Nuclear Ecology

Data Voids of Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station

Spring 2025 History and Theory
Instructors / Laura Kurgan
in collaboration with Holly Baker and Trella Isabel Lopez
Florida, 2025

link to project website
The project explores the impact of Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station on ecosystems – both natural and political – in Southern Florida. Tracing how nuclear infrastructure creates an artificial landscape, this project reveals a key tension: while Turkey Point’s cooling canals have been long under scrutiny by environmental groups due to their proven leaking of salt water into local aquifers, this warm brackish water has surprisingly created an ideal habitat for American crocodiles. Set against a backdrop of concerns for the risk associated with nuclear generation, our research aims to bring to light the various data voids, or missing information, connected to Turkey Point. Amidst a contentious political landscape with scandals connected to Florida Power & Light, the owner of the plant, the project focuses on mapping available information and the array of actors, from Senators to crocodiles, to point to gaps in Turkey Point’s narrative. The research aims to expose a series of complex relationships between ecology and political motivations and, ultimately, contribute a nuanced perspective to discourse on impact of nuclear infrastructure.
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