Laserfiche WebLink
w <br /> R E C E 1 V E D <br /> February 6, 2013 <br /> b , 7 <br /> Dear Selectman, <br /> My name is Arlene Williamson, I am a resident of Mashpee and a concerned citizen regarding <br /> the safety of Mashpee residents in the event of a nuclear accident at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power <br /> Station in Plymouth Ma. l along with Maxine Wolfset of Mashpee are leading a Petition for a <br /> nonbinding Public Opinion Advisory Question for the Mashpee Spring 2013 Ballot. If a major <br /> radiological accident were to occur at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, all Cape Cod residents <br /> and visitors would not be able to evacuate.They would be asked to shelter in place because <br /> both the Sagamore and Bourne bridges will be closed. Closing our bridges was confirmed by <br /> Kurt Schwartz the director of MEMA on October 3, 2012 at a public meeting in Harwich.The <br /> bridges will be closed to allow people with in a 10 mile radius of PNPS to escape.Any traffic <br /> exiting Cape Cod would interfere their evacuation.This has raised much concern among our <br /> Massachusetts State legislatures, Cape Cod Regional Emergency Management Agencies,The <br /> Cape Cod National Park services and many Cape Cod residents. <br /> The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (PNPS)as we all know was relicensed last May to operate for <br /> an additional 20 years.That is 20 years longer than it was designed and built to last. A nuclear <br /> reactor as any 40 year old machine is bound to experience breakdowns, constant repairs and <br /> the constant worry about what will happen next.The PNPS has experience three shut downs in <br /> the last two weeks due to recirculation pumps failures, drain valve leaks and safety relief valve <br /> leaks. The high number of incidents at PNPS far exceeds the NRC's standards of malfunctions. <br /> However, a nuclear reactor is not any ordinary machine because if it malfunctions the <br /> consequences can be devastating. <br /> Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station has another serious reason for concern. The PNPS has 40 years <br /> worth of spent radioactive fuel rods sitting in a pool on the top floor of the reactor.This pool <br /> was designed to hold 880 fuel assemblies however the pool now is crammed with over 3300 <br /> highly radioactive fuel rods because the United States government has not figured out what to <br /> do with it.This is 40 plus years of all the radioactive waste generated by PNPS. The worst <br /> possible toxic waste dump sits on Cape Cod Bay and if compromised by fire, human error, or a <br /> terrorist attack the devastation would be unimaginable. Massachusetts Attorney General <br /> Martha Coakley had a study done that concluded the loss of water in that pool could cause a <br /> catastrophic fire causing$488 billion dollars in damages, 24,000 cancers and downwind <br /> contamination for 100 miles. It would render much of this 100 miles uninhabitable. <br /> I believe the people of Cape Cod deserve better than disregarding our safety in the event of an <br /> nuclear accident. Cape Cod's unique geographic location makes it difficult if not impossible to <br /> evacuate. We do not have the ability to get out of Dodge via north, south or west. We have two <br /> roadways to exit that cross over the Cape Cod Canal. If those bridges are closed we will have no <br /> way to escape.There are no designated shelters on the Cape to keep us safe, no effective traffic <br /> plan, no way for hundreds of thousands of visitors to get off Cape and return home, and so <br />