HOW CORPORATE GREED CONTINUES TO PUT PROFIT OVER THE REST OF US
-By Zachary Kontra-
It is hard to believe that in this day and age, corporate greed, and the desire to save a few bucks continue to trump the needs and health of our communities and natural ecosystems. But that is the reality here on Cape Cod Massachusetts, with a vague proposal by Holtec to dump radioactive water waste into Cape Cod Bay and citing economic reasons to justify such a grotesque lack of empathy for the local residents there but also the obvious negative environmental impact such a proposal would have.
In 2019 the Pilgrim nuclear power plant shut down after nearly 50 years in operation. “The 1.1 million gallons of wastewater were used to cool spent nuclear fuel rods. The water is likely radioactive, though levels haven't been reported publicly.”
“The company decommissioning Pilgrim – Holtec – has proposed four options for disposing of the water: trucking it to another facility for disposal; evaporating the water and discharging vapor through the air handling system; long-term onsite storage; or cleaning it up and dumping it into Cape Cod Bay. The last option has raised considerable concerns within the community.”
Fortunately, despite the blasé, attitude about dumping nuclear wastewater into our Bay from Holtec, environmental activists, local community leaders, and politicians have been sounding the alarm on this proposal and are demanding that political leaders such as Attorney General Maura Healey stand firm in blocking this proposal by Holtec and keep our waters and communities safe.
“In Dennis yesterday for a meeting with local business owners, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey pledged to block the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station from releasing radioactive water into Cape Cod Bay.
“We’ve come a long way on this issue, and I’ll be damn sure, in whatever capacity I serve, that we’re not going to have radioactive waste dumped down here,” she told CAI in an interview.”
Despite all this pressure, however, it is critically important that we the public continue to demand justice in this case. If we turn our attention elsewhere or expect our political leaders to do the right thing, then we run the risk of allowing this terrifying proposal to become a reality and risk setting precedent for future environmental concerns to be ignored and fall by the wayside, thereby jeopardizing a clean and prosperous future for Massachusetts.
Work Cited:
https://www.wbur.org/news/2022/07/26/pilgrim-nuclear-power-plant-holtec-wastewater
For further info:
https://www.saveourbayma.com/ 
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