Some people in Loving County, Texas, the second least populous county in the United States, think that storing the entire country’s nuclear waste would be a good thing for their community.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and say whether the statements below are true or false.
1 There are no petrol stations in the area.
2 The fuel stored in the casks will generate power for all the US states.
3 The nuclear plant or facility will bring a tax cut for residents.
4 Everybody in Loving County supports the idea.
5 The best way to store the fuel is underground, according to recent studies.
6 Loving County is half the size of New York.
7 Some residents would rather the facility was installed in the neighbouring counties.
8 The decision about how and where to install the plant is imminent.
We got two taco stands. No café, no store. We got a gas station. You’re not going to see a whole lot of anything, but mesquite bushes and some run-down stuff, that’s about it. The nuclear waste plant or facility, I’m 100% for it if they do it the right way.
Welcome to Loving County in West Texas. According to the last census estimate, it’s the second least populous county in the United States. With 95 residents, the local government is proposing something unusual. It wants nuclear waste from power plants across the country to be stored here. The highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel stored in casks like these was once used to generate power.
With the money that this will generate for the county, we might even be able to pay the tax payers back. We can build some roads, we can bring in some more water and maybe even have a Wallmart.
Skeet Jones who heads the county government here is trying to gather support for the idea because it would mean hundreds of millions of dollars from the Federal Government to the state and the county. But there’s one person whom he just can’t seem to convince: his father.
It’s going to be a problem and some, some people are going to get hurt. Whatever that thing is at, is there, that’s where they should put their storage. They shouldn’t be dumping it out here on some place where there’s not many people because I know they’re gonna have some accidents.
Whenever you say nuclear waste, a big red flag goes up. And everybody throws up their hands and say oooh, no! Whenever a person really researches it and studies it, this fuel is not that dangerous.
Experts say that if stored carefully above ground, the casks would likely be safe for several hundred years, impervious to earthquakes.
The county is about twice the size of New York City and the proposed storage site is about 400 acres, about half the size of Central Park. Two other counties may be positioning themselves to accept the waste: Eddy and Lea Counties are just across the state line.
So what do you think about the used nuclear fuel interim storage coming in here?
Well, I’d put it here.
Wow, that’s what I say.
His uncle agrees with him.
If it’s going to be right across the land in New Mexico, if we turn it down and they put it right across the land, why not put it here and reap the benefits of it, because we’re going to be in the same situation with it across the land.
A decision on how and where to store the waste may be years away. In the meantime Skeet’s parents wonder what it can mean for their family if Loving is chosen.
I think it’s dangerous.
I’m 83 and he’s 86 and we’re not long for this world, and after we’re gone, who knows? I worry about my children and my grandchildren, my great-grandchildren, what they’ll have to put up with.
Key:
1F 2F 3T 4F 5F 6F 7F 8F
