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THE CLACKAMAS PRINT
For Trojan Nuclear Power Plant
May 20,1992
Against Trojan Nuclear Power Plant
\Ne cannot rule out Plant represents health risk
cheap power source
by Frank Jordan
Copy Editor
With the sockeye salmon
being placed on the threatened
species list by the U.S. Depart
ment of Fish and Wildlife, our
continued hopes for cheap hy
droelectric power have taken a
turn for the worse. So, what
other choices do we, as consum
ers of electricity, have as we
approach the 21st century. Some
say that solar power is the wave
of the future, while some will say
that we need to find sources like
wind power.
But while these sources of
power would be a great help in
quenching our never-ending need
for “juice,” we have a source of
power that has served us well for
the last 15 years.
That source of power is the
Trojan Nuclear Power Plant, run
by Portland General Electric.
Although Trojan has never proved
to be as reliable as once was
thought, it still is one of our pri
mary sources of electricity, and
should not be shut down, just
because no one likes the thought
of nuclear power anymore.
Nuclear power has always
proved to be one of the cleanest
sources of power generation that
we have come up with. Unlike
the coal power plant in Board
man, OR, on the Columbia River,
which is now only used in case of
power emergencies, nuclear
power generation does not pro
duce pollutants that fill the air.
The biggest problem that we
have with Trojan is that it does
not run all of the time. Fuel rods
need to be changed periodically,
and there is always the routine
maintenance that accompanies a
nuclear power plant But when
Trojan is up and running, the
plant produces between 15 and
20 percent of our power needs.
This is quite a bit. With the
inevitable cutbacks in hydroelec
tric power that will occur to pro
tect the sockeye salmon, we
cannot rule out this cheap, clean
source of power.
See the stars at Clackamas
The observatory at the John Inskeep Environmental Learn
ing Center is open to the public every clear Wednesday, Friday
and Saturday night from 7:30 to 11:30. Admission is $1.50 per
person.
Run Off volunteers needed
On Sunday, June 28, 7,500 runners will pour through the
streets of downtown Portland for the 15th annual Cascade Run
Off. Assistance is needed race weekend to register athletes, serve
water, hang banners, monitor the course, assist at the finish line
and help with the Kids’ Cascade. Those interested can call the
volunteer hotline at 226-1441.
Attention graduates
Caps and gowns will be available in the Small Dining Room
in the Community Center beginning June 1. Hours for issue are
Monday and Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Wednesday and
Thursday from 12 to 6 p.m.
Jazz Night postponed
Jazz Night, originally scheduled for May 21, has been
canceled and rescheduled for June 2.
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by Eddie Murphy
Staff Writer
The issue here is not if nu
clear power itself is good or bad,
but rather does this particular plant
(and its future operation) repre
sent a benefit or a risk to all of the
residents of the Pacific North
west.
Trojan produces less than 3%
of the Northwest’s power grid;
has the worst safety record in the
U.S. (out of 111 in operation) and
has overloaded waste pools next
to the Columbia River.
Recently, a fault was dis
covered directly underneath the
reactor. In light of all this, the
decision to undertake megabuck
repairs must stem from either
greed, pride or blind political bias
because a populace with their
own best interests at heart would
surely opt for a saner solution!
“There is, unfortunately, a
substantial history of identified
problems that were not suffi
ciently corrected, and in some
cases were not acted on at all.
And that just isn’t the way you
run a nuclear powerplant,” said
Greg Cook of the Nuclear Regu
latory Commission (NRC).
“It isn’t safe to continue op
erating the plant, given that there
is no place to take the used ra
dioactive fuel rods,” said Gover
nor Barbara Roberts.
Item 1: Repairs to Trojan
are estimated by Portland Gen
eral Electric to be over 200 mil
lion dollars. Last year, the Ore
gon Public Utilities Commission
awarded PGE a residential rate
increase of 4.6%. This was to
cover the increased operating and
maintenance costs.
Item 2: Temporary storage
of waste was promised to Ore
gon voters in 1976. In 1976,
questions were raised by the NRC
about the safe storage of radio-
Letter to the Editor
active waste.
Item 3: Trojan is at the North
ern tip of one of the highest earth
quake areas in the state. Trojan
would not be able to shut down
safely in the event of an earth
quake in the magnitude range of
7.5 to 8.5. “We now realize that
the most dangerous fault in the
U.S. lies off the Pacific North
west,” said Director Thomas
Heaton, seismologist with the U.S.
