ML19289G013
| ML19289G013 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Crane  |
| Issue date: | 04/13/1979 |
| From: | Margalith J CBS, INC./CBS NEWS |
| To: | Hendrie J NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19289G005 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 7906220083 | |
| Download: ML19289G013 (4) | |
Text
Fi'13Ss Cesa m A Ovsco of CSS ine Cre E~carcacerc Ce~er San F rc sc: C A
- r a 9a t t i 4*5 3d2 COO
Dear Mr. Hendrie:
April 13, 1979 Enclosed is a copy of a recent KCSS editorial dealing with the ecencmics cf nuclear power.
We invite you to prepare a statement for broadcast on KCBI which would describe your views en this matter.
T?
.ctal time for the reply shculd be about one and a
f minutes reading time alcud.
As o't c - KCBS listeners have also requested this inicrnati.n, we encourage you to centact us at your earlies: ccnvenience to discuss your prepared respense.
We shall select respcnses which we determine to be most representative of divergent viewpoints.
Thank you for your interest in cur editorial comments.
Cordially,
/
/
b/k.)
M
/
j
't Joa\\,e n Margalith Acting Director Editorial and Public Affairs Mr. Joseph Hendrie, Chairman Nuclear Regulatory Cctaission Washington, D.C.
20555 Encl. 79-16 746 056 qqc3y s @G23
' I I /'
(
/
SAN RANCSC3 CAlfCO4A 74W I
li\\
ACE 45 W2MC35CwMD i
- '"AgusEE t
MMC MIS I
l TNs :s cne et a cert,rvrg seres of < CSS Ecc<c ec tercis e= cress.cg j
te cein.cn ci s*ction cragerert en 'ec cs et v tci rnterest 'o te l
l
, 4 m, ecemng.c rec y en ta-e c,r.f you -ssec *e crcccccst ci ths n
comm,nw Resocesbe recrescate5ves cf occes.ng rewccirts c e pven muss ac tonc: *e *cce vou wn! <ecc t. four ccm re-ts cre ciwcvs we ccme 3 'a' 'A 'dCCcy. '/ce es.ce9. C33 UC C h 5 C" e
D M 'I i
EEEIEE Cte"e'C4 VCeage', (C33 DC 0 5cs.EC-
'Ihe Eccnmics cf Nuclear Po,er 79-16 ww
~ ~ ~ ~
- gril 13,1979 12
- 20a, 2:50a, 5:20a, 8:19a,12:19p, 3:20p, 6:18p.
Fepeated:
4/14-ll:17a; 4/15-9:17a, 3:17p.
(HERE IS GEM KUM PETER FCCOY WITH AN EDI2CRIAL CPINICli.)
Since last week, we've been telling ycu why it's so inpcrtant fer the United States to phase cut nuclear pcwer. AM, we menticned some of the econmic risks associated with nuclear power. But, as more and more news caes in cn wtat an accident at a nuclear reacter ccsts, eccnmic facters alcne rake it clear that nuclear pcwer is not a viable energy source.
Ch WedneMay, fcr instance, the Nuclear Regulatcry Carissicn revealed that nost of the nuclear pcwer plants in the coun*ry need cperatienal changes. And it's prudent to predict that before the investigaticn et 'Ihree Mile Island is ccqJetc, acre new safety regulaticns are sure to result.
If you want an idea of hcw nuch it ecsts to rake rrdifications cn a nuclear reactor, ask the pecple at M&E.
They started building a pcuer plant at Diablo Canycn in 1968 at a projected at cf 350 atillicn dollars. So far, eleven years later, the plant has ccst 1.4 billicn dollars. And, it's not licensed yet. Ccnstrers haven't had to abscrb any of these " unexpected" ccnstructicn ecsts yet, but if Diablo ever gces "cn line", they will. Ccnstrers are paying for the Htrboldt Bay plant, which hasn't generated cne kilcmt: cf electricity since it was shut dcwn 2 years ago due to its pctential pability to withstand an earthquaxe.
Still, PG&E believes the ecst cf running Diablo Canycn will be so 1cw, it will cancel cut the unexpected extra billicn dollars it paid cut fcr c:nstructicn.
