Davis-Besse: 20 MORE years of radioactive Russian roulette on the Great Lakes shore?!

The Davis-Besse "red photo," showing boric acid crystal/rust "lava" flowing from the dangerously corroded reactor lid Beyond Nuclear's Kevin Kamps has written a fully referenced overview of major near-misses that have occurred over the decades at FirstEnergy's Davis-Besse atomic reactor near Toledo in light of its recent application for a 20 year license extension. These near misses include a 1977 Three Mile Island precursor, a 1985 steam generator dryout that blocked cooling to the core, a 1998 tornado direct hit and dicey electricity supply for safety critical cooling systems, a 2002 "hole-in-the-head" (see photo to left), a 2010 beginning of a new "hole-in-the-head," and numerous additional incidents.

Kevin Kamps and Susan Corbett testified Nov. 16 at Blue Ribbon Commission

Beyond Nuclear's Kevin Kamps (near left), along with Susan Corbett (far left) of the South Carolina Sierra Club presented before the Department of Energy's Blue Ribbon Commission (BRC) on America's Nuclear Future on radioacative waste management issues on November 16th. The meeting was webcast live. Representing a community of 167 national and grassroots environmental and public interest groups, as well as over 3,300 individual petition signers, Kevin and Susan highlighted the coalition's sign on statement. This statement reflects four key principles: no reprocessing; isolation of the waste from the biosphere for as long as it is a hazard; “stop making it”; and “hardened on-site storage” (HOSS), as well as better monitoring, where waste is stored now, as the first, temporary step to meet these goals. You can also read the coalition press release, the core groups' (which helped lead the effort, by 30 drafters, to write the community statement) cover letter to BRC, Kevin's statement, Susan's statement, as well as the Principles for Safeguarding Nuclear Waste at Reactors (Hardened On-Site Storage). BRC has indicated it may close its public comment opportunity in the near future and retreat behind closed doors to hammer out a draft recommendation report by mid-2011 -- to be finalized by early 2012 -- on what to do to manage irradiated nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste now that the proposed Yucca Mountain, Nevada dumpsite has been cancelled. Send your comments to BRC as soon as possible via BRC@nuclear.energy.gov. For background information on radioactive waste issues, see the Radioactive Waste Section of Beyond Nuclear's website, the Radioactive Waste Project section of NIRS website,  the Radioactive Waste section of IEER's website, as well as the Reprocessing section of ANA's website.

Beyond Nuclear warns of accidents waiting to happen at Palisades atomic reactor on Lake Michigan shore

In light of the forced shut downs of two Entergy Nuclear reactors -- Indian Point 2 near New York City, and Vermont Yankee -- in the space of one hour on Sunday evening due to a transformer explosion and yet another radioactive water leak, respectively, Beyond Nuclear issued a media release warning that Entergy Nuclear's indefinitely postponed major safety repairs -- replacement of steam generators, replacement of the reactor lid, upgrade on the sump, and addressing the highly embrittled reactor pressure vessel -- risk radioactive Russian roulette on the Great Lakes shoreline.

Ohio Sierra Club speaks out against 20 year license extension at risky Davis-Besse atomic reactor near Toledo

At a recent environmental scoping public meeting, Patricia Marida, Chair of the Nuclear Issues Committee of the Ohio Sierra Club, made a powerful statement against FirstEnergy's application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a 20 year license extension at its problem-plagued Davis-Besse atomic reactor near Toledo.

Trouble-plagued nuclear industry shuts down two reactors on same day

The Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, up for sale and scheduled to close in 2012, was shut down Sunday evening after radioactive water escaped from a pipe leading to the reactor. Meanwhile, half an hour earlier, at Unit 2 of the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan, NY, a transformer exploded causing the shutdown of that reactor. Both plants are owned by Entergy and have been plagued by leaks, mainly of tritium. Vermont Yankee has also endured a fire and the collapse of its cooling towers (pictured). Newly-elected Vermont Governor, Peter Shumlin, a former State Senator, led the charge to get the plant closed on schedule in March 2012, a move the State Senate approved last February. The State of Vermont's Public Oversight Panel on Vermont Yankee warned of Entergy Nuclear's neglect of maintenance last July. View more coverage from TIME; Wall Street Journal; Bloomberg; Los Angeles Times; Mid Hudson News; Reuters UK; AP Google; Brattleboro Reformer; Maine Public Broadcasting Network; Vermont Public Radio (1); Vermont Public Radio (2); Vermont Public Radio (3). The Diane Rehm Show on National Public Radio will air a live nationwide call-in show on the subject of nuclear power's future in light of these two Entergy shutdowns on Tuesday morning, Nov. 9th at 10 am Eastern; you can call into the Diane Rehm Show at (800) 433-8850, or email a question or comment to drshow@wamu.org.