April 14, 1976

Nuclear Power Safe, Needed

Recent publicity surrounding the resignation of three General Electric nuclear engineers has overshadowed the fact that thousands of scientists have confidently endorsed the use of atomic power.

In fact, the Soviets and Americans have just signed an agreement that will permit each other's technicians to monitor "peaceful" atomic explosions.

It is passing strange, therefore, how the environmentalists succeed so well in denying this ultimate power source to energy-hungry mankind.

Walter Vannoy, a vice-president of Babcock & Wilcox, the leading manufacturer of nuclear power plants, declares his management is "ethically correct and socially responsible" in building atomic generators.

"Our people, as well as thousands of scientists around the world, are committed to nuclear power after exhaustive studies and years of experience," he says.

Vannoy lists the scientific groups which recently have issued strongly-worded statements in support of nuclear power.

The Power Engineering Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), with 18,000 members, proclaimed its full support for "the vigorous development of nuclear power."  Its statement points out that the "shortage of energy...can be alleviated only by developing to the fullest extent all of the energy options."

The Energy Committee of the 170,000-member IEEE: "Any energy policy should include the increased use of nuclear energy for electric power generation."

The National Council of the 39,000-member American Institute of Chemical Engineers: "Continued use and expansion of clean, safe and efficient nuclear power in the United States is essential to a healthy economy."

The 69,000-member National Society of Professional Engineers: "Nuclear Power is an essential power source for the immediate future."

The Board of Directors of the 3,400-member Health Physics' Society: "Nuclear power reactors have proven to be a technologically practical and safe source of electricity with relatively small environmental detriment."

More than 25,000 scientists and engineers signed a petition presented by the American Nuclear Society and other societies to federal energy administrator Frank Zarb, calling for the increased construction of nuclear power plants.

In addition to these, Vannoy points out, there have been over the years continued endorsements of nuclear power by many other reputable, ethical, expert scientific and engineering groups: The nuclear engineering faculties at MIT, the Universities of Virginia, Washington and Iowa State University; 700 Swedish scientists; 650 German scientists; and the Energy Research Group, which includes a former member of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Despite these recommendations, the television networks and alarmist newspapers persist in sabotaging this important advancement.

Senator John O. Pastore (D-R.I.) chairman of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, is astounded with the delay in getting atomic energy "on stream."

A few weeks ago he convened his committee to hear evidence on nuclear reactor safety - calling in a wide range of experts to testify.

On the first day of the hearings, three engineers who quit their jobs with GE asked permission to voice their misgivings about nuclear safety.  On the following day, Robert D.  Pollard, a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission who had resigned for similar reasons, testified.

All four witnesses were highly critical of safety standards and called for a slowdown or halt to atomic power development.  A Chicago Sun-Times report said, "Klieg lights turned the hearing room into a sweatbox as TV cameras filmed the testimony at length for two days."

On the third day, the committee met to hear the other side of the atomic safety question.

No lights.

No TV cameras.

Senator Pastore said, "Now Pollard is gone and the three people from GE are gone, and it looks to me as if all the cameras are gone too ... I must say with a heavy heart that it's a sorrowful thing the public isn't told both sides of the story."

The testimony the committee heard was a total rebuttal of what Pollard and the GE engineers had said about nuclear safety.

The B&W executive says nine percent of all electricity consumed in the U.S last year came from nuclear power, saving 10 billion gallons of oil and 2 billion dollars.  And this came after a perfect safety record of a thousand reactor experience years.  This is a record that the coal and hydro-electric power plants can not match.

Under the circumstances it would seem appropriate to stop searching for things that go bump in the night and start realizing some of the benefits of atomic power which we so urgently need.

Author: Lindsey Williams