FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 30, 2021
CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING:
Toward an Evidence-Based Nuclear Energy Policy What Congress Needs to Know About Decommissioning,
Radioactive Waste, and Nuclear Energy as a Climate Strategy
A Congressional briefing on nuclear energy policy issues will be hosted by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute and sponsored by various NGOs including Hudson River Sloop Clearwater on March 30, 2021. As more U.S. nuclear plants are shutting down while others seek subsidies to run longer, new industry practices and policy directions are emerging, such as fast decommissioning, plans to ship highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel across the country to proposed consolidated interim storage facilities, extreme license extension permitting existing nuclear plants to 80 years or even longer, and pursuing “advanced” nuclear reactors as a way to fight climate change, as proposed in pending legislation and Biden administration policies. To help inform policy decisions facing Congress and federal agencies on these fronts, the briefing will point out gaps in current research and data, federal policy, and regulatory oversight, and what can be done to fill them. It will offer practical recommendations to help make pending U.S. policy and regulatory decisions on nuclear energy more science- and evidence-based, and better aligned with science and environmental justice.
WHO? The following leading experts and advocates will present at the briefing and answer journalists’ questions:
∙ Paul Gunter, Director of the Reactor Oversight Project, Beyond Nuclear
∙ Tim Judson, Executive Director, Nuclear Information and Resource Service
∙ Amory Lovins, Adjunct Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University ∙ Leona Morgan, Co-founder, Nuclear Issues Study Group; Diné or “Navajo” community organizer and leading advocate for communities in New Mexico impacted by CISF and uranium mining ∙ Ben Wealer, Research Associate in Nuclear Power Economics, Berlin Institute of Technology; Guest Researcher, DIW Berlin (German Institute for Economic Research).
WHERE & WHEN? The virtual briefing will take place Tuesday, March 30, 2021, 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM EDT. This event is free and open to the public. To RSVP go to www.eesi.org/033021nuclear.
