Harvard Physicists And Nuclear Safety

ARKANSAS Power and Light's proposed coal burning power plant will, everyone connected with it readily admits, pollute the atmosphere with sulfur dioxide emissions. It is easy to understand the possible bad effects the plant will have on Arkansas's air and crops, and to oppose the plant because of those bad effects.

However, the proposed Waterford nuclear plant of Louisiana Power and Light, another Middle South Utilities subsidiary, presents a much more difficult problem. Robert Head, a New Orleans environmentalist, is opposing the plant on the grounds that its emergency safety features are inadequate, and only experts in nuclear physics are really competent to judge the validity of his claims.

But the need for expert opinions on the Waterford plant makes action on Harvard's part especially necessary. Harvard is the largest single stockholder in Middle South Utilities, and its physics department could come to an intelligent conclusion about the plant's safety.

Richard Wilson, professor of Physics, asked the Corporation's subcommittee on shareholder responsibility last spring to investigate the possible dangers of nuclear power plants, in light of Harvard's holdings in General Electric and Westinghouse. The subcommittee referred Wilson's request to the Advisory Committee on Shareholder Responsibility, creating a precedent for considering issues not directly related to proxy votes.

The ACSR has discussed Wilson's request but has not actively investigated it. It should immediately begin a full study of nuclear plants, specifically the Waterford plant. If the plant is found to be potentially unsafe, Harvard should use its shareholder power to oppose the plant and send experts to New Orleans in January to testify at the Atomic Energy Commission licensing board's hearings.

Of course, a study of the plant could cost Harvard a lot of money, but Middle South Utilities is worth a lot to Harvard--$10 million at last count. Harvard must make sure it isn't financing itself through investments that could hurt crops, air and people.