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Advisory: Residents kick off tour alerting New Mexicans of dangers of radioactive-waste dump

10,000 train cars of nuclear waste to proposed Holtec site near Carlsbad and Hobbs — a train wreck waiting to happen

For immediate release: April 9, 2018. Disponible para entrevistas en español

Albuquerque, NM — On Tuesday in Albuquerque, community members will kick of a tour of the state with a mock radioactive waste canister to highlight the dangers of shipping and storing the nation’s most radioactive nuclear-reactor waste in New Mexico.

Holtec International has a controversial plan to store up to 100,000 tons of the nation’s most dangerous nuclear reactor waste for as long as 120 years at a site between Hobbs and Carlsbad. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will accept public comments through May 29 and hold public meetings. In response, community members are touring Albuquerque, Roswell, Carlsbad, Hobbs, Artesia, Gallup, Santa Fe and other areas along the rail route where waste will be shipped to call attention to the issue and urge residents to attend the public meetings and submit written comments.

The waste would consist of fuel rods that have been inside more than 100 nuclear reactors across America. They still contain most of the original uranium, along with plutonium, cesium and strontium. Exposure to unshielded fuel rods is lethal. More than than 10,000 train cars of the risky waste will pass through or near major cities in New Mexico.

What: Halt Holtec news conference with mock radioactive-waste canister featuring concerned residents and community groups. Other tour stops: Hobbs, Carlsbad, Roswell, Artesia, Santa Fe, Gallup and more. Details to come.

Where: Parking lot next to railroad at 110 Lomas Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87102 (immediately west of No Holds Barred Gym and across from Burger King)

Who: Halt Holtec Coalition. Speakers: Leona Morgan, Nuclear Issues Study Group; Pat Cardona, Alliance for Environmental Strategies; Sister Marlene Perrotte, New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light; Don Hancock, Southwest Research and Information Center

When: 11:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Tuesday, April 10

Visuals: Inflatable radioactive-waste canister, 16 feet long by 8 feet tall

For more information about radioactive waste proposals: NoNuclearWaste.org

Advisory: Residents kick off tour alerting New Mexicans of dangers of radioactive-waste dump