Critics question possible Point Beach Nuclear Plant license extension, despite favorable NRC ruling June 2, 2025

WUWM 89.7

Climate and weather are also on the mind of Amy Schulz, a retired nurse and president of Physicians for Social Responsibility-Wisconsin. She says the U.S. government and nuclear industry still haven’t solved the long-tern problem of storing the highly radioactive waste generated at plants like Point Beach. Around the nation, Schulz says, the spent uranium fuel stays in in-plant pools of water, or outside in concrete and steel casks.
“And they are vulnerable to weather events, as well as catastrophic events, whether it be through a terrorist attack or a nuclear accident,” she says.

That finding troubles Alfred Meyer, who’s on the steering committee of Physicians for Social Responsibility-Wisconsin. Meyer says one of his key concerns is that weather conditions are changing, and are predicted to keep doing so as more greenhouse gases go into the atmosphere.
“And what I worry about is instead of looking forward to see what might be coming, our regulators are really looking in the rearview mirror and talking about rainfall levels in 1901 and 1895. It seems ridiculous,” he says.
Meyer says there could be a huge rainstorm that would cause erosion on the lake bluff at Point Beach. Plus, the risk of more frequent tornadoes. He says the GAO, or Government Accountability Office, told the NRC last year that it isn’t fully considering the risks related to climate change.