A second area of risks of nuclear plants is those relating to environ­mental effects. As with all means of meeting our growing energy needs, there is no way that environmental effects can be eliminated completely. The real challenge is to ensure that they are well enough understood and kept as small as possible consistent with meeting our energy and other needs.

Those who have been concerned about these matters have long rec­ognized the need to minimize the environmental effects associated with energy usage. The Interdepartmental Energy Study for example, con­cluded that: “In the future, development and use of fuel resources will be strongly influenced by the urgent necessity to control critical increases of environmental pollution — such as automobile exhaust gases, S02 and other products of fossil fuel burning; excessive heating of rivers and estu­aries by powerplant water cooling; acid mine drainage; radioactive wastes; and damage to scenic and land values through mining. Research and de­velopment programs aimed at both the assessment of hazards to health

and environment and the economical abatement of damages are urgently needed.” (“Energy R&D and National Progress: Findings and Conclu­sions,” September 1966.)