The following is a copy of a Public Opinion article (Letter to the Editor) I submitted to our local newspaper, the Parsons Sun on 03/28/2026 . . . followed by a Scanned Copy of same article published by the Sun on 03/31/2026.
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Deep Fission—The Risks vs Benefits???
To the Sun:
As earlier and very responsibly reported by the Parsons Sun and others, on December 9, 2025, Deep Fission, a California-based company, broke ground at the Great Plains Industrial Park, Parsons, Kansas, on what the company calls a pioneering underground nuclear reactor project. One reportedly serving as a pilot for the company’s proprietary Gravity nuclear reactor designed to operate entirely underground, with the aim of demonstrating a new approach to advanced nuclear energy production.
Some four months later, however, it seems there still exists a yet to be satisfying public understanding of the true “risks vs benefits” of this particular project, and of the “new approach” to nuclear energy production it reportedly entails. A here and now “information void” calling to attention an in general nuclear power plant history that has over the years included some very noteworthy and alarming disasters. Each attesting not only to the importance of timely “gaining” accurate and comprehensive “risks vs benefits” understandings, but also how crucial it is to “responsibly deal with such.”
Think not . . . then strongly recommended is a bit of personal research supporting a fact-based memory-jog through a few related disasters, such as the: (1.) 1979--Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident in the U.S.; (2 .) 1986--Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Disaster in Ukraine; and (3.) 2011--Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Disaster in Japan. Of course it is worthy of note and special consideration that each of these particular disasters entailed nuclear power plants with “above-ground” nuclear reactors. Whereas Deep Fission’s reactors reportedly will be some “one mile underground” and entail (also worthy of note) relatively “new technology” with apparently little to no tried and proven historical track record to lean on, etc.
At this point it also seems especially important to recall that for years millions have lived, and continue to live, but a few miles from a nuclear reactor. In the United States alone there are many, including, for example, the Wolf Creek Nuclear Generating Station in Burlington, Kansas . . . a mere 83 road miles (or about 70 as-the-crow-flies) from Parsons. Human-made nuclear facilities, each very much “double-edged swords,” i.e., providing great benefits while at same time entailing a range of risks . . . including those potentially devastating. For example, the loss of both primary and backup power for just a few hours at any of these facilities could lead to a meltdown resulting in the release of a deadly radioactive plume into the atmosphere. And in the event of a major disaster at one or more of these facilities, countless people could be killed, injured, or contaminated with life-threatening radiation. Parts of our environment could be contaminated and rendered uninhabitable for years to come. Survivors could be displaced permanently from their homes and property and lose everything. Likewise, our food supply, utilities, police and medical support, communications systems, and government functions could be critically disrupted or destroyed. And these scenarios are not fiction-based. They are realistic generalizations of the types of tragedies our world has experienced in the past, and can again in the future. Reminders of the truly critical obligation we have to present and future generations to “responsibly” deal with nuclear energy—and of the consequences, should we fail to do so!
And then there’s the ever-challenging risks and responsibilities involved in handling and long-term storage of Nuclear Fuel waste. Yes, although after a nuclear reactor’s fuel is determined no longer efficient and must be removed, it is still highly radioactive and thermally hot and therefore must be handled remotely and shielded. Our U.S. national inventory of commercial spent nuclear fuel reportedly totals many thousands of metric tons, and is stored at various urban, suburban, and rural locations throughout many states. And some nuclear waste, such as high-level waste from defense nuclear activities, will reportedly remain radioactive and hazardous for hundreds of thousands of years . . . with no guarantee that our human-designed waste packages and storage methods can safely and otherwise effectively contain such material for that long.
Of course, life’s journey entails a magnitude of “risks” . . . e.g., by way of the air we breathe; the food we eat; the water we drink; the medications and medical services we rely upon; the hobbies, entertainments, and employments we pursue; the forms of transportation we use; threats foreign and domestic; etc. Some we recognize and understand, others we don’t; those we accept, ignore, avoid, confront, or try to mitigate; those we responsibly deal with, and those we handle otherwise; etc.
And so, as the Deep Fission Nuclear Project at the Great Plains Industrial Park continues to evolve, hopefully the true “Risks vs Benefits” will not only soon be forthcoming, but also properly communicated and responsibly dealt with. Hence fulfilling a crucial need and responsibility to present and future generations . . . through rational critical-thinking human behaviors hopefully void of self-destructive ignorance, apathy, complacency, denial, counterproductive fears, and greed. —William James Moore Parsons, Kansas 03/28/2026
Deep Fission—The Risks vs Benefits???
