In these tough times in the U.S. economy proponents of
nuclear power find themselves drawing a hard line between the promotion of
clean energy and jobs and the protection of citizens’ health. In particular,
this article highlights the decision made by President Barack Obama to support
the construction of twin nuclear reactors in Burke County, GA, home to one of
the poorest minority communities of the state. Those
in favor of the nuclear reactors claim it will “result in an emissions-free,
jobs-creating bonanza” for the poor community. But those in the community question
the ability of these nuclear reactors to stimulate their small local economy
since Burke County has remained one of the poorest counties in the state since
the town’s first pair of nuclear reactors was constructed in 1987.
On
a more grievous note, cancer rates have grown to over 50 percent higher than
neighboring communities, leading members of the community to cry out for
increased radiation testing that has been denied them for years. At the end of 2003, when federal funding for
radiation monitoring was set to end in Burke County area local residents and
the Georgia WAND (Women Action for New Directions) began pushing for the
Department of Energy to resume the radiation testing as they saw many friends
and neighbors continue to develop cancer and curious illnesses but got no
results. What’s worse, in 2010 after a CNN investigation WAND discovered that
the Department of Energy had falsely reported to Congress that funds had been
provided to Georgia for radiation testing since 2004. A member of the community
speaks out, “we know that since 2004
there has been no testing of our water, soil or air for radiation. We drink the
water, we bathe in it and wash dishes and clothes in it. We know every family
has cancer... and that can't be normal, that can't be right”.
The residents of Burke County are
stuck in a hard place. The nuclear power reactors are the source of many jobs
in the area and people are understandably hesitant about speaking up about the
apparent health problems for fear of losing the only income they have.
Meanwhile, the power plant companies rake in billions of dollars and yet are unwilling
to comply with efforts to spend some petty change to increase radiation
monitoring to get the nuclear runoffs to a somewhat reasonable level. This
becomes problematic since it is the Nuclear Regulatory Commision policy to
allow plants to monitor themselves. Without incontrovertible evidence to prove
their plight is serious, the members of Burke County are stuck. As their
community has seen a five-fold increase in cancer rates in the past 50 years,
what does that leave for future generations as the two new nuclear reactors are
constructed? This case raises the ethically controversial topic of environmental
racism at its core.
This disheartening article really gets at the core of environmental injustice in the United States. The main point that caught my attention was the fact that Congress had been falsely reporting funds being distributed to Burke County for radiation testing since 2004. If our government is ignoring the dire needs of this small community, how many other communities are suffering as well? Furthermore, the staggeringly high rates of cancer in the area cannot be dismissed. Though the families in Burke County all have members afflicted with rare illnesses and various cancers, they simply do not have the political power and probably education to fix the problems themselves. They are essentially helpless without the aide of outside agencies dedicated to promoting environmental justice and welfare of the people. I think this article is a great example of how media attention is essential for people to gain support for their causes and access the necessary political figures and organizations to bring about necessary change and justice for all people.
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