LETTERS: NUCLEAR WASTE ON RIVER

To the editor:

It's unacceptable to risk permanent radioactive contamination of the greatest river in North America. Today, nuclear waste (deadly to humans and living organisms for tens of thousands of years) from an aging nuclear power plant operated by Northern States Power is being stored on the banks of the Mississippi River north of Red Wing, Minn.

Living downriver from this nuclear dump at Prairie Island, we are concerned about the health and safety of communities and people who live along the Mississippi. If an accident or spill occurs, the Mississippi could be contaminated by radioactivity, making the river unsafe and unusable for drinking water, fishing and recreation.

Many Minnesotans believe that because we are located at the headwaters of the Mississippi, we have a special responsibility to look out for the health and welfare of the river. Many of us fought long and hard to stop NSP's plan for nuclear waste storage at Prairie Island, but their money and lobbyists proved to be too powerful. Now NSP is trying to get the Minnesota Legislature to delete limitations and requirements of the 1994 law and leave this radioactive waste on the river permanently. NSP has state publicly it will come back in January seeking these changes.

We need to mobilize people to contact our state legislators and governor to tell them nuclear waste storage on the banks of the Mississippi is unacceptable.

KRISTEN ALMO

Down River Alliance

Winona, Minn.