0 Page 4-Friday, April 18, 1980-The Michigan Daily t tYetai Whether the nuclear industry should become 4 major source of energy for this nation is a Oighly controversial issue. One of the primary qontentions of the anti-nuclear movement is hat nuclear plant operation, safety and cost aside, creates a serious problem of nuclear aste disposal. 'The process of removing uranium from its eological home, converting it into a fuel, and sposing of the resultant waste is referred to Is the nuclear fuel cycle. The cycle begins in uranium mines and ends with the storage of Pastes generated by nuclear plants. GTO SOME DEGREE the nuclear industry p oduces hazardous wastes at all stages of the el cycle. For example, miners suffer from fAdioactive radon gas that is released during (he mining of uranium. Accidents while tran- nother reason to close Oorting radioactive wastes through large population areas can do severe damage. Though serious, these problems are minimal compared to the bulk of the nuclear waste problem-the wastes generated specifically by nuclear power plants. There are low-level radioactive wastes. Low- jtvel waste includes anything that has picked dip radiation during any stage of the fuel cycle. This includes medical wastes produced by hospital use of radioisotopes, as well as tools ased in mining and glovesaand uniforms of *orkers in enrichment and reprocessing plants. High-level wastes contain uranium-235 and/or plutonium-239. Both are highly radioac- tive. This type of waste is only produced by the operation of a nuclear power plant and by the arms industry in weapons production. These high-level wastes come in the form of radioac- tive gases (radon, for example); liquity (radioactive cooling water); and solids (spent fuel rods). Due to their radioactivity, these high-level wastes are the most difficult to dispose of. Some researchers recognize so- called "intermediate" wastes. These' are liquids and materials contaminated with radioactivity to a slightly less degree than high-level wastes. Excepting fuel rods, inter- mediate wastes include all items considered high-level wastes. These wastes are not necessarily less dangerous than high-level wastes, but they are less concentrated. EXACT, UP-TO-DATE figures on the total amount of nuclear waste are very hard to find. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has estimated that by the year 2000, federal and commercial nuclear power together will have generated up to 400 million cubic feet of low-level waste products. Also, by the year 2000 there could be an annual volume of 2 million cubic meters. Isolated incidents aside, there is a question as to the general efficiency of low-level nuclear waste disposal. Between 1946 and 1962 there were 47,500 fifty-five gallon drums of radioac- tive waste dumped into the ocean. One site for this dumping was 35 miles west of San Fran- cisco and the other was off Cape Cod. These wastes, a result of our atomic weapons and researdh activity, were dumped completely within Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) guidelines and with an AEC license for both sites good until 1970. Today ocean dumping of low-level waste con- tinues. The non-commercial government sites seem to pose some of the more serious situations concerning environmental destruc- tion. OF THE SIX commercial low-level storage sites, only four are presently operating. The West Valley site closed in 1975 when burial trenches were found to be leaking into the surrounding waterways that feed Lake Erie. Similarly, in 1977 at the Morehead, Ky. site, leaking was discovered where containers full of radioactive waste were buried. The facility was closed because of the leaks, including one that was reportedly 14 years old. High-level radioactive waste storage is a far more complex and expensive process. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) does not define spent nuclear power plant fuel as high-level waste because of its potential value as fuel if reprocessed. However, since reprocessing methods are years away from being developed, spent fuel is certainly a waste product. Most researching bodies, including the General Accounting Office (GAO) of the federal government, consider spent fuel high- level waste. The great majority of this waste is stored on the nuclear plant sites that originally generated it. Today, about 3,000 metric tons of spent fuel are stored on site. This figure could grow by 17,000 metric tons over the next four years. At this rate there will be a severe shortage of on-site storage capacity by 1985. THE NRC HAS recently given certain power plant sites permission to pack fuel rods closer the nukes together in waste storage tanks. Some fear this risks creating a critical mass, the amount of radioactive material that would permit an ex- plosion. The super-hot liquid high-level waste generated at nuclear plants is stored in con- crete-encased carbon or stainless-steel tanks. These wastes often boil, and further procedures are needed for cooling. Although the tanks were designed to last 50 years, the stress on them from hot, corrosive, and acidic wastes has caused a far shorter tank life, and a series of leaks. By 1970 there had been 15 tank failures, the worst leak coming from a tank built in 1944. When discovered, the tank was releasing 2,500 gallons of high-level waste a day. It had been leaking for 51 days. An estimated total of 115,000 gallons of high-level waste had escaped. The methods for detecting leaks today are crude. Experts agree that many small leaks simply go unnoticed. THOUGH MANY inefficiencies have been documented, there are some who believe the waste storage problem is on the brink of a per- manent solution. More than one billion dollars have been spent in search of this solution. Techniques ranging from shooting the wastes into outer space to