Zimmer

In 1969, a combination of utility companies announced they would build a $395 million nuclear power plant in Moscow, Ohio, about thirty miles southeast of Cincinnati. Named after the president of Cincinnati Gas and Electric (CG&E), the William H. Zimmer nuclear power station was expected to provide the Cincinnati metropolitan area with affordable and clean energy, well-paying jobs, and tax revenue. However, as news spread that construction on the Zimmer plant was unsafe as well as over budget, public opinion of the project soured, culminating in a consumer-led campaign that ultimately compelled investors to abandon the nuclear station in 1984.

Zimmer: The Movement That Defeated a Nuclear Power Plant traces the story of the activists who worked to secure the plant's cancellation. Influenced by environmentalism, civil rights, and consumer rights, a broad-based coalition of concerned citizens--including parents, educators, local and state officials, whistleblowing construction workers, antinuclear activists, and lawyers--joined together to insist on public input and government accountability. Although the nuclear project was 99 percent complete, pressure from the anti-Zimmer campaign and government regulators along with major financial strain caused CG&E to repurpose the facility as a coal-burning plant.

By combining oral histories with government and corporate documentation, Zimmer pieces together a yet-untold narrative about political agency--demonstrating that ordinary, motivated people have the power to shape public health and energy infrastructure.