Slashdot Mirror
Its Nuclear Plant Closed, Maine Town Is Full of Regret
mdsolar writes in with a story about the fallout from a nuclear plant closing on a small town in Maine. "In a wooded area behind a camouflage-clad guard holding an assault rifle, dozens of hulking casks packed with radioactive waste rest on concrete pads — relics of the shuttered nuclear plant that once powered the region and made this fishing town feel rich. In the 17 years since Maine Yankee began dismantling its reactors and shedding its 600 workers, this small, coastal town north of Portland has experienced drastic changes: property taxes have spiked by more than 10 times for the town's 3,700 residents, the number living in poverty has more than doubled as many professionals left, and town services and jobs have been cut. 'I have yet to meet anyone happy that Maine Yankee is gone,' said Laurie Smith, the town manager. 'All these years later, we're still feeling the loss of jobs, the economic downturn, and the huge tax increases.'"
Hold on.... Where did you read that??? Nuclear is by no means the cleanest and most superior way to provide power. EVERY SINGLE NUCLEAR ACCIDENT that isn't quashed and buried due to "commercial in confidence" and "State Security" reasons has ALWAYS been downplayed as "Well, that reactor design is an old one, new ones are MUCH safer!!!" or "Those specific conditions don't apply here, so it's ABSOLUTELY SAFE!!!". Every. Single. Damn. One.
Sellafield had, in 2009, 139 serious leaks that were not reported in the media. Unless you go and search for them, you would have thought there had been no accidents there since 1992.
EVERY nuclear power station is run under "shoddy, bureaucratic management".