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March 7, 2012

Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe in Texas;
Lessons We Must Learn and Actions We Must Take In Light of the Fukushima Disaster

Austin, TX Concerned citizens in Texas are calling on U.S. leaders to do more to prevent a U.S. nuclear disaster. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster that began nearly a year ago, on March 11, 2011, resulted in explosions, releases of radioactive materials and complete meltdowns of three reactors. 160,000 people were evacuated. Radioactive Iodine-131 and Cesium-137 was detected around the world and large amounts of radioactive materials were released into the Pacific Ocean. Only two of Japan’s 54 nuclear reactors are operating today and they are also expected to be shut down by the end of May. In light of the meltdowns, Germany now plans to shut down all 17 of its reactors and replace them with renewable energy. Post-Fukushima safety improvements have been recommended by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s task force.

"The lesson we absolutely must learn from Fukushima is that any nuclear reactor can have a meltdown. U.S. reactors are at risk from hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, floods, earthquakes, lack of cooling water and terrorist attacks, as well as accidents due to human error and mechanical failure," said Karen Hadden, Director of the Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) Coalition. "We’re urging Congress to halt nuclear licensing and nuclear loan guarantees, subsidies which would allow billions of taxpayer dollars to flow into dangerous new reactor projects. Old reactors get metal fatigue and accident risks increase. They should be retired, not re-licensed for another twenty years."

Read more…

• Download Press Release 3/7/12
• Five Myths About the Fukushima Disaster
• 1 Year Anniversary Events in Texas

A couple who lived in Japan, but had to leave as a result of the Fukushima disaster speak out

Listen to thier stories (wav files)
• Ivan Stout
• Chiaki Kasahara

Take Action:

• No Fukushima Style Disaster in Texas

Monday, Mar. 19, 2012

By BETSY BLANEY
Associated Press/Fort Worth Star-Telegram

LUBBOCK, Texas — Trucks carrying low-level radioactive waste from 38 states will likely be rolling along Texas highways as early as April, bound for permanent burial at a dump near the New Mexico border.

The arrival of the low-level radioactive waste will end a years-long effort by a Dallas-based company, whose majority owner is big-time political contributor Harold Simmons, to win permission from Texas officials to accept the waste at 1,340-acre tract of scrub brush terrain about 360 miles west of Dallas. Opponents say Waste Control Specialists has benefited from Simmons’ connections to top Republicans, including Gov. Rick Perry.

The state’s commission overseeing disposal of low-level waste in Texas is expected to approve the final rule changes needed on Friday. State lawmakers cleared the way with a new law passed in the last legislative session. State regulators still need to sign off on the burial site’s construction.

Environmental groups have for years voiced concerns about the geology of the site and about the potential for contamination of underground water sources they say are too close. A "nightmare scenario" exists, though, in transporting the waste to the site, said Karen Hadden, director of the Texas SEED Coalition.

"All of it is dangerous but we are very concerned about highway accidents," she said. "There could be accidents in downtown Dallas or downtown Fort Worth and Houston. There is risk of radioactive contamination and exposure."

Company spokesman Chuck McDonald, who noted extensive testing at the site has shown it’s safe, said accidents involving transportation of radioactive material are infrequent.

"It’s actually a very good the track record," he said.

Data from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration show that from 2003 through 2011 there were 72 incidents involving trucks with radioactive material traveling on highways. One person died and the accidents caused $2.4 million in damages.

That compares with almost 64,000 incidents involving flammable/combustible liquids – the leader in hazardous materials accidents in the nine-year span. Seventy-six people have died in those incidents, which caused $319.5 million in damages.

There is no requirement to notify law enforcement officials along routes trucks will travel with the low-level waste, said Chris Van Deusen, spokesman for the Texas Department of State Health Services, which oversees the transportation of the waste.

One state legislator said he wonders whether those living along the routes are ready, were an incident to occur.

"Transportation of this waste is not route-restricted, and we don’t know whether local emergency response teams are prepared for such a scenario," said Texas Rep. Lon Burnam, a Democrat from Fort Worth.

