Radioactive Optimism: Japan’s Nuclear Power Plants And New Mexico’s Crownpoint Uranium Mine

Abstract

As the horror of Japan’s nuclear accident continues to unfold, some American scientists and analysts are already identifying flaws in the Japanese system. We are told that the Japanese failed to properly assess the risks inherent in the placement and design of their nuclear power plants.1 We are also told that the nuclear regulatory agencies in Japan merely “rubber stamped” the nuclear facility’s reports.2 Yet Japanese scientists and officials have no monopoly on overly optimistic projections and a lack of independent judgment. In 2010, the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit upheld a permit issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (“NRC”) for an in-situ leach uranium mine in northwestern New Mexico.3 The NRC approved the project even though the method that will be used to restore the aquifer had never been shown to work.4 Further, the NRC established cleanup procedures based on economic considerations and reports from the regulated industry.5 If nuclear power is ever to become a safe alternative to fossil fuels, America’s officials and scientists must do a better job of avoiding the “radioactive optimism” that is prevalent among promoters of nuclear energy.