Geological Survey.
Item 4: NRC reports that
workers have been subjected to
unnecessary high doses of radia
tion. NRC inspectors say repair
work has been sloppy and ineffi
cient. Radioactive material from
Trojan that was released into the
air was reported in the Orego
nian February 15,1992.
“... to the village square, we
must carry the facts of atomic en
ergy. From there must come
America’s voice,” said Albert Ein
stein.
Justifying AIDS empowers Neo-Nazis
To the Editor,
I was quite bothered by a
response made by one of your
readers in relation to an article
written about the OCA a few weeks
ago. In this article, Eric was
quoted as saying, ’That is why
AIDS is here. God has allowed
AIDS to flourish because of these
sex sins.” This person goes on to
say that he disagrees with what
the OCA practices, but yet, he
blatantly describes that because
people are homosexual, that they
are somehow deserving of the
disease AIDS. As far as I’m
concerned, the person who wrote
that article is no better than the
OCA itself. His feelings are that
certain people deserve to get AIDS
for their actions. To me, this is
on the same wavelength as the
OCA’s attack against homosexu
als. My question to this particu
lar person is: How do you feel
about AIDS being a heterosex
ual disease in Africa? Does this
mean that God only disapproves
of homosexual relations among
men but not women? And what
about cats-did you know that
cats have their own version of
the AIDS virus? Does God not
like cats either? Do you also
hold the same feelings for people
with other ailments? That they
are somehow deserving of them?
What other excuses will you come
up with to justify the suffering of
all kinds of people? My last
question-Why believe in a God
that is so revengeful towards its
own people? I would much rather
believe in a God who is not judg
mental and accepts that all people
are different. By you justifying
God’s revenge on homosexuals,
you also give power to all those
Neo-Nazi groups and white su
premacist groups out there who
believe its “OK” to beat up or ki 11
gay people because God doesn’t
like them either.
Oh, by the way, the next
time you have a headache or a
cold, don’t go run to that medi
cine chest for cures, maybe God
wants you to be sick!
Nancy Medici
Letter to the Editor
Responsibility instead of revolution
To the Editor,
Mr. Hibberd,
I have some real problems
with your editorial in The Clacka
mas Print.
First of all, I thought we
were in America. Sir, we live in
a democracy, we don’t and I re
peat, don’t riot, we vote. I know
this idea may seem a bit new to
you but really it’s not that new at
all. As a matter of fact, many
men and women have died for
this right. Many men and women
in other countries around the world
are currently fighting and dying
for this right alone.
I know our system is not
perfect but it’s the only one we
have. Why destroy it? Why not
work together to improve it? You
commended the violence in L.A.
What about the 50 plus people
who died there? Please, think
about them for one moment, they
were the innocent, they did not
deserve to die.
I in no way commend the
officers who viciously beat Mr.
King. They should be and will
be convicted by a higher power,
the Federal Civil Rights attor
neys in a court of law. Again,
our system is not perfect, that is
why it is so important to vote.
We have the power to vote out
any politically corrupt man or
woman in office. Instead of
moving the “brothers” to vio
lence, why not move them to the
voting booth?
The theme of your editorial
as I read it was this, “The system
is not working, so let’s destroy
it!” If you don’t like something
about the system, change it, but
do it legally and morally. Would
you commend me for burning
down my professor’s house if he
gave me'a grade I felt was un
just? Should we shoot our par
ents if they ground us? Of course
not! Why should we riot against
our government when we have
the legal power to change it?
I would like you to take re
sponsibility for your editorial.
What would your editorial say to
the black community who did
not riot? What would your edi
torial say to the black families
who are trying to raise their chil
dren with a sense of moral value?
What would it say to the parents
who made their children take back
the merchandise they looted?
Those people are the heroes of
this whole incident. On the sub
ject of responsibility, don’t let the
government or your leaders talk
for you if you don’t agree with
what they say. Take responsibil
ity for yourself. Don’tblame your
government, your society, your
leaders for the riots in L. A. Blame
the people who actually broke into
these stores, who actually mur
dered innocent people on the
streets, who actually shot firemen
who were trying to put out the
infernos in L.A. Make them re
sponsible.
The majority of Americans
condemn with all their hearts the
violence that took place in L.A.
Except for you. You don’t scare
me, Mr. Hibberd, because I have
faith in peace, I have faith in
Americans and I have faith that
we can fix anything if we only try.
Violence is not the answer.
Karen Nassif