Ross Vincent: Well the river has long been the lifeblood of this city. The city grew up around it, the city wouldn’t be here it if weren’t for the Mississippi River. Unfortunately we have learned in recent years that it has become a mixed blessing. It is the source of the drinking water supply for more than a million and a half people who live in south Louisiana. Unfortunately we have let it get so contaminated that it is causing excess disease rates, cancer in particular, among people who use the Mississippi River for drinking water. We have let petrochemical plants be built along the river that are dumping enormous quantities of highly toxic substances into the river. The first major nuclear power plant in Louisiana, the Waterford III plant, is about to become operational if the utility companies get their way. The combinations of radiation and carcinogenic chemicals have a greater effect together than either separately. So, we stand a chance of substantially increase the dangerous carcinogenic load in our drinking water if the Waterford III plant becomes operational. If we don’t do something about Mississippi River pollution pretty soon we are going to begin to see some public reaction. We are already seeing some but it is going to become much more severe if we don’t get a handle on all of the garbage we are putting in the river soon.
SOWL: Does the Waterford Nuclear power plant in your opinion possibly pose a threat to the drinking water supply of New Orleans?
Yes, certainly. It has the potential to be a very serious threat. It is certainly going to increase the risk of cancer with the chemicals that are already in the river. The Waterford III nuclear power is certainly going to involve an increased risk of cancer and other diseases as a result of the routine discharges of radioactive material in combination with the chemicals that are already in the river. If there is a catastrophic spill of radioactive material then that risk could become a disaster. So, it is flipping a coin. The people in south Louisiana are going to be taking some additional health risks as a result of the Waterford III plant. We could find ourselves in a position were we simply cannot use the river any more and we will have to find some alternative source of drinking water. It is my Well my hope is that that is not necessary. Technically, it is not necessary. There is no reason why this should happen.
From Gary Groesch: There are actually two investigations going on simultaneously at the Waterford III nuclear power plant. One is a construction analysis investigation that is looking at the cracks in the foundation and in the walls of Waterford III nuclear power plant. The other investigation is looking at the entire picture of quality assurance. In my opinion these are intertwined investigations. Both show that the Waterford nuclear power plant is perhaps the most poorly constructed nuclear power in the country and therefore the most dangerous power plant in the country. When you have the combination of the proximity to large populations and a management that does not care how its power plants are constructed this is a recipe for real economic and environmental disaster.
The investigation looking at the cracks in the foundation and the walls will not come up with their findings probably for about another month. It is my opinion that the cracks in the foundation and walls show that the quality assurance that was involved in constructing the foundation of Waterford III was totally deficient. I believe that the contractor who poured the foundation for Waterford III was using materials that were not up to Nuclear Regulatory Standards. I believe that the engineering that went into Waterford III was deficient because they did not predict that the cracks would occur in the walls or in the foundation. I believe that the Waterford III has been badly under-engineered.
The Waterford nuclear power plant is going to be releasing Plutonium 239 into the Mississippi River on a daily basis. Plutonium 239 is a dangerous element that was first observed in the 1940’s during nuclear weapons research. It can cause cancer at a level of one one-billionth of a gram. Louisiana Power and Light will tell you that they are not putting Plutonium 239 in the river. They will tell you they are in fact putting Neptunium into the river. This is a fairly technical point. Neptunium is also a radioactive element. What they are not telling you is that Neptunium breaks down into Plutonium in sixty seconds. In other words Neptunium has a half-life of sixty seconds. So, in one minute all of the neptunium dumped into the Mississippi River will turn into Plutonium 239 and plutonium 239 stays around for ~25,000 years. So in fact it is part of the lie of nuclear power that they will tell you that they are not putting plutonium into the Mississippi River when in fact they are putting it into the river every day.