It's been more than three decades since a partial core meltdown occurred at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station near Harrisburg, Pa. Nuclear technology has advanced by quantum leaps since then and now has a proven track record for safety. But the black eye to the industry has yet to fully fade away.

There's no way around the fact that nuclear power Movado Sprita will be a major component of the nation's future energy portfolio, as the world moves away from oil and fossil fuels as its main sources of power. That's why it's vital that we focus on science and don't let emotions cloud our judgment about nuclear power, which has been placed on the backburner for far too long.

Eastern Idaho may play a major role in helping the nation overcome its addiction to oil and coal. The French company AREVA has plans to build a $2.5 billion uranium enrichment plant near Idaho Falls. The planned Eagle Rock facility could be online by as early as 2014. Only five similar facilities exist in the world.

In addition to injecting $5 billion in the local economy over the life of the project, the facility would produce enough enriched uranium to supply enough fuel to cover a quarter of the current demand for nuclear fuel in the U.S. The U.S. Department of Energy has committed a $2 billion loan guarantee for the plant, demonstrating a genuine resolve by the federal government to develop solutions to our energy crisis.

The Boise-based Snake River Alliance, however , has sought to cloud the facts about the AREVA plant somewhat and play on the public's fear. The alliance hosted a recent rally on the Idaho State University Quad featuring a "radioactive" puppet show and the traveling student organization, Think Outside the Bomb.

Though a Snake River Alliance activist described nuclear power and nuclear weapons as being "inextricably linked," the connection seems pretty tenuous in the case of AREVA.

AREVA officials say it would be scientifically impossible to enrich uranium to weapons grade at their maurice lacroix masterpiece planned facility. Their facility will enrich the concentration of the desired isotope, uranium-235 , to 5 percent. Weaponsgrade uranium-235 must be enriched to 97 percent.

Snake River Alliance members made a strong case that radioactive waste will be stored Maurice Lacroix Venus above the sole-source aquifer for the southern half of the state. AREVA officials, however, insist that the depleted uranium -- they don't call it waste because it can now be reused for additional power --will be transported to a deconversion facility, and no such facility exists in Idaho.

As evidenced by the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf, it's bad policy to allow industry officials to operate without adequate checks and balances. The Snake River Alliance --and the general public in fact --should most definitely stay involved in this project to make sure concerns about storage of depleted uranium and other safety safeguards are fully vetted.

But the Gulf spill also shows us that we must quickly develop alternative sources of energy. Solar, wind and geothermal power alone won't get us to the finish line. The AREVA plant is a step in the right direction, both morally and economically.

Bookmark: