I have researched and extensively published on the subjects of nuclear radiation hazards and alternate electrical energy production. In his May 24 letter to the editor extolling the virtues of nuclear power, Ivan Most, Sc.D., used the Navy’s experience with nuclear-powered vessels as a basis for promoting the use of nuclear reactors for producing electricity. In doing so, he ignores the fact that naval nuclear reactors are very small and produce only a tiny fraction of the power and nuclear waste produced by nuclear electrical power generators. An accident on a nuclear-powered ship, catastrophic as it might be, would not cause the destruction and toxic consequences that the Fujita and Chernobyl disasters did.
Dr. Most ignored the fact that nuclear reactor wastes remain extremely dangerous for up to 10,000 years and also failed to address the fact that nuclear power-generating facilities negatively impact the environment by releasing huge volumes of hot water into the aqueous environment, killing fish and other marine organisms.
Alternative sources of electrical production include not only solar and wind farms, but also hydrogen-powered fuel cells. Hydrogen is easily produced from electrolysis of water with 95 percent efficiency and zero pollution.
Harold I. Zeliger, Ph.D.
Cape Elizabeth
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