Decommissioning is the time to do an "autopsy" while dismantling reactors to investigate residual safety margins at operating reactors

Paul Gunter with Beyond Nuclear provided comments to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's proposed rulemaking for updating the agency's policy and regulations for decommissioning nuclear power stations.

Gunter's comments focused on why closed nuclear power stations should be required to undergo destructive examination and material testing of irreplaceable structures and components like concrete containments and the steel reactor pressure vessels to gain important insights into the residual safety margins in aging reactors that are still operating under license extension.

Comments on Nuclear Regulatory Commission Draft Regulatory Basis for Decommissioning Power Reactors

Beyond Nuclear joined a coalition of environmental groups to endorse Comments on Nuclear Regulatory Commission Draft Regulatory Basis for Decommissioning Power Reactors spearheaded by Citizens Awareness Network and Nuclear Information and Resource Service. Other endorsoing organizations included Cape Downwinders, Public Citizen, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Nuclear Energy Information Service, Vermont Citizens Action Network, and Vermont Yankee Decommissioning Alliance.

How Much Money Palisades Has For Cleanup And Why It Matters

As reported by Rebecca Thiele of WMUK. Beyond Nuclear's Kevin Kamps, a longtime watchdog on Palisades (as a board of directors member for Don't Waste Michigan, representing his hometown Kalamazoo chapter), is quoted several times in the interview.

Feds sue proposed Vermont Yankee disposal company

As reported by VTDigger.

The U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit to block the merger of Waste Control Specialists, LLC of Andrews County, TX and EnergySolutions of Salt Lake City, UT is certainly relevant to Vermont Yankee decommissioning, as the article reports. WCS is proposed to become a partner in the decommissioning of Vermont Yankee, by acquiring ownership and an NRC-approved license transfer from current owner Entergy Nuclear.

But the merger would also impact the entire realm of radioactive waste management and disposal in the U.S. EnergySolutions' dumpsite in Clive, Tooele County, UT is a national dump for Class A radioactive waste -- the lowest category of so-called "low" level radioactive waste.

WCS's dump in Andrews, TX accepts Class A, Class B, and Class C radioactive wastes from any state in the union.

WCS has also applied to become a centralized interim storage site (a de facto permanent parking lot dump) for up to 40,000 metric tons of commercial irradiated nuclear fuel.

Decommissioning Webinar

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2b-a19f3q6ZRnJOZVNhZDNsQzg/view