![]() ![]() ![]() Another big problem is how to permanently and safely store the spent fuel rods from reactors and how to dispose of low level nuclear waste. Building nuclear plants requires huge amounts of up-front capital, and construction takes years to complete. One that has virtually stopped the construction of other nuclear facilities in the U.S. In addition to radiation concerns, nuclear has other big problems. But it’s a safe bet that Georgians would be at risk. ![]() If any of the nuclear plants in or near Georgia were to have a major accident, it is hard to predict where or how far radioactive material might spread. Nuclear power involves the use of highly radioactive materials that can cause death, serious injuries, burns, cancers and birth defects. Even a partial meltdown can contaminate the air, water, and soil where it might remain for centuries. Low level radiation is always being emitted from operating reactors. These are the only two commercial reactors in the United States under construction and none are in the planning stages as problems with nuclear power have become more clear and new objections have emerged. And now Vogtle Units 3 and 4 are in the final stages of construction. ![]() Then Plant Vogtle Units 1 and 2 came on line in 19. In Georgia, Plant Hatch’s two units finished construction in 19. But accidents, including Fukushima in Japan (2011), Chernobyl in the Ukraine (1986) and Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania (1979), have raised questions about public safety. And if the two additional reactors come online, Plant Vogtle itself will be the largest nuclear power plant in the United States.ĭuring the 1960s and 70s, when commercial nuclear plants were being developed, nuclear power was marketed as the wave of the future. The largest concentration of various forms of nuclear material is around Shell Bluff, a mostly African-American community, near SRS and Plant Vogtle. In addition, there are two nuclear weapons facilities: the Trident Bay Naval Base in extreme southeast coastal Georgia and the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina just across the Savannah River from Plant Vogtle. Hatch in addition to Vogtle), our state is actually ringed by a number of nuclear power sites: Plant Oconee in northwest South Carolina, Browns Ferry in northeast Alabama, Sequoyah and Watts Bar in southern Tennessee, and Plant Farley in southeast Alabama on the Chattahoochee River. While Georgia only has two of these plants within our borders (Plant Edwin I. Today we have 54 commercial nuclear power plants with 92 reactors in operation in the United States. We’ll see.Īfter the United States ended World War II by developing and then dropping powerful nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, scientists searched for a peaceful use for nuclear technology, resulting in the development of nuclear power to generate electricity. The plants were scheduled to be in commercial operation for the summers of 20, but Georgia Power now predicts Unit 3 will come online in early 2023 followed by Unit 4 later that year. Now their price tag will surely exceed $30 billion. The new reactors, Vogtle 3 and 4, were first slated to cost $14 billion. Now, two more reactors with their slightly larger cooling towers are in the final stages of construction on this site and are close to operation according to majority owner Georgia Power, a subsidiary of the Southern Company. These towers and their reactors (Units 1 and 2) are named for a former Alabama Power and Southern Company board chair, Alvin W. Southeast of Augusta, perched on Georgia’s eastern border, two huge cooling towers with rising plumes of steam keep the nuclear reactors below from melting down as they produce electricity for much of Georgia. ![]()
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