burial in rock formations, ar- ctic ice, surface vaults, and deep wells have been investigated. A few years ago a solution was supposedly found-the underground salt mines of Lyons, Kansas. However, the mines were eventually judged unsuitable because, among other deficiencies, they were full of holes from ex- ploratory oil well drilling. One of the latest ideas for the disposal of high-level wastes is sub-seabed burial. Some researchers feel that down safe containers can be devised to take away the high risk of burying large concentrations of radioactive wastes in the floor of the ocean. A permanent solution to the nuclear waste disposal problem should be. a high priority. Considering the figures on temporary storage site space compared to the growth of waste generation, a crisis is developing. THERE ARE THOSE who question the extent of the danger posed by small amounts or doses of radioactivity. For this reason, some researchers and law makers do not consider the waste problem very crucial. Like any other toxin, radioactive wastes are dangerous. "Radioactive wastes, being highly toxic, can damage or destroy living cells, causing cancer and possible death depending on the quantity and length of time individuals are exposed to them. Some radioactive wastes will remain hazardous 'for hundreds of thousands of years. Decisions on what to do with the wastes will af- fect the lives of generations to come," says A. Gyorgy in his book No Nukes. Considering the virtually perpetual danger and potential disaster radioactive wastes pose to life and health on this planet, and con- sidering that reliable disposal techniques have not been developed while temporary holding facilities are close to capacity levels, the only logical proposal is to halt further production of radioactive wastes until disposal problems are resolved. The Public Interest Research Group in Michigan (PIRGIM) addresses a number of consumer and student concerns in its column on this page. This article was writ- ten by PIRGIM member John Leone.. * a I . East Quad by David Kirby tgan+ ttil hf "it(e " Yers of Editor'iaI lFreedomI 0' Vol. XC, No. 158 News Phone: 764-0552 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan til k ,,,, K, r r % .Z r /A/ r . CAA' a /.p A'5 ANL . T / S G 5P//A',( INDOWS, /A 5N7;r7g 5/A IIN BE~/N&- GA... AND) WANr/W6- Am // 1 1 WW Sb"T.77. Tye'' F /,P DLE /7AIx2BCQ A/W WO~c F EtA/.%'S.. E Ji LETTES TO HE DIY Pomp and 'U' finance rMPM/S 91V 04/AS5h"OLI/A'SS aIE _ J b 11HE UNIVERSITY does not inau- gurate presidents very often. Adeed, in its 163-year history, this in- $titution has had only 10 chief officers. consequently, when an inaugural oc- kasion does arise, it provides a con- yenient opportunity for the University P show itself off with much pomp and tiircumstance. ; This week the University formally -Istalled its tenth president, Harold hapiro. Last night's festive Inaugural .Ball capped several days pf ;ceremonies and performances honoring the distinguished economics )rofessor who many believe is ideally suited to lead the University through ts toughest financial times. We have the greatest hope that resident Shapiro will prove among ,he best leaders this University has 'bad. As a scholar, he will resist stead- Zastly any erosion of educational Auality that could be the unfortunate 'esult of budget cutbacks. As an administrator (Shapiro step- ped up to the presidency from the University's number-two position, ice-president for academic affairs), ,,Shapiro has had much experience with ; the University's unique decentralized ;decision-making system. And as an economist, Shapiro has the practical experience necessary to develop increasingly complex budgets with rapidly decreasing revenues. In : fact, Shapiro surprised many a visitor to his vice-presidential office with his devotion to the highly-acclaimed U.S. economic outlook reports he regularly issues with several colleagues-he kept a computer terminal behind his desk to work on problems whenever he had a few spare minutes. There have been some critics of the pageantry and cost-about $25,000-of this week's events. They have pointed to extreme fiscal pressures now facing the University, the probability of huge tuition increases, and even the finan- cial problems of specific curricula-such as the Women's Studies Program-as evidence that the inauguration funds could have been better spent. But these critics fail to realize that the proud, almost ostentatious display put on this week has strategic significance beyond its ego-building function. The $25,000 invested in ceremonies should reap many times that in donations from alumni newly- infused with pride. We wish President Shapiro the best in his tenure as the University's leader. And we are confident that he is well aware of the dangers of passing off the University's greatly increased costs to students in the form of sharply- hiked tuitions. After all, if costs go up much more, there won't be many students left who can afford to be proud of the University-because they won't be able to afford to be here. i - , _, Y II Apathy prevented booklet distribution To the Daily: I would like to congratulate David Meyer on his excellent detective work on a very newsworthy item: "MSA fails to deliver student booklet" (Daily, April 12). While his story was fac- tually correct, he failed to un- cover the true cause of the un- distributed booklets. I am the outgoing com- munications co-ordinator for MSA. As reported, I attempted to distribute the booklets in mid- November, approximately one week after I was informed that their distribution was my respon- sibility. . After gathering seven Assem- bly members who said they would help, we decided on a day and time to distribute. When the time came, only one person besides myself showed up. We went to the University Cellar and attempted to locate