Political Quotes

“the Price-Anderson Act was created nearly 50 years ago to stimulate the fledgling nuclear power industry by shielding owners from the full cost of an accident. The nuclear industry is now a mature electric industry and is no longer in need of liability protection. The Price-Anderson Act has actually led to a decrease in the amount of private insurance available instead of increasing it. In the 1950s, the private insurance industry was willing to insure an accident for $50 million despite limited experience with the new technology. Today, the private insurance industry only provides $200 million in insurance. I say only, Madam President. Think about that. One accident, think what it would do. On public radio today, there was a segment that dealt with your State, New York. What would happen if a dirty bomb were dropped on New York? What is a dirty bomb? A dirty bomb could be TNT surrounded by the same piece of equipment that is used to irradiate food. That little piece of equipment would cause 1 out of 100 people in New York City to develop cancer. Madam President, $200 million sounds like a lot of money, but it is not very much money when we talk about the damage nuclear power can cause. Today, Price-Anderson serves to shield the nuclear power industry from the true costs of producing power, providing an unfair economic advantage over other traditional and alternative electrical sources.”