Waste Control, which also stores, processes and manages hazardous wastes at the site, has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to open the dump. In 2009, the state issued two licenses to the company to bury low-level radioactive waste, making it the nation’s only dump for all classes – A, B and C – of nuclear debris and the first low-level site to open in 30 years.

One license pertains to a compact between Texas and Vermont that allows for disposal of radioactive materials such as uranium, plutonium and thorium from commercial power plants, academic institutions and medical schools. Last year, though, lawmakers approved allowing low-level radioactive waste from 36 other states to be buried in West Texas.

Petitions to bury waste from the compact states and the three dozen other states must be approved by the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Disposal Compact Commission, whose meeting is Friday, on a case-by-case basis.

The other license deals with similar materials from sites run by the U.S. Department of Energy, such as Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, Hanford Site in Washington state and other federal facilities.

Simmons, who is the world’s 100th wealthiest man with $9 billion on this year’s Forbes list, has given Perry’s campaigns $1.1 million during his time as governor. The governor is responsible for appointing environmental commissioners.

"That’s been the pattern all along," Hadden said. "When you’ve a billionaire at the helm of Waste Control Specialists and many lobbyists on the payroll, things tend to go your way."

She pointed to last fall when Waste Control was allowed to use stock from a publicly-traded sister company, Titanium Metals, to fund a trust to cover potential liability at the radioactive waste facility. The license required the company to provide $140 million in financial assurance.

State law allows several methods for the assurance, including a fully funded or a standby trust, a surety bond or an insurance policy but it also allows the agency’s executive director to approve other mechanisms on a case-by-case basis.

Once the waste is in the ground it becomes the property of the state. The disposal license is good until 2024 and can be extended by 10-year periods after that.

In an email response, an environmental commission spokesman said Waste Control told his agency that the cost to get a letter of credit in 2010 was prohibitive and that’s why they used stock as collateral instead. The company blamed changes in the market and the inability to get commercial insurance.

Environmental commission spokesman Terry Clawson’s email said using publicly-traded stock "has been done before for hazardous waste facilities." The agency required additional protections in allowing the company to use stock from the sister company, including a $20 million surety bond along with a standby trust agreement. After five years the company must come up with cash or a more secure, traditional form of financial assurance.

The federal government in the early 1980s began urging states to build low-level nuclear waste landfills, either on their own or in cooperation with other states by forming compacts. Since then, South Carolina entered into a compact with New Jersey and Connecticut, agreeing to dispose of nuclear waste at a landfill that later accepted waste from dozens of other states.

But about 10 years ago, South Carolina lawmakers said they no longer wanted to be the nation’s dumping grounds and in 2008 the facility began accepting waste from only its compact partners, leading other states to look to Texas to store their waste.

—

Online:

Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission: http://www.tllrwdcc.org

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: www.tceq.state.tx.us

Waste Control Specialists: http://www.wcstexas.com

Associated Press writer Betsy Blaney can be followed on Twitter at https://twitter.com/betsyblaney

March 9, 2012

Plans to double the 1,080-megawatt nuclear-power complex in Matagorda County responsible for a full third of greater San Antonio’s power fell through after ballooning cost estimates gave way to internal bickering and lawsuits, but some local residents want the city to withdraw from pending applications to extend the operating licenses of the two-reactor South Texas Project and fully divest itself from what they consider an “unforgiving” power source.

And as the world recognizes the one-year anniversary of the multi-plant meltdown and hydrogen explosions in Japan at Fukushima, nuclear opponents will be on the street this Saturday night making their case in front of the federal building and CPS Energy offices.

"It looks like at this point no one has died [in Fukushima] and we’re very grateful for that. We don’t know what will happen down the road because a lot of people were exposed to radiation," said Cindy Wheeler, spokesperson for the organization Energía Mía. "It has pretty much wiped out the farmland around Fukushima for many, many years. They’re saying decades. My personal feeling is it’s going to be more than decades. … It’s been disastrous."

Unit 2 at STP has been offline for several months as crews work to replace a rotor in the main generator, it’s this sort of maintenance issue that opponents use to suggest that the plants should be retired by the end of their current licenses — not extended to serve until nearly 2050 as federal relicensing would allow.

