Agenda and slides for Oct. 20 NRC ACRS mtg. on reactor pressure vessel embrittlement/pressurized thermal shock risk

On Oct. 20th, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) THERMAL-HYDRAULIC PHENOMENA SUBCOMMITTEE will hold a meeting on reactor pressure vessel (RPV) embrittlement/pressurized thermal shock (PTS) risk, as well as other risks associated with age-related degradation of RPVs.

The agenda and slides (see links below) have just been provided. As they indicate, the nuclear power utilities involved (PWROG, Pressurized Water Reactors Owners Group), including Entergy Nuclear at the Palisades atomic reactor on the Lake Michigan shore in Covert, MI (the worst embrittled RPV in the U.S.), have invoked proprietary information privileges/trade secrecy. The only public portion of the meeting will take place from 8:30 to 9:30am Eastern time. A public comment opportunity will be provided at the end of the public portion of the meeting, from 9:30 to 9:45am Eastern.

Concerned citizens and environmental group representatives are encouraged to listen-in to the public portion of the meeting, and to provide oral public comments by phone during the allotted time. The Call-In Number is (866) 822-3032, Passcode: 8272423

The WCAP document has been declared proprietary, so NRC will not provide it to the public. Only the open, public portion of the presentation slides have been provided by NRC to the public.

Links to limited documents made available to the public:

Meeting Agenda;

WCAP-17788 Volume 1, Introduction, Gordon Wissinger, AREVA Inc., PWR Owners Group;

Overview of WCAP-17788, In-Vessel Debris Limits for Closure of NRC Generic Letter 2004-02, Jeffrey Brown, Pressurized Water Reactor Owners Group;

ACRS Thermal Hydraulic Sub-Committee Meeting on Topical Report WCAP-17788, "Comprehensive Analysis and Test Program for GSI-191 Closure," Jonathon Rowley (NRR/DPR), PWR Owners Group Project Manager, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Environmental coalition urges Mayor and City Commission of Kalamazoo to take action on Entergy Nuclear's Palisades atomic reactor

NRC file photo of Entergy Nuclear's Palisades atomic reactor, located in Covert Township, Van Buren County, Michigan, on the Lake Michigan shorelineBelow are links to documents presented to the Kalamazoo City Commission on 10/19/15 by a coalition, including members of the Michigan Safe Energy Future--Kalamazoo Chapter (MSEF), the Sierra Club Southwest Michigan Chapter, and the Sierra Club Nuclear-Free Michigan Committee. 

They were included as part of the request for support of a Sierra Club Nuclear-Free Michigan Committee initiated draft resolution.

Mark Muhich of Jackson, MI serves as the Sierra Club Nuclear-Free Michigan Committee's chairman.

The initiative seeks support for an environmental coalition's hard won evidentiary hearings before a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel (ASLBP). The hearings are regarding reactor pressure vessel (RPV) age-related degradation risks at Entergy Nuclear's Palisades atomic reactor. Palisades is located on the Lake Michigan shoreline in Covert, MI (four miles south of South Haven, and less than 40 miles upwind of Kalamazoo; see photo, above left).

The environmental coalition also asked that the Mayor of Kalamazoo, Bobby Hopewell, write a letter to the NRC Commissioners, supporting the ASLBP hearings, similar to a letter sent by the Grand Rapids Mayor, George Heartwell, to the NRC Chairman, Steven Burns, on July 30, 2015.

Iris Potter, a coordinator for the MSEF--Kalamazoo Chapter, also presented a memo to the Mayor and City Commission of Kalamazoo, urging action.

The ASLBP granted a hearing to an environmental coalition on June 18, 2015, regarding technical contentions related to Palisades' admitted violation of NRC reactor pressure vessel safety screening criteria as early as Dec. 2016. Palisades' loss of RPV fracture toughness is due to neutron radiation embrittlement, thermal stresses, the decision not to install a thermal shield during construction nearly a half-century ago, and other factors. 

Entergy Nuclear immediately appealed the ASLBP's ruling granting the hearing.

In August, 2015 the Sierra Club Nuclear-Free Campaign filed a Friend of the Court brief in support of the hearings, opposing Entergy's appeal. Wally Taylor serves as Sierra Club Nuclear-Free Campaign legal counsel.

