Nuclear Power’s Lethal, Larcenous End Game

For the first time since 1954, no large new atomic reactors are under construction or on order in the United States.

By Harvey Wasserman, CounterPunch

On March 1, 2024, Vogtle Unit 4 connected to the Georgia grid …years behind schedule and billions over budget. Once hyped as “too cheap to meter,” America’s last large light-water reactor thus forever froze the “Peaceful Atom” in financial failure.

Late afternoon scene with view on riverbank with nuclear reactor

Despite enormous public hype and subsidies, ZERO new US atomic reactors—large or small— are likely to become significantly available here for at least a decade.

The first will likely be an unproven “Small Modular Reactor” prototype already leaning toward a trillion-dollar failure.

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When it comes to the myth of nuke power helping to fight global warming…there’s no there there.

Atomic reactors cause climate chaos. Some 415 reactors directly heat our air and water in concert with mega-explosions like Chernobyl and Fukushima. All pour radioactive carbon 14 into a lethal brew of filth and wastes.