But Buddy Eller, spokesperson from STP, told the Current he’s confident in the plant’s three emergency safety systems that include "locomotive-sized" diesel generators in flood-proof concrete bunkers will be able to keep STP functioning in safety in any emergency going forward into the coming decades.

Here’s the Energía Mía press release:

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – Calling for an end to the use of nuclear energy by City Public Service (CPS) and a new vision for energy production using renewable geothermal, solar, and wind sources, Energía Mía or My Energy, will stage a vigil to mark the first anniversary of the nuclear disaster at Fukushima, Japan on Saturday, March 10, 2012. Energía Mía, a grassroots organization, will meet at the Federal Building at 727 E. Cesar Chavez and walk from there to the downtown offices of City Public Service (CPS) at 145 Navarro St. The event is being organized by the Energía Mía coalition of groups interested in energy choices. Those attending will be urged to wear white, carry luminàrias, and hand out leaflets.

WHO: Energía Mía and coalition groups
WHAT: Vigil to mark the 1-year anniversary of the nuclear energy accident in Fukushima, Japan
WHEN: Saturday, March 10, 2012 at 6:30 pm
WHERE: Federal Building on 727 E. Cesar Chavez to the City Public Service offices at 145 Navarro St.
VISUALS: Those marking the nuclear disaster will wear white and carry luminàrias and signs

March 9, 2012

SunHerald.com

LEWISVILLE, Texas — Uranium Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ: URRE) ("URI" or the "Company"), today provided an update on the Company’s activities and financials, as well as its strategy and outlook.

Don Ewigleben, President and CEO of URI, commented, "We achieved several objectives during 2011, and we have continued to make excellent strides as we move into 2012. Over the last 14 months:

We initiated and advanced a full exploration program in South Texas in partnership with Cameco (NYSE: CCJ)

We completed our internal technical report and engaged an independent engineering firm for a feasibility study for our Churchrock Section 8 in situ recovery (ISR) project in New Mexico

We recently announced the execution of a definitive agreement to acquire Neutron Energy, Inc. ("Neutron")

And, we executed a $10 million financing agreement that helps to address our working capital requirements and the continued advancement of our projects and those held by Neutron."

Texas Exploration Progressing at Los Finados; Reclamation, Permitting and Process Facility Preparation Activities Moving Forward

URI has through its history produced over 8 million pounds of uranium from its South Texas properties. Although not currently in production due to the pricing environment, the Company has been developing and executing on plans to be in a ready position for production when economically feasible. At this time, URI expects 2012 to be focused on a variety of development activities, but does not anticipate producing from its Texas properties during the year.

URI is advancing current leased properties through licensing and permitting and will look to lease additional targeted properties.

The Company will conduct activities on its Kingsville Dome holding ponds during the second quarter through the end of the year to increase the usable capacity of the ponds and to recover uranium that has been collected over the various production cycles of the project. The pond efforts are expected to cost approximately $3 million and URI believes it may able to generate up to 40,000 to 50,000 pounds of U3O8 as a by-product of this activity. This effort is necessary for uranium production in Texas as well as the potential of processing uranium loaded resins from the Company’s future uranium projects in Texas and New Mexico. The Kingsville Dome central processing plant is scheduled for its needed upgrades to begin toward the end of 2012.

URI will seek to further discussions regarding its two existing sales contracts to redefine the terms of its sales agreements to enable better margins and enhance the likelihood of returning to production in Texas as soon as practicable.

URI has processed approximately 4.2 billion gallons of water associated with the restoration activities at its three most recent South Texas projects through the end of the fourth quarter. Restoration has been completed and production areas PA1 and PA2 are moving to stabilization at Kingsville Dome (KVD). Further along in the process are Rosita PA1 and PA2 wellfields. Restoration results for these wellfields have been reviewed by the Texas regulatory agencies and restoration tables approved. URI expects to achieve final closure on these areas by the third quarter of 2012. Restoration activities continue at KVD PA3 and Vasquez PA1 and PA2.

