THE mushroom cloud from the eruption of Mount St Helens in Washington state may not be the last to envelop the west coast of America if the power industry business.
Less than 50 miles from the gigantic volcanic eruption stands the largest * operang nucicar power plant In tne United States, with an output of 1,300 LuccawalLs, After extensive campaigns against the Trojan nuclear plant, it was shut down for several because its control building did not meet earthquake standards.
combination eruption and a series of minor earthquakes further south in California has renewed fears of a major nuclear disaster in the area.
The whole west coast of North America is notorious for the interlinking SOUC ot which make it a dangerous earth• quake zone.
Famous The nost famous is Andreas fault, which caused the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and which scientists predict will strike again in a major way before the end of this cenUnder public pressure, HeT ORON Ae Ze be plant designs to allow for an earthquake factor. But no plant has yet been built to withstand the major shifting of ground beneath the reactor vessel ikely to result from an earth quake or a volcanic eruption. plants have bad to be canceiled or shut down when anti nuke campaigns nuclear remains in 1978 of the volcanic geological faults the San Other have obliged the recognise the danger.
Ine Pacific, Gas Company applied in 1958 to build a 340 megawatt plant in Bodega Bay on a site just a tew thousand feet away from the San Andreas fault. Public opposition forced the company to withdraw from this location as well as from its Mendecino site, which is on the same fault line.
More recently, Pacific has completed the construction of two 1,000 megawatt units at Diablo Canyon.
The company's boast that these quake on the San Andreas fault some ulLs would 40 miles away was deflated when two further active faults San Miguelito — were found within a few miles of the site.
Earthquakes and volcanoes not the only reason for alarm at the US Energy Department is now examining the possibility of using rockets to dump nuclear waste in the C.IC of the galaxy around the sun. failure seem smaller than the existing problems with storage dumps.
Dump The main such dump, at Hanford, Washington — a hundred miles from Mount St Helens, gallons of high level wastes which are so hot that they boil spontaneously and continuously. million gallons of waste have leaked from the dump since 1961, threatening the earth's water table. tion to the problems of nuclear waste disposal. He says should be given the job rather than the public utilities!
authorities to and Electric says NO CRUISE withstand a massive MISSILES Hosgri and The American outer or in orol The risks of rocket poster to Labour holds 80 million Box 50, More than half a Ronald Reagan has a simple soluprivate enterprise banners.
Socialist Challenge 5 June 1980 The sooner the workers throw out Carter, Reagan, and the rest of the American bosses, and shut down the whole nuclear industry, the safer it will be for humanity.
BRITAIN OUT OF NATO!
Socialist Challenge mobilise for the Party's June demonstration against nuclear weapons. Available from Socialist Challenge PO •London or ring Alan on 01-359 8288.
Demonstration leaves
Belvedere Road, London SE1 at 12 noon. All IMG branches and Socialist Challenge supporters should support
What really happened in Miami, Florida, from Police in the area seemed inAN estimated 100,000 people joined an anti-nuclear protest in the Breton Atlantic coastal village of Plogoff on 25 May. Since last January Plogoff has been the scene of almost daily demonstrations. A 5,200 megawatt nuclear power station is being built there.
Seventeen nuclear power stations are now in operation in France and 35 others are in the planning or constractio stage. But the mass demonstration was a strong indication of the growing resistance in France to the official nuclea energy programme.
USA DARIO. Fo and Franca Rame, the Italian actor-writers,
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