To the Sun:
As earlier and very responsibly reported by the Parsons Sun and others, on December 9, 2025, Deep Fission, a California-based company, broke ground at the Great Plains Industrial Park, Parsons, Kansas, on what the company calls a pioneering underground nuclear reactor project. One reportedly serving as a pilot for the company’s proprietary Gravity nuclear reactor designed to operate entirely underground, with the aim of demonstrating a new approach to advanced nuclear energy production.
Some four months later, however, it seems there still exists a yet to be satisfying public understanding of the true “risks vs benefits” of this particular project, and of the “new approach” to nuclear energy production it reportedly entails. A here and now “information void” calling to attention an in general nuclear power plant history that has over the years included some very noteworthy and alarming disasters. Each attesting not only to the importance of timely “gaining” accurate and comprehensive “risks vs benefits” understandings, but also how crucial it is to “responsibly deal with such.”
Think not . . . then strongly recommended is a bit of personal research supporting a fact-based memory-jog through a few related disasters, such as the: (1.) 1979--Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident in the U.S.; (2 .) 1986--Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Disaster in Ukraine; and (3.) 2011--Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Disaster in Japan. Of course it is worthy of note and special consideration that each of these particular disasters entailed nuclear power plants with “above-ground” nuclear reactors. Whereas Deep Fission’s reactors reportedly will be some “one mile underground” and entail (also worthy of note) relatively “new technology” with apparently little to no tried and proven historical track record to lean on, etc.
At this point it also seems especially important to recall that for years millions have lived, and continue to live, but a few miles from a nuclear reactor. In the United States alone there are many, including, for example, the Wolf Creek Nuclear Generating Station in Burlington, Kansas . . . a mere 83 road miles (or about 70 as-the-crow-flies) from Parsons. Human-made nuclear facilities, each very much “double-edged swords,” i.e., providing great benefits while at same time entailing a range of risks . . . including those potentially devastating. For example, the loss of both primary and backup power for just a few hours at any of these facilities could lead to a meltdown resulting in the release of a deadly radioactive plume into the atmosphere. And in the event of a major disaster at one or more of these facilities, countless people could be killed, injured, or contaminated with life-threatening radiation. Parts of our environment could be contaminated and rendered uninhabitable for years to come. Survivors could be displaced permanently from their homes and property and lose everything. Likewise, our food supply, utilities, police and medical support, communications systems, and government functions could be critically disrupted or destroyed. And these scenarios are not fiction-based. They are realistic generalizations of the types of tragedies our world has experienced in the past, and can again in the future. Reminders of the truly critical obligation we have to present and future generations to “responsibly” deal with nuclear energy—and of the consequences, should we fail to do so!
And then there’s the ever-challenging risks and responsibilities involved in handling and long-term storage of Nuclear Fuel waste. Yes, although after a nuclear reactor’s fuel is determined no longer efficient and must be removed, it is still highly radioactive and thermally hot and therefore must be handled remotely and shielded. Our U.S. national inventory of commercial spent nuclear fuel reportedly totals many thousands of metric tons, and is stored at various urban, suburban, and rural locations throughout many states. And some nuclear waste, such as high-level waste from defense nuclear activities, will reportedly remain radioactive and hazardous for hundreds of thousands of years . . . with no guarantee that our human-designed waste packages and storage methods can safely and otherwise effectively contain such material for that long.
Of course, life’s journey entails a magnitude of “risks” . . . e.g., by way of the air we breathe; the food we eat; the water we drink; the medications and medical services we rely upon; the hobbies, entertainments, and employments we pursue; the forms of transportation we use; threats foreign and domestic; etc. Some we recognize and understand, others we don’t; those we accept, ignore, avoid, confront, or try to mitigate; those we responsibly deal with, and those we handle otherwise; etc.
And so, as the Deep Fission Nuclear Project at the Great Plains Industrial Park continues to evolve, hopefully the true “Risks vs Benefits” will not only soon be forthcoming, but also properly communicated and responsibly dealt with. Hence fulfilling a crucial need and responsibility to present and future generations . . . through rational critical-thinking human behaviors hopefully void of self-destructive ignorance, apathy, complacency, denial, counterproductive fears, and greed. —William James Moore Parsons, Kansas 03/28/2026
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