Smart Energy Solutions

Safety Concerns Residents Close To Nuclear Plant

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CITIZENS RALLY AGAINST NEW NUKES—Maryland PIRG Program Associate David Kosmos explains to reporters why Constellation should turn its back on plans to build a new nuclear reactor.

On Oct. 11, citizens and experts joined Maryland PIRG to hold a news conference overlooking the Thomas Johnson Memorial Bridge in Calvert County to expose weaknesses in the emergency evacuation strategy for the communities surrounding the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has reported that the current Calvert Cliffs’ reactors would pose significant threat to over 43,000 people in the event of a disaster. A new nuclear reactor in southern Maryland, as proposed by Constellation Energy, would put area residents at an even greater risk.

“How can we even think about building a third reactor when we can’t handle an emergency evacuation from two?” said Calvert County resident Bob Boxwell.

Flaws in the evacuation plan include transit bottlenecks, no siren back-up, and failure to take into account attrition of emergency responders.

“Terrorists are not known to target wind turbines,” said David Kosmos, Program Associate for Maryland PIRG. “Constellation Energy should turn its back on dangerous nuclear power and invest in safe, 21st-century technology that will lead us toward a smarter and safer energy future.”

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Identity Theft

States Drive Credit Unions To Action On ID Theft

As of Oct. 1, following intense pressure from Maryland PIRG, the General Assembly gave Marylanders a new weapon in the battle against identity theft. Marylanders now have the ability to freeze their credit reports to prevent identity thieves from opening up new accounts in their name.

“A security freeze is by far the most effective tool consumers have to stop identity theft before it starts,” said Johanna Neumann, Maryland PIRG policy advocate.

Thirty-eight other states have passed security freeze laws, and in response to the national trend, the three major credit bureaus have announced plans to offer the security freeze nationwide.

Unfortunately, the credit bureaus want to charge consumers higher fees to put the freeze in place and prevent individuals from placing a freeze over the phone.

“The security freeze needs to be as accessible as possible to give consumers vital protection against identity theft,” said Neumann.

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Healthy Communities

Taking The Next Step To Stop Mercury Poisoning

Over the years, Maryland PIRG has won significant victories to reduce mercury pollution—we’ve passed legislation to reduce mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants by 90 percent and worked with the state to end the sale of thermostats containing mercury. Now it’s time to take the next step.

Four years ago, one in six women had enough mercury in her body to damage her developing child if she became pregnant. Thanks to widespread public education campaigns, many women of childbearing age now keep careful track of how much and what kinds of fish they eat. But dangerous mercury continues to contaminate our food supplies.

“Eating fish has many health benefits,” said David Kosmos, Maryland PIRG’s program associate. “We need to reduce mercury pollution so that it is safe to eat fish from local waterways.”

The largest manufacturing source of mercury is automobile switches. This legislative session we’ll be working to phase out the use of mercury in car switches and establish a recycling program to reclaim the toxic metal already present in cars.

“Mercury is so toxic that dealing with it warrants a zero tolerance approach,” concluded Kosmos.

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