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'{{Short description|US anti-nuclear group}} {{Infobox organization |name = Nuclear Information and Resource Service |image = Nuclear Information and Resource Service logo.svg |size = 192px |alt = Logo of Nuclear Information and Resource Service |formation = 1978 |leader_title = Exec. Dir. |leader_name = Tim Judson |headquarters = [[Takoma Park]], [[Maryland|MD]], <br />{{USA}} |website = {{Official website}} }} The '''Nuclear Information and Resource Service''' ('''NIRS''') is a 501(c)(3) non-profit [[Anti-nuclear movement|anti-nuclear]] group founded in 1978. Its mission is to be an information and networking center for citizens and organizations concerned about [[nuclear power]], [[radioactive waste]], [[radiation]] and [[sustainable energy]] issues. The organization advocates for [[Efficient energy use|energy efficiency]], [[solar power]], [[wind power]] and [[plug-in hybrid]]s.{{cn|date=February 2023}} In 2000, NIRS' affiliation with [[World Information Service on Energy]] (WISE) turned it into an international organization (NIRS/WISE).<ref name="ni">[http://www.nirs.org/about/nirs.htm About NIRS]</ref> {{Anti-nuclear movement sidebar}} ==Issue stances== {{Empty section|date=May 2020}} ==International offices== NIRS and WISE have merged their operations and WISE has relay offices in [[Amsterdam]], [[Argentina]], [[Austria]], [[Czech Republic|the Czech Republic]], [[India]], [[Japan]], [[Russia]], [[Slovakia]], [[South Africa]], [[Sweden]], and [[Ukraine]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www10.antenna.nl/wise/|title = Imagine a world without nuclear power... &#124; Wise International}}</ref> Michael Mariotte (1952-2016) was president and executive director of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service for 30 years. He was a well-known opponent of [[nuclear power]] and organized [[anti-nuclear]] activities in Europe after the 1986 [[Chernobyl disaster]]. Mariotte was a keen supporter of [[renewable energy]] and [[efficient energy use]]. He believed that nuclear power would become obsolete, to be replaced by [[clean energy]] sources.<ref>Sam Roberts, [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/24/us/michael-mariotte-a-leading-antinuclear-activist-dies-at-63.html?_r=0 Michael Mariotte, a Leading anti-nuclear activist, dies at 63] ''New York Times'', May 23, 2016.</ref> ==Press== On 3 August 2004, NIRS issued a report stating that the [[Nuclear Regulatory Commission|U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission]] may allow the illegal practice of manually shutting down nuclear power plants in the event of fire.<ref name=ens2>[http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2004/2004-08-03-02.asp Manual Shutdown of U.S. Reactors on Fire May Be Allowed]</ref> On 15 May 2007, NIRS issued a report claiming that [[Radioactive scrap metal|radioactive scrap]], concrete, equipment, asphalt, plastic, wood, chemicals, and soil from [[Nuclear weapons of the United States|U.S. nuclear weapons]] facilities are being released to regular [[landfill]]s and could get into commercial recycling streams."<ref name=ens>[http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2007/2007-05-14-08.asp U.S. Allows Radioactive Materials in Ordinary Landfills]</ref> On 17 July 2007, regarding the leakage of water from the spent fuel pool of the [[Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant]] after the [[2007 Niigata earthquake]], Michael Mariotte, spoke on behalf of the NIRS and commented "The leak itself doesn't sound significant as of yet, but the fact that it went unreported is a concern, when a company begins by denying a problem, it makes you wonder if there's another shoe to drop."<ref name=CBS>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ktvu.com/earthquakes/13689063/detail.html |title=Japan Quake Kills At Least 9; Nuclear Plant Damaged |access-date=2008-01-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927013928/http://www.ktvu.com/earthquakes/13689063/detail.html |archive-date=2011-09-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The magazine ''Nuclear Engineering International'' has said that NIRS runs the best website on [[uranium mining]] throughout the world.<ref>''Nuclear Engineering International''. [http://www.neimagazine.com/story.asp?sectioncode=147&storyCode=2048443 Public opinion: how do we get it on our side?]. 21 January 2008.</ref> In October 2010, Michael Mariotte, then the executive director of NIRS, predicted that the [[Nuclear power in the United States|U.S. nuclear industry]] will not experience a [[nuclear renaissance]], for the simple reason that “nuclear reactors make no economic sense”. The economic slump has driven down electricity demand and the price of competing energy sources, and Congress has failed to pass climate change legislation, making [[Economics of nuclear power plants|nuclear economics]] very difficult.<ref>Matthew L. Wald. [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/11/business/energy-environment/11power.html?partner=rss&emc=rss Sluggish Economy Curtails Prospects for Building Nuclear Reactors], ''The New York Times'', October 10, 2010.</ref> ==Controversy== Critics accuse NIRS of fearmongering and question the qualifications of NIRS staff to adequately assess the safety of nuclear energy. No NIRS staff member is credited with formal training in [[nuclear physics]] or [[Nuclear engineering|engineering]].<ref>[https://www.nirs.org/staff/ "NIRS - Staff"] Retrieved on 7 May 2017.</ref> In a 2008 response to NIRS claims appearing on the website palmbeachpost.com,<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://neinuclearnotes.blogspot.com/2008/04/energy-payback-times-for-nuclear.html | title=Energy Payback Times for Nuclear | website=neinuclearnotes.blogspot.com/}}</ref> David Bradish of the ''[[Nuclear Energy Institute]]'' challenged a contention of NIRS Southeast Office Director Mary Olson that "A nuclear power plant takes so much water and energy to build, it has to run for 15 years to offset its [[carbon footprint]]." Citing data from the ''[[World Nuclear Association]]'', Bradish argues "it is reasonable to say a nuclear plant takes about one year to offset its energy consumption from its other stages." At a 2006 talk before the [[United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development]], Olson claimed that when full-lifecycle emissions are included "the release of [[carbon dioxide]] (CO2) as the result of making electricity from uranium is comparable to [[Gas-fired power plant|burning natural gas to make electric power]]."<ref>Olson, Mary. [https://www.nirs.org/wp-content/uploads/climate/background/climatetalk_mary_un_050306.htm "Confronting a False Myth of Nuclear Power: Nuclear Power Expansion is Not a Remedy for Climate Change"] Retrieved on 7 May 2017.</ref> == See also == *[[Anti-nuclear movement in the United States]] *[[List of anti-nuclear protests in the United States]] *[[Nuclear renaissance in the United States]] *[[Paul Gunter]] *[[Paxus Calta]] *[[World Information Service on Energy]] ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * [http://www.nirs.org/ Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS)] * [http://www.antenna.nl/wise World Information Service on Energy (WISE)] * [http://www.beyondnuclear.org/ Beyond Nuclear] *{{cite web |url=http://www.power-technology.com/features/feature-world-worst-nuclear-power-disasters-chernobyl/ |title=The world's worst nuclear power disasters |date=7 October 2013 |work=Power Technology }} {{U.S. anti-nuclear}} {{authority control}} [[Category:Anti–nuclear power movement]] [[Category:Anti-nuclear organizations based in the United States]] [[Category:Nuclear weapons policy]] [[Category:Nuclear safety and security]] [[Category:Climate change organizations based in the United States]] [[Category:Renewable energy organizations based in the United States]] [[Category:Sustainability organizations]] [[Category:Political advocacy groups in the United States]] [[Category:Organizations established in 1978]] [[Category:1978 establishments in the United States]]'