Spinning Atoms Into Gold [1]
Submitted by Diane Farsetta [2] on
Despite securing up to $13 billion in federal subsidies [3] in the recently passed energy bill [4], according to estimates by Public Citizen [5], the nuclear industry continues its PR offensive. The major industry group Nuclear Energy Institute [6] (NEI) is "soliciting help from PR agencies to assist in removing all major legislative and regulatory impediments to a nuclear renaissance," reports PR Week. The major goal of the 14 month, $8 million campaign is "to bolster public support for the development of a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain [7]" in Nevada. The campaign will include outreach to "sympathetic groups, including selected members of the academic, public health, and environmental communities." Some eight PR firms, including Ogilvy [8], Burson-Marsteller [9] and Dittus Communications [10], are interested in working on the campaign. NEI will select a firm by August 15.