIDENT LIKE THREE
MILE ISLAND, WHICH SEEMS
LIKE ANCIENT HISTORY FOR
THOSE THAT DIDN'T LIVE
THROUGH.
>> IT DOES.
AND I GUESS THE ARGUMENT,
THAT THEY WOULD MAKE IS WE
HAVEN'T HAD ANOTHER ONE.
BUT THAT'S WHY LET'S RELAX
OUR NATIONAL SECURITY
BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T HAD
ANOTHER 9/11.
>> WE NEED TO REMAIN EVER
VIGILANT.
AND WHILE THE MARGIN OF AREA
OR THE POSSIBILITY OF ERROR
MAY BE SOMEWHAT SMALL, THE
CONSEQUENCES ARE
EXTRAORDINARY.
>> BUT THAT IS LIKE SAYING
DON'T PUT THE BIOTECH
HOSPITAL LAB IN BROKETON
BECAUSE IT COULD HAVE AN
ACCIDENT.
>> AND I THINK SOMEWHAT OF A
CLARIFICATION.
CHERNOBYL IS AN APPLES AND
ORANGES, COULDN'T BE
LICENSED IN THIS COUNTRY,
IT'S NOT TO DESIGN.
AND WHAT WERE THE REAL
TERRIBLE CONSEQUENCES OF
THREE MILE ISLAND, DO YOU
KNOW.
>> NOPE, DO YOU.
>> YES, THERE WEREN'T ANY.
>> Rooney: NOBODY DIED,
NOBODY WAS RADIATED, NOBODY
WAS --
>> NO.
>> Rooney: POISONED.
>> NO.
>> Rooney: I DON'T KNOW.
I HAVEN'T DONE MY HOMEWORK
ON THAT ONE.
>> YOU WOULD, I THINK.
>> DO WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR
THAT TO HAPPEN BEFORE THE
GOVERNMENT DOES SOMETHING.
AND THE SAGA OF THE PLANTS
IN CONNECTICUT, WHERE THEY
OPERATED OUTSIDE OF THEIR
LICENCE, OUTSIDE OF THEIR
REGULATIONS AND THE STRONG
REGULATE THEIR DAVE TALKS
ABOUT HERE KNEW IT THE WHOLE
TIME.
I MEAN THAT WAS ONE OF THE
FINDINGS THAT CAME OUT OF
ALL OF THOSE STUDIES THAT
WERE DONE AT THE PLANTS WHEN
THE ISSUE FIRST CAME OUT,
SOME OF THE WORKERS THAT I
REPRESENTED DOWN THERE.
>> AND THE MILLSTONE PLANTS
PAID DEARLY.
>> SEVERAL GOVERNMENTS
BEHIND THIS ONE, $54 BILLION
THEY ARE PUTING INTO NEW
RESEARCH SO SOMETHING IS
GOING TO HAPPEN.
THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING
HERE.
ERNIE HADLEY, DAVID
TARANTINO, THANKS FOR
COMING.
>> WHEN WE CONTINUE, THEATRE
PICKS FOR THE WEEKEND.