In January 2011, URI completed an agreement to explore 53,524 acres in Kenedy County, Texas, for three years, with an option to lease the acreage for uranium production. And, URI and Cameco Resources, a subsidiary of Cameco (NYSE: CCJ), entered in a joint venture agreement which commenced with Phase I in June 2011.

Phase I exploratory work was completed in November 2011 and used a widely and evenly spaced drilling program covering a grid designed to test the potential for uranium mineralization over the entire 53,500 acre area. Both parties elected to move forward with Phase II in December.

Phase II work started in December 2011 and is schedule to be completed in November 2012. Cameco will fund $1 million of the total $1.5 million that was committed by URI to complete Phase II. Under Phase II, 10 holes at an average depth of 1,300 feet have been drilled to date.

Cameco has earned a 40% interest in the project and at the completion of Phase II will have 50%.

Mr. Ewigleben noted, "We have a full slate of activities for our South Texas region in 2012 with the ultimate goal being to develop sufficient in place mineralized uranium material to support long-term production and capture the economics available with in situ recovery mining to capitalize on the processing assets we have at Kingsville Dome and Rosita."

Feasibility Study for Churchrock Section 8 in Review; Neutron Acquisition Announced

One of URI’s primary focuses in 2011 in New Mexico was on the advancement of its Churchrock Section 8 toward production in the latter half of 2013. This area contains 6.5 million pounds of in-place mineralized uranium material and is covered by the Company’s underground injection control permit and reactivated NRC license which covers 27.4 million pounds of in-place mineralized uranium material for the Company’s Churchrock/Crownpoint Project.

The Company currently has its NRC and underground injection control permit in timely renewal which enables URI to begin development of Churchrock Section 8.

URI completed a technical report on its Churchrock project at the end of 2011 and subjected it to a peer review by an independent engineering firm in order to validate the economic determinations and engineering plans. The report is currently being reviewed by the management and Board of Directors.

Infrastructure construction and core and definition drilling is planned to begin in the second quarter 2012. Advancement of the project will be dependent upon the availability of financing and access to required capital equipment.

Current plans are to initially transport uranium loaded resin to either URI’s Kingsville Dome or Rosita processing facility. This is to accelerate production, reduce capital costs and advance cash flow from the Churchrock Section 8 project.

In June 2011, URI received confirmation from the New Mexico Environment Department ("NMED") that its discharge plan is in timely renewal and that the NMED is currently conducting technical review of its renewal application. Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining ("ENDAUM"), the intervener group that has been a party to much of the New Mexico based litigation filed against the Company in the past, filed last summer, a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief and a Motion for Preliminary Injunction against the New Mexico Environment Department ("NMED") claiming NMED has no authority to allow the Company to conduct in situ leach uranium mining operations under its existing discharge permit while the permit is in timely renewal. A hearing for summary judgment on the filing was held on March 8, 2012.

URI’s strategy includes the consolidation of assets in New Mexico in order to gain greater economies of scale for production. On March 1, 2012, the Company announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the equity capital of Neutron in a stock-for-stock transaction. This was the first major consolidation move in New Mexico in over 20 years and positions URI as one of the largest uranium development companies in the U.S. It also executed a financing agreement in conjunction with the transaction. The acquisition requires URI’s and Neutron’s shareholder approval and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2012.

Neutron is a private uranium exploration and development company with significant assets located in the Grants Mineral Belt of New Mexico including the Cebolleta and Juan Tefoya projects. The acquisition brings 18.6 million tons of mineralized material at a weighted average grade of 0.15%. Neutron also has properties in South Dakota and Wyoming. Combined, the companies will have over 206,000 acres of uranium holdings.

Neutron will be acquired debt-free as a result of the transaction. A total of 37 million shares of URI common stock will be issued in connection with the transactions contemplated by the merger agreement, including 3.8 million shares to Neutron’s stockholders, resulting in a total consideration of $38.1 million, based on URI’s closing stock price on February 24, 2012 of $1.03.

