TO: Illinois media outlets
RE: NRC public meeting on the license extension of Exelon's Dresden nuclear reactors

Greetings, and Happy New Year,

In 2004 Illinois will see the opening rounds of the battle that will determine whether heavily subsidized and politically well-connected nuclear power will be saved from its long-overdue demise, as Exelon Corporation pushes both for the early site permit to build a new nuclear reactor (the first in almost 20 years in Illinois) at the downstate Clinton reactor site; and as it pushes the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission to approve 20-year plant life license extensions at its aging and historically decrepit reactors at Dresden (Morris, IL) and Quad Cities (Cordova, IL) sites.

On Wednesday, January 14th, the NRC will hold a public hearing on Exelon's license extension request for its Dresden 2 and 3 reactors.
This open public meeting will occur at:

Public Hearing
Nuclear REgulatory Commission
Environmental Impact Statement for LIcense Renewal for Dresden 2-3
Jennifer's Garden (a conference center)
Morris, IL
January 14, 1:30 pm.

Members of the media are strongly encouraged to attend.

Environmental activists will attend to provide the attached documents (and others) as reasons for the NRC to deny the license extensions. The attached health study results from the renowned research scientist Joseph Mangano reveal hugely anomalous and statistically significant health findings for Grundy County, IL, which he and his colleagues
attribute to the operation of the aging Dresden reactors. Mangano and associates have revealed similar findings at other US reactors --
including the downstate Clinton site -- and are currently evaluating health statistics for the long-shuttered Zion 1 and 2 reactors in Lake
County, IL, to be released at a later date. Observing similar finding trends for the closed Zion site would provide a resounding confirmation
of the soundness of both Mangano's hypothesis and methodology, and the correctness of his conclusions. He can be contacted directly for more information about the studies at: 718-857-9825

NEIS -- Illinois' nuclear power watchdog group for 22 years -- will also provide comments to NRC which argue against extending the operating
license of Dresden (and all other Illinois reactors). The press release and summary document will be available to the press on Tuesday, January
13th.

For more information, please feel free to contact NEIS at the numbers provided below:

neis (at) neis.org
011-49-40-430-7332 (Hamburg, Germany; 7 hours ahead of CST)
leave message at: (847) 869-7650

NEW NEIS E-MAIL ADDRESS: NEIS is moving its e-mail. As of November 15th, 2003, please use our new address: neis (at) neis.org and delete the old one: neis (at) forward.net. Make this change to your address book today. Thanks.