French incident is warning about nuclear plants

Dear editor:

When it was announced that a nuclear facility was to be built at the junction of the Snake and Bruneau Rivers, I urged downstream irrigators to protest it because water contamination could end their irrigation! That exact scenario just played out (07/07/08) at the Tricastin nuclear site in France where two rivers have been contaminated with radio active material. Irrigation has been stopped!

I called Sen. Larry Craig's office to see if the facility was an Areva one. It is! Areva wants to place one like it near Idaho Falls! Shouldn't we learn from this incident? Imagine radioactive contamination of the Snake River or the Snake River Aquifer!

Charles H. Howarth, M.D.

Eagle

(Editor's note: The incident at Tricastin involved an accidental releast of radioactive waste into a nearby river, resulting in radiation levels twice normal background levels and above French health standards. The irrigation water was shut down for a week.)