Strengthened Liquidity Position

Cash at December 31, 2011, was $2.9 million compared with $5.4 million at September 30, 2011. The decrease from the sequential third quarter reflects ongoing reclamation activities in Texas, the costs associated with the feasibility study and Neutron acquisition, and $500,000 for collateralizing URI’s financial surety obligations. URI expects to receive by March 15, 2012, $10 million in cash associated with the financing and merger transaction. In addition, the Company can, at its option, receive an additional $5 million at the closing of the merger.

On October 28, 2011, URI entered into an At-The-Market Sales Agreement ("ATM") with BTIG, LLC, allowing it to sell from time to time, its common shares having an aggregate offering price of up to $15.0 million, through an "at-the-market" equity offering program. During November and December, URI sold 476,644 shares of common stock which resulted in net proceeds of approximately $325,000. During January 2012, 1,815,073 shares of common stock were sold for approximately $1,519,000. The Company has a total of $12.9 million available for future sales under the ATM.

Mr. Ewigleben concluded, "We have made significant strides in our efforts to advance our New Mexico and Texas properties and consolidate a larger asset base in New Mexico. We believe that we are positioning the Company to capitalize on the long-term solid fundamentals of the uranium industry. Despite the tragic tsunami in Japan last year that led to the events at the Fukushima nuclear power facility, we believe that global plans for nuclear power expansion to meet the demands of emerging economies will support a strengthened price environment for uranium to support the needed development of uranium projects. We expect that we will be able to gain from these macro economic factors as we develop our projects and move toward production in 2013."

Teleconference and Webcast

URI will host a conference call and webcast today at 11:00 a.m. ET. During the call, management will provide an update on URI’s strategies, outlook, and progress in advancing its Texas and New Mexico properties. A question-and-answer session will follow.
The URI conference call can be accessed by dialling (201) 689-8471. The live listen-only audio webcast can be monitored on the Company’s website at www.uraniumresources.com, where it will be archived afterwards.

A telephonic replay will be available from 2:00 p.m. ET the day of the teleconference until Friday, March 16, 2012. To listen to the archived call, dial (858) 384-5517 and enter replay pin number 387136. A transcript will also be placed on the Company’s website, once available.

About Uranium Resources, Inc.

Uranium Resources Inc. explores for, develops and mines uranium. Since its incorporation in 1977, URI has produced over 8 million pounds of uranium by in-situ recovery (ISR) methods in the state of Texas. URI also has 183,000 acres of uranium mineral holdings and 101.4 million pounds of in-place mineralized uranium material in New Mexico and an NRC license to produce up to 1 million pounds of uranium per year. The Company acquired these properties over the past 20 years along with an extensive information database of historic mining logs and analysis. None of URI’s properties is currently in production.

URI’s strategy is to fully develop its resource base in New Mexico and Texas, expand its asset base both within and outside of New Mexico and Texas, partner with larger mining companies that have undeveloped uranium assets or with junior mining companies that do not have the mining experience of URI, as well as provide restoration expertise to those that require the capability or lack the proficiency.

Uranium Resources routinely posts news and other information about the Company on its website at www.uraniumresources.com.

Additional Information

Uranium Resources, Inc., a Delaware corporation ("URI") entered into, among other transaction documents, a definitive merger agreement on March 1, 2012, by and among URI, URI Merger Corporation, a Nevada corporation and an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of URI ("Merger Sub"), and Neutron Energy, Inc., a Nevada corporation ("Neutron") under which Merger Sub will be merged with and into Neutron, with Neutron continuing as the surviving corporation and becoming an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of URI (the "Transaction"). In connection with the proposed Transaction, URI will file a registration statement on Form S-4, a joint proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Stockholders are urged to read the registration statement and joint proxy statement/prospectus when they become available, and any other relevant documents filed with the SEC, as well as any amendments or supplements to those documents, because they will contain important information. The registration statement and joint proxy statement/prospectus, once available, as well as other filings containing information about URI and Neutron, can be obtained without charge at the SEC’s website (http://www.sec.gov) or by directing a request to URI: Deborah K. Pawlowski, 716.843.3908, dpawlowski@keiadvisors.com.

