Seattle Based Environmental Group Calls for Shutdown of Hanford Nuke Plant

A Seattle based group has called (again) for the Columbia Generating Station to be shut down.

Heart of America Northwest, an environmental  group  from Seattle, are teaming with Physicians for Social Responsibility to demand the Columbia Generating Station at Hanford be shut down, because of what they say could be dangers if a catastrophic event occurs.

This new attack on the reactor comes from a group called the Institute for Policy Studies.  It's a think-tank based out of D.C. created in 1998, with ties to such controversial groups as the notorious Center for American progress.

In short, they claim the cooling pools where spent nuclear fuel is stored from the reactor could become "unstable" if a catastrophic event were to occur, or an accident.  Exactly what type of accident was not specifically spelled out by the group.  They also made claims about the lack or worker safety at the plant.

Previously,  attempts were made to claim the reactor was built near a fault line, and could be damaged by an earthquake, but those arguments have largely been discredited - at least to the degree to which they were claimed.

Physicians for Social Responsibility is a world wide group created in 1961, and while they were a large player in helping bring political pressure towards ending the Cold War between the U.S. and Russia,  in the last few decades they appear to have been hijacked by the environmental left.  Once a legitimate group who accomplished great things in helping curb nuclear arms races, the group now targets nuclear power plants all over the U.S. and the world.

These groups are calling for Seattle City Light, and other utilities involved,  to shut it down.

However, they have not offered any workable, affordable or feasible ways to replace the energy generated by the nuclear reactor.   About 4% of all electrical energy in the Pacific Northwest for the Bonneville Power Administration comes from the plant at Hanford.

Previous calls to shut down the plant have been studied, with BPA and other sources involved saying doing so would have a noticeable ripple effect on the entire Northwest power grid and electrical rates for consumers.