The environmental coalition (comprised of Beyond Nuclear, Don't Waste MI, MSEF, and Nuclear Energy Information Service of Chicago) has also appealed a ruling to the NRC Commissioners--the ASLBP's earlier rejection of a related contention on Palisades' RPV neutron radiation embrittlement, acknowledged numerous times over past years and decades as the worst of any reactor in the U.S. Terry Lodge serves as the environmental coalition's legal counsel.

The dueling appeals are before the NRC Commissioners, awaiting their ruling. If the NRC Commissioners rule against Entergy's appeal, the hearings will proceed, with oral arguments currently set for early 2016.

Beyond Nuclear on Solartopia radio show: DYING NUKES THAT TERRIFY US ALL

Solartopia author and radio show host Harvey WassermanBeyond Nuclear's reactor oversight project director, Paul Gunter, and radioactive waste watchdog, Kevin Kamps, joined with Don't Waste Michigan's Michael Keegan on Harvey Wasserman's (photo, left) Solartopia radio show (named after the title of his book) on the Progressive Radio Network. Listen to the audio recording.

(Please note, there may be a minute or two of echo/feedback midway through the show -- just forward through that part.)

Here is Wasserman's summary:

We visit DYING NUKES THAT TERRIFY US ALL with MICHAEL KEEGAN of Don’t Waste Michigan and PAUL GUNTER and KEVIN KAMPS of Beyond Nuclear.

The debate over atomic energy is over.  FUKUSHIMA has shown the world that nuke reactors will explode and destroy whole sections of a country while contaminating oceans.  Germany’s ENERGIEWIND is showing that the transition to 100% renewables can be done quickly, cleanly and profitably.

But we’re left in the US with 99 dying nukes that truly terrify us all.  Starting in Michigan, at Monroe, we deal with Fermi Unit I, which nearly exploded in 1966;  Fermi 2 which is now falling apart; and Fermi 3, which Detroit Edison wants to build at massive ratepayer expense.

We then shift to the truly horrifying Davis-Besse reactor near Toledo, which operated for years with a massive hole in its head, and which has a shield building that’s literally crumbling.  It’s owner wants a $3 billion public bailout to keep endangering all of the Great Lakes region.

We also visit Pilgrim near Boston, which is officially in violation of both NRC production standards and NRC safety standards.  Paul tells that October 10 we will hear a major announcement from Energy, which owns this dying nuke.

Over the coming weeks we will “tour” the national fleet of reactors that need to shut ASAP.  Let’s hope Pilgrim will now lead the way to the end of this insane industry!!!

"Pilgrim nuclear station one step from shutdown: NRC downgrades plant to bottom of performance list"

As reported by Christine Legere at the Cape Cod Times, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has ranked Entergy's Pilgrim atomic reactor in Plymouth, MA near Boston as tied for the worst performing in the country.

It is tied for worst performing with another Entergy nuclear power plant, Arkansas Nuclear One (ANO). A young worker was killed, and eight others injured, on an early Easter Sunday morning in 2013, when a 600-ton piece of equipment was accidentally dropped on them.

The article reports:

...Diane Turco, Harwich resident and co-founder of the anti-Pilgrim group Cape Downwinders, called the federal letter to Entergy good news. “The NRC has finally sent a strong message to Entergy — We are looking at closing Pilgrim as a response to the failures. Finally!” Turco wrote in an email.

Cape Downwinders has planned a rally at the Sagamore Bridge on Labor Day to protest the lack of an evacuation plan in the event of a nuclear accident and to call for the shutdown of the power plant.

...U.S. Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., also issued a statement on Pilgrim’s status. “For decades, I have raised concerns about Pilgrim’s operations, security preparedness, the safety of the surrounding communities in the event of a nuclear accident and the willingness of Entergy to dedicate sufficient resources to run the reactor safely,” Markey wrote.

The senator noted Pilgrim has the same boiling water design as the reactors that had meltdowns in 2011 at Fukushima, Japan, after a tsunami. “NRC must continue this aggressive oversight until Entergy can prove unequivocally that it has dedicated the resources, manpower and training to guarantee the safe and secure operation of this reactor,” Markey wrote.

