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Oct 12, 2007 9:01 am US/Eastern
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Opposition Rises Against Calvert Cliffs Reactor
by Mike Schuh
(WJZ)
Two-and-a-half months ago, BGE's parent company announced it has plans to add a reactor at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant.
Mike Schuh reports opposition is now starting to crop up.
Perched along the bay in Southern Maryland there are two nuclear reactors. Constellation Energy wants to build a third one there.
"Maryland PIRG is opposed to nuke power in general because there are other options that are better for everybody," said David Kosmos of Maryland PIRG.
The Maryland Public Interest Research Group put forth safety concerns Thursday.
"What happens if there is an accident here, if there has to be an evacuation?" said neighbor Bob Boxwell.
He and others point to a local bridge that's 10 miles southwest of the plant. If an accident shuts down the main road past the plant, anyone on the south side would have to flee using the two lane bridge.
"That bridge is a pain in the butt during regular hours. I can't imagine in a disaster," said Boxwell.
"The contention is that Calvert Cliffs doesn't have an adequate evacuation plan," said Kosmos.
Rob Gould is the spokesman for Constellation Energy.
"We're comfortable with the plants, comfortable with the public safety aspects of all of this," said Gould.
Gould says the current plan is approved by local state and federal officials.
"Is there a way to satisfy their concerns? No, because nuke power has its own problems inherent in the entire process," said Kosmos.
The reactors at Calvert Cliffs went online in 1975 and 1977.
They are the first in the nation to be granted 20-year extensions to their operating permits, which means those plants could be producing electricity until 2036.
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