About Us
PROTECT THE BASIN began as an initiative of ranchers and oil companies. What started out as 65 persons concerned about the proposed licensing of dangerous nuclear waste storage facilities has expanded to become a nonprofit organization working in the public interest to protect ranchers, residents, the energy sector, and agricultural sector from the threat of high-level nuclear waste.
Today, we have expanded to include hundreds of citizens, businesses, and even some of our country’s largest, publicly traded oil companies. We have the support of two governors, a lieutenant governor, a land commissioner, various members of Congress and many other elected officials and trade organizations. We appreciate that our Coalition is growing as more and more evidence about the dangers of this plan come to light.
We are working to prevent the mass transport of the most deadly material on the planet. There are countless technical issues that have been raised but ignored by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Some of the issues we have raised include:
The canisters in which the spent nuclear fuel is housed have a shelf life - why do you think the tanks at Hanford leaked.
The steel lining is too thin and subject to cracking during transport. Cracks lead to radioactive leaks. Cracks also fall prey to chloride-induced-stress-corrosion cracking. The dry, dusty winds of the Permian Basin will surely corrode the steel.
The region where the radioactive waste canisters will be stored has experienced tremendous amounts of seismicity. Experts in nuclear storage under the umbrella of the United Nations have stated that spent nuclear fuel pellets must live very calm, uneventful lives. A bumpy rail line is definitely not ideal!
A release of radioactivity is not able to be detected with the senses. It is invisible and can be carried by dust and wind. A release knows no boundaries and can travel hundreds of miles.
First responders along the rail lines, coast lines, and ports are assuming a tremendous risk without their consent or adequate compensation.