Attorney General Maura Healey called the downgrade of Pilgrim “a disturbing development" in her written statement. “My primary concern is with the safety and well-being of the residents of Massachusetts, particularly those who live near Pilgrim. Entergy must act swiftly and decisively to correct these issues and restore the public's trust in its ability to safely operate this plant.”

Pilgrim watchdog Mary Lampert, a Duxbury resident and founder of PilgrimWatch, said this latest development was no surprise. “Pilgrim is an antique reactor built when the Beatles sang on Ed Sullivan’s show, and Entergy is unwilling to spend the money for the TLC required. It’s time to retire,” Lampert said...

[See Sen. Markey and MA AG Healey's press statement here.]

Coalition defends hearing at Palisades, with help from allies

Terry Lodge, Toledo-based legal counsel for the environmental coalition (Beyond Nuclear, Don't Waste MI, MI Safe Energy Future, and Nuclear Energy Information Service) intervening against Entergy Nuclear's Palisades License Amendment Request (LAR), has filed a brief in defense of the coalition's hard-won hearing. The LAR, if approved by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), would allow Palisades to continue operating, despite loss of fracture toughness in its thermally stressed, neutron embrittled, age-degraded reactor pressure vessel (RPV) below safety screening criteria by Dec. 2016.

The coalition intervened on the matter on March 9, 2015. The NRC's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel (ASLBP) ruled in the coalition's favor on June 18, 2015, granting an evidentiary hearing on the contention. Entergy appealed the ASLBP's ruling to the full NRC Commission on July 13, 2015. The coalition's rebuttal was filed on August 7, 2015.

On July 30, 2015, the Mayor Grand Rapids, MI -- George K. Heartwell -- wrote a letter to NRC's Chairman, Stephen Burns, urging that the hearing be allowed to proceed, and that physical safety tests be required to be conducted on the status of dangerous embrittlement of Palisades' age-degraded RPV. The southwestern section of Grand Rapids -- the biggest city in west MI -- is located within the 50-mile Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) downwind of Palisades.

Entergy's Palisades atomic reactor in Covert, MI on the Lake Michigan shoreline, is immediately adjacent to the Palisades Park Country Club to the south, and Van Buren State Park to the north.On August 4, 2015, Brian Huffine, President of the Board of Directors of the Palisades Park Country Club, wrote to NRC Chairman Burns on behalf of the Board and members of the community. The more than century-old Palisades Park represents Entergy Palisades nuclear power plant's nearest neighbors, with 205 cottages located immediately next door to the south (just to the right of the mechanincal draft cooling towers shown in this photo on the left). He urged that physical tests of RPV capsule samples be conducted, in order to assure the safety integrity of the worst embrittled RPV in the U.S. The June 18 ASLBP ruling held in favor of considering the need for additional capsule tests at Palisades, before the next scheduled one in 2019.

On August 7, 2015, Wallace Taylor, an attorney representing the Sierra Club, filed a friend of the court brief in support of the ASLBP ruling granting the environmental coalition a hearing. The Sierra Club's Nuclear-Free Michigan, founded and chaired by Mark Muhich, has taken a very active interest in safety risks at Palisades.

Update on August 10, 2015 by admin

On August 10th, Rosemary Parker reported on this story in the Kalamazoo Gazette.

Parker provided a link to the letter by Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell, and quoted Mark Muhich, founder and chairman of Sierra Club Michigan Chapter's Nuclear-Free Committee:

"We felt compelled to weigh in on this case because a rupture of the Palisades pressure vessel due to embrittlement could kill thousands of western Michigan residents, ruin thousands of square miles of the best agricultural land in the state, and poison Lake Michigan, the source of drinking water for millions of people," Muchich wrote in a news release announcing the club's filing of an amicus brief last week.

WSJM Radio of St. Joe, MI has also reported on this story, including a short clip of an interview with Sierra Club Michigan Chapter Nuclear-Free Committee Chairman Mark Muhich.

The Sierra Club press release, including a link to the amicus brief, is posted online here.