Coalition aims for nuclear waste safety via The Boston Globe

Group targets storage of spent nuclear fuel

Plymouth officials have embarked on an effort to unite communities with nuclear reactors across the country into a coalition that will fight for safer storage of nuclear waste at their plants.

Selectwoman Belinda Brewster,  who has spent a year planning last week’s  creation of the Coalition of Nuclear Communities,  said the group will focus on safe handling of spent fuel, and would not get caught up in the broader debate over nuclear energy.

“We’re not going out as pro-nuke or anti-nuke,” Brewster said. “We’re going out as pro-safety. Our communities are being turned into long-term nuclear waste dump sites, with highly radioactive, crowded, spent fuel pools.”

The coalition intends to lobby federal lawmakers to change fuel-storage practices and provide money for new facilities. By doing it as a nationwide coalition, “we’ll have a louder voice,” Brewster said during her presentation on the coalition to fellow selectmen last Tuesday.

Brewster last week launched a website,www.nuclearcommunities.com,  loaded with information and statistics. The site also provides tools such as press releases and form letters to send to US senators and representatives.

“The goal is to make it easy for other officials and people to get the ball rolling,” Brewster said.