URI and its directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the stockholders of URI in connection with the proposed Transaction. Information about the directors and executive officers of URI is set forth in the proxy statement for URI’s 2011 annual meeting of stockholders, as filed with the SEC on April 29, 2011. Additional information regarding the interests of those participants and other persons who may be deemed participants in the proposed Transaction may be obtained by reading the joint proxy statement/prospectus regarding the proposed Transaction when it becomes available. Investors may obtain free copies of these documents as described above.

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions and are identified by words such as "expects," "estimates," "projects," "anticipates," "believes," "could," and other similar words. All statements addressing operating performance, events, or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will occur in the future, including but not limited to statements relating to the Company’s mineralized uranium materials, access to properties, timing of receipt of mining permits, production capacity of mining operations planned for properties in South Texas and New Mexico, planned dates for commencement of production at such properties, revenue, cash generation and profits are forward-looking statements. Because they are forward-looking, they should be evaluated in light of important risk factors and uncertainties. These risk factors and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, receiving shareholder approval of the Neutron transaction, realizing the benefits of the merger and resource development synergies, the exploration upside of the acquired properties, the Company’s ability to acquire other properties, the benefit of permitting on private lands, the effect of additional major investors with mining investment experience, the spot price and long-term contract price of uranium, weather conditions, operating conditions at the Company’s mining projects, government regulation of the mining industry and the nuclear power industry, world-wide uranium supply and demand, availability of capital, timely receipt of mining and other permits from regulatory agents and other factors which are more fully described in the Company’s documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of the Company’s underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those currently anticipated. In addition, undue reliance should not be placed on the Company’s forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any obligation to update or publicly announce any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained in this news release.

URANIUM RESOURCES, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

Lessons We Must Learn and Actions We Must Take In Light of the Fukushima Disaster

Media Release
March 7, 2012

Contacts:
Karen Hadden, Sustainable Energy & Economic Development (SEED) Coalition
Rep. Lon Burnam, District 90, Ft. Worth
Chiaki Kasahara and Ivan Stout, a couple who lived in Japan, but left because of the Fukushima nuclear disaster
Robert V. Eye, Attorney, legally challenging proposed STP and Comanche Peak reactors,
Susan Dancer, South Texas Association for Responsible Energy

Austin, TX Concerned citizens in Texas are calling on U.S. leaders to do more to prevent a U.S. nuclear disaster. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster that began nearly a year ago, on March 11, 2011, resulted in explosions, releases of radioactive materials and complete meltdowns of three reactors. 160,000 people were evacuated. Radioactive Iodine-131 and Cesium-137 was detected around the world and large amounts of radioactive materials were released into the Pacific Ocean. Only two of Japan’s 54 nuclear reactors are operating today and they are also expected to be shut down by the end of May. In light of the meltdowns, Germany now plans to shut down all 17 of its reactors and replace them with renewable energy. Post-Fukushima safety improvements have been recommended by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s task force.

"The lesson we absolutely must learn from Fukushima is that any nuclear reactor can have a meltdown. U.S. reactors are at risk from hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, floods, earthquakes, lack of cooling water and terrorist attacks, as well as accidents due to human error and mechanical failure," said Karen Hadden, Director of the Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) Coalition. "We’re urging Congress to halt nuclear licensing and nuclear loan guarantees, subsidies which would allow billions of taxpayer dollars to flow into dangerous new reactor projects. Old reactors get metal fatigue and accident risks increase. They should be retired, not re-licensed for another twenty years."

The group calls on Congressional leaders, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy to prevent a US nuclear disaster by taking action to:

• Halt licensing of new reactors
• Halt nuclear "loan guarantees" that would use billions of taxpayer dollars for new reactors
• Halt re-licensing of aging reactors, which should be shut down on or before their original retirement date
• Plan for a transition away from nuclear power to safer, more affordable and reliable means of electric generation
• Initiate more thorough and realistic disaster scenario testing of U.S. diesel generators
• Better information through EPA regarding Fukushima radiation releases, hot spots, food supply safety and exposure risks from radioactive transport and product importation here and around the globe. Cows shipped in July 2011 from Fukushima Prefecture to Tokyo had three to six times the legal limit for radioactive cesium.
• Demand that detailed and accurate public health information be made available in Japan and in the U.S., including more radiation monitoring, and ensuring healthy food and water supplies. More evacuations may yet be needed.

