Is the company poised to decommission Indian Point too radioactive?

So asks WNYC, regarding Holtec International's proposal to take over the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant, upstream of New York City on the Hudson River, in order to dismantle the reactors after they close in the next two years, clean up the severe radioactive contamination, and manage vast quantities of high-level radioactive waste stored on-site there.

As reported by the USA Today Network, many local residents deeply distrust Holtec because of the many skeletons in its closet.

Holtec's Canadian decommissioning partner, SNC-Lavalin, has many skeletons in its closet as well, including the company recently pleading guilty to fraud, being fined $280 million, and placed on a three year probation; a former executive was just convicted of fraud and corruption, and sentenced to eight and a half years in prison.

How can this consortium be trusted with more than $2 billion in the decommissioning trust fund at Indian Point?

How can Holtec be trusted to safely transport irradiated nuclear fuel from U.S. reactors like Indian Point, across the country, to its proposed consolidated interim storage facility in New Mexico?

How can Holtec be trusted to operate the CISF safely?

Beyond Nuclear is part of a broad coalition actively resisting Holtec's CISF licensing by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

Unlikely allies in this fight -- Fasken Oil and Ranch, and Permian Basin Land and Royalty Owners -- just filed a major legal motion opposed to Holtec's CISF with the NRC's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board.

Learn what you can do to help stop Holtec's de facto permanent, surface storage, "parking lot dump" in New Mexico, and the 10,000 Mobile Chernobyls, Dirty Bombs on Wheels, Floating Fukushimas, and Mobile X-ray Machines That Can't Be Turned Off that its opening would launch through most states.

Learn more about centralized storage, Yucca Mountain, and waste transportation, at our website.

Amicus Brief from 12 State Attorneys General, in support of MA AG, challening NRC's approval of Holtec takeover at Pilgrim

MEMORANDUM OF LAW FOR THE STATES OF NEW YORK, CONNECTICUT, ILLINOIS, IOWA, MARYLAND, MICHIGAN, MINNESOTA, NEW JERSEY, NEW MEXICO, OREGON, PENNSYLVANIA, AND VERMONT AS AMICI CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONER AND IN OPPOSITION TO THE MOTIONS TO DISMISS

re: COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, Petitioner, v. U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondents, HOLTEC DECOMMISSIONING INTERNATIONAL, LLC, et al., Intervenors

before the UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT

See the 48 page Memorandum posted here.

Is The Company Poised To Dismantle Indian Point Too Radioactive?

As reported by WNYC.

For additional background information about Holtec International and SNC-Lavalin, see Beyond Nuclear's respective "skeletons in the closet" annotated bibliographies, provided at the hot links.

In addition to its bid to acquire the Indian Point NY nuclear power plant for decommissioning and irradiated nuclear fuel management purposes, Holtec (and its partner SNC-Lavalin) has already gotten U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval to take over the Oyster Creek NJ and Pilgrim MA atomic reactor sites for such purposes. As reported in WNYC's story, the latter scheme has been challenged in court by the MA Attorney General. Holtec and SNC-Lavalin are also eyeing takeovers of the Palisades MI and Big Rock Point MI atomic reactor sites.

Holtec has also applied to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a license to construct and operate a consolidated interim storage facility for 173,600 metric tons of irradiated nuclear fuel in southeastern New Mexico. This would involve thousands of road, rail, and/or waterway shipments of high risk, high-level radioactive waste, through most states, over the course of decades.

Former SNC-Lavalin executive Sami Bebawi sentenced to 8½ years in prison for fraud, corruption

As reported by the Canadian Press.

Canadian firm SNC-Lavalin has partnered with U.S.-based Holtec International to form the consortium Comprehensive Decommissioning International.

Holtec itself also has bribery conviction, and additional bribery allegation, skeletons in its closet.

Despite this, Holtec has already secured the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's rubber-stamp, to take ownership of the shutdown atomic reactors at Oyster Creek, New Jersey and Pilgrim, Massachusetts, for decommissioning and high-level radioactive waste management.

Holtec is also scheming to take over the Indian Point, New York reactors, as well as Palisades, Michigan, once those nuclear power plants shut down in the years ahead (Big Rock Point, an already decommissioned but still contaminated site also in Michigan, along with its irradiated nuclear fuel, would be lumped in the deal along with Palisades).

Holtec has also applied for a construction and operating permit to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to transport 173,600 metric tons of commercial irradiated nuclear fuel to New Mexico for so-called consolidated interim storage.

SNC-Lavalin, Holtec's partner in reactor decommissioning and high-level radioactive waste management, has pleaded guilty to fraud, will pay $280 million fine

SNC-Lavalin pleads guilty to fraud for past work in Libya, will pay $280M fine

Company will pay a $280M penalty over 5 years and be placed on probation

As reported by CBC:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/snc-lavalin-trading-court-libya-charges-1.5400542

This is the Canadian company Holtec International has partnered with to do nuclear power plant decommissioning, and irradiated nuclear fuel management, in the U.S.

Learn more about the skeletons in both companies' closets:

http://www.beyondnuclear.org/decommissioning/2019/7/26/radioactive-and-other-skeletons-in-snc-lavalins-closet.html

http://www.beyondnuclear.org/centralized-storage/2019/7/25/radioactive-skeletons-in-holtec-internationals-closet.html

Update on December 19, 2019 by admin

The nuclear power industry's corruption IS a highlight of the year 2019's news. See below.

SNC-Lavalin is "the Bechtel of Canada." And wouldn't you know, among both SNC-Lavalin and Bechtel's nefarious deeds are their nuclear power divisions. Makes sense that the likes of Holtec International would partner up with SNC-Lavalin -- after all, Holtec's CEO, Krishna Singh, has engaged in serial bribery too. And then Singh lied about it on his NJ tax break application form, netting him $260 million in tax breaks, and now a major scandal, once ProPublica and WNYC outed the lie.

Jody Wilson-Raybould is Canadian Press newsmaker of the year for 2019

Former justice minister was the choice of news editors across the country

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/jody-wilson-raybould-newsmaker-1.5400649

Update on January 1, 2020 by admin

Corruption Case That Tarnished Trudeau Ends With SNC-Lavalin’s Guilty Plea

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/18/world/canada/snc-lavalin-guilty-trudeau.html

SNC-Lavalin is Holtec International's partner in nuclear power plant decommissioning and high-level radioactive waste management. Outrageously, NRC has rubberstamped both shutdown nuclear power plant takeovers that Holtec has proposed thus far (Oyster Creek, NJ; Pilgrim MA). Up next, Indian Point NY, Palisades & Big Rock Point MI, etc.