Bob Hugin Supports Unsafe Nuclear Subsidy Bill  

Bob Hugin, a U.S Senate candidate denounce inaction by the U.S. Senate on the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2018, which would end the storage of nuclear waste in New Jersey communities and 38 other states. The Act, co-sponsored by Congressman MacArthur, was approved overwhelmingly by the House of Representatives on May 10th by a vote of 340 to 72 with every member of the New Jersey delegation supporting the legislation except for Congressman Josh Gottheimer, who did not vote. It has not been acted on in the U.S. Senate.

“This Nuclear Waste bill ignores environmental issues, safety issues, and even the right of state for self-determination. This bill is not only bad policy, it is dangerous. All environmental groups including the Sierra Club have opposed this. An interim facility won’t work. There is no place to put the nuclear waste and they are trying to dump it on New Mexico. Since nuclear waste stays radioactive for 10,000 years, there really is no such thing as interim storage,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “The reason the bill hasn’t moved in the Senate is because they have more sense. This shows Bob Hugin knows nothing about the environment and nuclear safety. He is pandering to the Nuclear Industry while putting the rest of us risk.”

Holtec International, the company that plans to buy Oyster Creek Nuclear and take over the site and decommissioning, has also proposed to build a nuclear repository in New Mexico. They have applied for a license to open an interim spent fuel-storage facility in New Mexico and submitted its official application for license for transfer to the NRC.

“They want to ship nuclear waste from New Jersey, New England, and New York to New Mexico. This nuclear waste would travel through New Jersey, putting our communities at risk from an accident or terrorist attack. They are trying to ship this waste by truck or rail and could create a Mobile Chernobyl. This is not a solution, this is a disaster waiting to happen. He is just a front from the Nuclear Industry that want a massive amount of subsidies,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.