Browse Cases

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Native American and environmentalist groups block nuclear waste site in Ward Valley, California, 1995-2000

Country
United States
Time period
10 October, 1995 to November, 2000
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Fatimah Hameed 10/02/2013

In March of 1988, U.S. Ecology, a national dump operating company, decided upon Ward Valley, California as the most desired location for building a new nuclear waste dump. Because this was federal land in the state, the government of California needed to buy Ward Valley land from the Bureau of Land Management in order to give U.S. Ecology the rights to build the dump. The Valley, however, is located in the Mojave Desert, an area home to an endangered species of desert tortoise considered sacred to a number of Native American tribes.

U.S. Anti-nuclear activists partially block establishment of nuclear power plant in Limerick, PA, 1977-82

Country
United States
Time period
December, 1977 to May, 1982
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Economic Justice
Total points
6 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
John Pontillo, 24/03/2013, drawing on additional research by Matthew Turner

In the early 1970s, the state of Pennsylvania proposed a plan for building a nuclear power plant in Limerick, PA, to provide power to residents in Montgomery County, PA. Around that time, the Environmental Protection Agency declared that the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) must conduct a study to determine the impact a nuclear power plant would have in the town of Limerick, and the surrounding county.

Texans defend Sierra Blanca community against nuclear waste disposal, 1996-1998

Country
United States
Time period
05 June, 1996 to 22 October, 1998
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Lydia Bailey and Rebecca Contreras, 20/4/2013 and 10/5/2011

In 1991, the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Authority (TLLRWDA) began searching for a disposal site for dangerous toxic waste in the Hudspeth County area. According to the 1983 La Paz agreement, Hudspeth County falls in a no-contamination zone surrounding the Mexican border. Regardless, the TLLRWDA selected Sierra Blanca, a small low-income town in an environmentally fragile region. 

U.S. anti-nuclear activists campaign against restarting Three Mile Island nuclear generator, 1979-1985

Country
United States
Time period
March, 1979 to October, 1985
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Total points
5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Thomas Fortuna, 18/09/2011

At 4:00 a.m. on Wednesday, 28 March 1979 began the worst accident in the history of United States commercial nuclear power, when the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station experienced a failure that would ultimately lead to the release of “approximately 2.5 million curies of radioactive noble gases” into the surrounding areas.  This mishap, in turn, sparked the largest string of anti-nuclear protests in the country’s history. That weekend, activists held rallies across the country.

Oklahomans prevent completion of Black Fox Nuclear Plant, 1973-1982

Country
United States
Time period
May, 1973 to February, 1982
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Human Rights
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Nancy Liu, 18/09/2011

In May of 1973, the Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) announced plans to install Oklahoma’s first nuclear power plant in Inola, just east from Tulsa. It was to use two General Electric boiling-water reactors and the project was to cost $450 million.  With the support of U.S. Senator Henry Bellmon, PSO advertised that the nuclear power plant could provide unlimited power and help economic growth in the area.

Clamshell Alliance campaigns against Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant, New Hampshire, 1976-1989

Country
United States
Time period
30 June, 1976 to June, 1989
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Total points
7.5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Matt Turner, 26/09/2011

In July 1976, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the construction permit for the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant. Leading up to this point, local activists in the small New Hampshire town had attempted to prevent the establishment of a nuclear plant via legal methods such as regulation agencies, the court systems, and a town meeting vote in opposition of the project.

U.S. citizens prevent construction of nuclear power plant in Bodega Bay, California 1962-64

Country
United States
Time period
Fall, 1962 to October, 1964
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Elliana Bisgaard-Church, 19/09/2011

In 1954, Congress approved the Atomic Energy Act in an attempt to jumpstart nuclear energy in the United States.  The Atomic Energy Commission was charged with creating a positive image of the peaceful applications of nuclear power as well as with regulating safety measures.