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Saturday, June 18, 2011

Misinformation About Nuclear Power Safety Offered By US Media - Author Joseph Fray Reveals The Truth

Misinformation About Nuclear Power Safety Offered By US Media - Author Joseph Fray Reveals The Truth

Physicist, engineer and author Joseph Fray believes the media has been misinforming the public about nuclear power safety. In ‘An Achievable Solution Of Our Energy Problems’, Fray states that nuclear power is not just one solution – it is instead the only solution

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Erroneous information is widespread regarding the meeting of national energy requirements and our energy problems. The media, in order to achieve sensationalism, has continued to present a totally invalid image of nuclear energy. Solar power and wind power cannot solve the energy problems. ‘An Achievable Solution Of Our Energy Problems’, by physicist, engineer and author Joseph Fray, examines the various proposed energy sources in a factual manner and outlines a totally viable solution - nuclear energy.
“Half the total electrical energy required by the USA,” stated Mr. Fray, “is derived from coal. Emissions from this energy source cause the premature deaths of thousands of people each year plus medical costs, along with substantial environmental damage.”
Some of the more surprising facts claimed by Mr. Fray include:
* In the entire history of nuclear power in the USA, no member of the public has ever been harmed by a nuclear energy source, including Three Mile Island.
* The radiation level outside any coal-fired power plant is far higher than for any nuclear power plant of equal power.* The background radiation level at Grand Central Station, New York and the Capitol Building, Washington, DC is much higher than is permitted outside a nuclear power plant.
* The Chernobyl reactor was over-moderated with a positive void coefficient of reactivity, all leading to an unstable design. Such a design would not be granted permission to be constructed in the USA and most other countries. Also, this reactor had virtually no radiation containment structure, which is a requirement for all US plants.
* The coal-fired power plants produce more waste (ash) in one day than all the nuclear plant waste produced in history. The nuclear waste, while more radioactive is totally segregated from the environment. The coal ash, containing mercury, lead, arsenic and asbestos, along with uranium and thorium, is dumped into landfills and sludge ponds.
* For obvious reasons Chernobyl is not relevant to the next statistic, however if it is included, it is still found that more people suffer premature death from the coal-fired power plant gaseous emissions in one year than have died from nuclear power plant practice in history.
In Fray's opinion, irresponsible news media reporting is a problem regarding nuclear power. For example, it was recently stated that the US has twenty three nuclear power plants in the USA similar to those at Fukushima, leaving the impression that the US had those many similar risks. It was not pointed out that only one was considered to be in a potential earthquake zone and, that none were likely to be subjected to a tsunami. While Fukushima is not covered specifically in the book, it may be noted that the tsunami was the principal cause of the Fukushima problems. Such biased coverage of nuclear power is unfortunately the norm.
The book contains detailed descriptions relating to Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and the treatment of nuclear waste, and includes a description of how a nuclear reactor functions.
“Of all energy sources examined,” Fray continued, “nuclear power alone can reliably meet the demand without harm to the populace or environment. The objective of this book is to present a factual description of those aspects of nuclear energy, which have received much ignorant and unfounded criticism from anti-nuclear advocates. By this means it is hoped the public will be able to make an accurate judgment.”
Mr. Fray is available for media interview and can be reached using the information below, or by email at zeroe@pacbell.net. 'An Achievable Solution Of Our Energy Problems' is available at his website and is available at Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle versions.
Profile:
Joseph Fray is an electrical engineer and physicist who entered the nuclear industry in 1958 as the Works Electrical Engineer at the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) Chapelcross nuclear power plant in Scotland.
Developing an interest in reactor physics the author moved to the UKAEA Industrial Power Branch and later to the General Electric (GE) Nuclear Group in San Jose, California.
The author retired in 1988 but continued as a private consultant with GE until 2001. He has over 40 years experience in the nuclear industry. He lives in California and maintains an interest in energy development.
Contact:
Joseph Fray
Web: http://www.BBOTW.com/product.aspx?ISBN=0-7414-5385-1

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