We think that projecticn is naive and unrMistic.
Cne prchle1 is that when utilities such as PG&E decide to build a nuclear plant, they dcn't kncw encugh about the kinds of ecsts they're likely to incur. As fer the basics, there's the ecst of dispcsing cf radicactive wastes. No cne's sure hcw that's going to be dcne, cr if it can be dcne. PG&E can't project the ccst of waste dispcsal. either. So it hasn't been figured into that Diabb Canycn 1.4 billicn dellar price tag.
Next, there's the cost of distantling a plant. The average nuclear facility has a limited life e.xpectancy. After 25 to 40 years, it's nothing mere than a huge rass of radicactive waste. No rajcr plant has ever been de-ccnmissicned.
Sc, acain, no cne's sure of hcw nuch it'll ccst.
It's been estimated, hcwever, that it'll cost 120 millicn to dchssicn the crippled reactor at Three Mile Islanf.
PG&E says Diablo Canyon would ccst about 200 nti11icn dollars to de-ccmnissicn. But that cost hasn't been figured into the 1.4 billicn dollar price tag, either.
-mcre-n' Jd
W.e Eccnmics of Nuclear Pckr
~~
Page.
Then there's insurance. Three Mile Island has 300 millicn dollars werth of prcgf damage insurance.
It's expected that damages fran the March 28th accident will exceed 300 millicn dollars. Mme of Califernia's eartickc pctential, PG&E cculdn't get a private comany to insure its nuclear plants at an affordable price.
So it far ed a conscrtit::n with sme other utilities that insured Diablo Canycn for prccerty drages up to 225 millicn dellars.
S.at's 75 rillicn dollars less tMn the i. sufficient ecverage cn a reactcr with much less potential for earthquake darace.
Tr.surance rates had been based en the nuclear pcu r i.M ust_('s fairly clean safety recc:d. After the accident at Three Mile Island, they're sure to go un.
With all these nea financial ecnsideraticns, it's no wnder that New Ycrk State's Pcwer Auchcrity cancelled ccnstructicn cf a prcycsef nuclear plant.
It' ll build a coal-firai facility i. stead--because it's less expensive.
Every day it's becming mcre a;rarent that the ecencric advantages cnce asscciated with nuclear pcwer have less of a basis in fact. The tmth is we still dcn't k.cw encugh abcut nuclear pcwer to deterine its coscs. But everyedng we are learni.y peints to the fact that nuclear pcwer is turning into a herrendcusly expensive ristake.
w w
1i/
OF l
[kb db
EDITORIAL REPLY d DATE AIRDATE INTROCCCTICN IN A RECENT EDITORIAL, KCBS SPEAKING in response is CLOSE my,B a
.3 g.<.~
.) 7. r.
.% : u i hnD
,n-,,
n_ny.,
y s..a s
KCES prevides reply oppcrtunities as a matter of policy.
Your ccm-ments are always welecre.
YOUR INSTRUCTIONS FOR REPLIES KCES reccmmends reccrding ycur reply in cur studios to achieve the best quality.
If a personal visit is impossible, two alternatives are available:
A)
Recording ycur statement by telephcne.
B)
Recording your statement on tape and relaying tape to KCBS.
In either 2A or 23, certain cautions are in crder.
1)
We prefer to confine telephone recording to long distance responses beycnd 50 miles frcm San Francisco.
2)
Taping on your cwn reccrder must be done ONLY with new cr
" clean" tape, free of any previous recorded material.
Our studio machines can only acccmmodate recordings at 7h IPS speed -- full track.
3)
DO NCT bother to restate the topic of the KCBS editorial or to identify yourself in your opening paragraph.
The standard introduction at the top of this sheet will be made by a staff anncuncer.
4)
Try to limit your total statement to about lh minutes READING TIME ALOUD.
Ccmbined with the introduction and closing, tnis will keep statements within our time limitatiens and will help avoid alienating your' audience with a lengthy menologue.
If the response MUST be long, then try to divide it into TWO parts to be alred on successive days.
5)
PLEASE SEND US A WRITTEN COPY OF YCUR STATEMENT FCR PUBLICATION 3EFORE CCMING IN TO RECORD YOUR REPLY.
246 059