Physicians for Social Responsibility Opposes President Obama's Nuclear Loan Guarantee

Contact: Morgan Pinnell, mpinnell@psr.org, 202-587-5232

Washington, DC -  President Obama announced today that DOE will issue $8.3 billion in a 'conditional' loan guarantee for two new nuclear reactors at the Vogtle site in Burke County, Georgia. 

Statement of Peter Wilk, Executive Director, Physicians for Social Responsibility

"We are deeply disturbed by President Obama's decision to commit $8.33 billion in a nuclear loan guarantee bailout.  New reactors are clearly bad investments because – even prior to the current credit crisis – Wall Street won't invest in them.  In fact, even with this loan guarantee, Southern Company plans to borrow the money directly from US taxpayers through the Federal Finance Bank. 

Not only does this put taxpayers on the hook for billions, it prioritizes a dirty, dangerous, and expensive technology over public health.  From the beginning to the end of the nuclear fuel cycle, nuclear reactors remain a serious threat to public health and safety.  From uranium mining waste to operating reactors leaking radioactivity to the lack of radioactive waste solutions, nuclear power continues to pose serious public health threats. 

President Obama's announcement today is in direct contrast with statements he made while campaigning for President in 2008, in which he acknowledged that the cost, health, safety, and proliferation risks of nuclear power still need to be solved."