the booklets. I spoke to no fewer than five people who had absolutely no idea what I was talking about. Obviously, the booklets were, and still are, there. Frustrated at wasting an hour-and-a-half, I "abandoned the project." So there you have it. A typical story-ask people to help with something, be it serve on a com- mittee, sit at a tableduring MSA week, vote in an election, and people don't come through. What it all comes down to is saying "yes" and making a commit- ment. One person can only do so much coercing and pleading before frustration sets in and he or she "abandons the project." Personally, I" have found that the most efficient and quickest way to get things done is to do them yourself. Unfortunately, there are many others in positions like mine on this cam- pus who will agree. Beating your head against a wall gets you nowhere-and with a sore head. The real problem is not un- distributed booklets, but unin- terested, unconcerned, and un- motivated students (I would just love it if someone would challenge me on that!) We need more students to say "yes" and not be afraid to make a commitment. I have, and if I had to do it over again, I wouldn't change a thing (except maybe to distribute some booklets). We are still left with the unfor- tunate situation of the un- distributed booklets and the dismayed patrons. I no longer have any desire to distribute these booklets, but, as I still hold the position of co-ordinator, one of my duties entails delegating responsibility (otherwise known as passing the buck). a In view of the fact that Mr. Meyer has a keen interest in get- ting the booklets out, as eviden- ced by his sharp work in un- covering the story, I'd like to see him distribute the booklets. This would solve the problem and we'd all live happily ever after. -Jeanne Barr April 14 En dorsemen t defended The Socialist alternative /%4 % 4 r f 'W AME OLV CHOICG! i1 -, COMNW56 MY OEAJ5 O 4OerO ALSR To the Daily: "Working people keep the country running-working people should run the country," is the slogan of the 1980 Socialist Workers Party presidential cam- paign of Andrew Pulley for president and Matilde Zimmer- man for vice president. Pulley, a black steelworker from Chicago, and Zimmermann, a long-time activist in the women's rights movement, are the only candidates for president and vice president that call for full em- ployment by reducing the work- week with no reduction in pay to spread the available work around through emergency public work programs. The money for such a program would come from the military budget and taxes on profits of the big corporations. The SWP candidates oppose the draft for men and women. They say we shouldn't die for big oil. country to meet its demands for higher prices and more profits. Pulley and Zimmermann say the industry should be taken out of the Ijands of the capitalists and nationalized. It should be ad-' ministered by an elected board, operating out in the open, under the vigilance of the unions and consumer groups. Chrysler should be placed un- der public ownership so that its productive facilities can be used to promote the social good: to provide jobs at decent wages; to produce efficient, safe, inexpen- sive cars and to build socially necessary public transit vehicles and agricultural machinery. Since increasing numbers of people are disgusted by the antics of the Democrats and Republican politicians, we, the majority of American people, should have our own independent labor political party. A labor party based on the power of the unions To the Daily: In response to the letter by Mr. Marc Shepherd (Daily, April 10) concering the Daily Editorial Board's endorsement of the Realistic Party for the Michigan Student Assembly (MSA)r: It is too bad that Mr. Shepherd has allowed a lack of knowledge concerning Realistic goals and candidates to get in the way of what could have been a fair rebuttal against our party: The Realistic Party. Making analogies to Gov. Jerry Brown is all fine and dandy, but one should base one's analogies on the common premises bet- ween the two objects being com- pared, and then draw conclusions from those premises. Shepherd's basic premise that the Realistic Party may only receive "a token sum of votes" may be true. But, the proposal that the Daily has the "responsibility to recom- mend. . . a viable candidate" is where his argument loses its fire against the Daily's deliberated decision to endorse "Realistic." The Daily's endorsement should be based on the issues involved, not which party has the best chance of winning. I ask you, Mr. Shepherd, and all who might share your views, wouldn't it be sad if the Daily werean instrument of the big parties that have such a good chance of winning, the parties that espouse the same issues year after year, the parties that get elected by just a small percen- tage of the student populace (and call themselves "student representatives"), the parties that spend upwards of $100, $200 $300, $400 on campaigns tha could easily be run for less than $100? The Daily pleaded for change, for an MSA which truly represen- ts the students, for candidates concerned with campus and campus life; the Daily did not, and does not, want to endorse the well-greased political machine that manages t steamroll campus election every year. The Daily spent at least one week researching the issues, in- terviewing candidates, deliberating amongst themselves as to who would best represent the ideals of the students of this university. They did not try to predict which group had the best chance of winning. I'm realistic, and maybe you should be too. -Jeff Knaggs Candidate, Realistic Party April 10 CARP responds to attack To the Daily: I was shocked and saddened by the blatant smear upon the remarks we were accused of. I question the integrity of people who would sign such a let-