"We cannot afford to have a Fukushima style disaster here in the United States. Nuclear reactors are inherently unsafe and the nuclear disaster in Japan provides additional evidence of the need to transition away from nuclear power to safer forms of electric generation," said Ft. Worth Representative Lon Burnam. "There is still no safe way to store the waste generated by nuclear reactors and now much of the country wants to dump their radioactive waste on Texas, at a site that risks radioactive contamination of fresh water supplies for generations to come."

The number of lives that will be lost due to cancers as a result from the Fukushima explosions and meltdowns is unknown. Eighteen years later, a Russian study found that 985,000 people had died as a result of the Chernobyl nuclear accident, mainly from various cancers.

"In order to protect ourselves and our four-year-old son from radiation exposure, we had to leave the home we loved and had spent our adult lives working towards in Japan, and now live in Texas. We only had two hours to decide what to take with us and had to leave most of our belongings behind. It broke our hearts to leave family and friends that we loved without saying goodbye, but our health was at risk," said Chiaki Kasahara.

The nuclear industry and public officials minimized health risks, but the science is clear that exposure to radioactive contamination through the air, water or food leads to various illnesses that can take even decades to manifest." said Chiaki’s husband, Ivan Stout. "We worry about Chiaki’s mother, who stayed in Japan, and the many friends we left behind, especially the young children who may be impacted by radiation exposure. However, we understand the huge financial burden of moving out of a home no one is willing to buy. No one should be forced to decide between financial ruin and the health of their family."

The Comanche Peak and South Texas Project sites in Texas have two nuclear reactors each, but the counties in which they have operated for decades still have no paid full-time professional fire departments.

"What would happen if there were fires and explosions at the reactors here?" asked Susan Dancer, who lives eight miles from the South Texas Project reactors and is Director of the South Texas Association for Responsible Energy. "People were barely able to evacuate this area with several days notice of a recent hurricane, but there would be no advance notice for a nuclear disaster."

"The diesel generators didn’t hold in Japan and would probably fail here too. U.S. diesel generators aren’t tested for realistic disaster scenarios. They should started up quickly and run for two weeks or more to see if they could meet the demands of a real disaster, not simply tested for a matter of several hours."

"In the Comanche Peak, South Texas Project and other reactor cases, Information regarding nuclear reactor fire and explosion risks and the inadequate plans to address them is wrongfully being withheld from the public. Basic nuclear safety information is being labeled as classified, when in fact it is crucial information that the public not only has a right to know, but should know," said Robert V. Eye, attorney for intervenors opposing new reactors in Texas. "Congress should require that this most basic crucial safety information be made available to the public and not be kept hidden behind a veil of secrecy. The requirements put in place to protect against aircraft impacts and the Fukushima Task Force safety improvement recommendations have not been incorporated into new license applications. Issuing any new reactor license without doing so is irresponsible and likely to have consequences."

Texas events related to the anniversary of the Fukushima disaster include:

Austin – Saturday, March 10th at Noon, Prevent Fukushima Texas, to be held at the river (Lady Bird Lake) immediately across from the front of the Austin City Hall (301 W. 2nd St.) – just West of 1st Street. Speakers will include Chiaki Kasahara and Ivan Stout, who lived in Japan at the time of the nuclear disaster and had to leave their home, family and friends in order to protect their health and that of their young son. Sponsored by SEED Coalition and Nuke Free Texas. www.NukeFreeTexas.org

San Antonio – Candlelight Vigil, Saturday, March 10th at 6 pm, at the Federal Building at 727 E. Cesar Chavez Imagine a World Without Nuclear Disasters – www.EnergiaMia.org 210-667-5695

Dallas – March 11th at 3 pm at the Cancer Survivors’ Plaza, 635 N. Pearl. The Nuclear Free World Committee of the Dallas Peace Center will host an observation of the Fukushima Disaster Anniversary. www.DallasPeaceCenter.org