TOMS RIVER — The Jersey Shore NuclearWatch is planning a citizen’s rally this Saturday against the relicensing of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant in Lacey Township.
The event will be held rain or shine from noon to 4 p.m. in Huddy Park at the intersection of Main and Water streets.
“The rally allows those who oppose the plant to be visible and also provides an opportunity to learn about the safety and health issues associated with operating the 40-yearold plant and how a 20-year license renewal will directly affect the public,” said Edith Gbur, president of the of the organization.
The event features a slate of speakers, including Dennis Zanoni, former chief nuclear engineer for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection; Sidney Goldman, author of Asleep at the Geiger Counter, who will talk about the high cost of nuclear power; Joseph Mangano, director of the Radiation and Public Health Project and Alan Robock, from Rutgers University’s Department of Environmental Sciences, who will discuss the impact of nuclear power plants on global warming.
The event falls on the 30th anniversary of the partial core meltdown of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant near Harrisburg, Pa., on March 28, 1979.
Oyster Creek is the oldest operating nuclear plant in the United States. The current license expires on April 9, 2009. The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will have the final say in whether the aging plant will be allowed to operate for another 20 years.
For more information about the rally, contact Jersey Shore Nuclear Watch, P.O. Box 3085, Toms River, NJ 08756-3085, or call 732-240-5107 or 732-818-0402, or email [email protected].