Steelworkers Union expresses concern about unsafe nuclear components from China

In a letter to the NRC chairman, the United Steelworkers Union has expressed its concern about potentially unsafe nuclear power plant components coming from China for use in new US reactors. The letter cites instances of unsafe consumer products emanating from China that have caused harm in the US, and the case of substandard steel components from China for the Bay Bridge in California that were caught and rejected before being installed.

Quality assurance contention against Fermi 3 new reactor admitted for hearing by NRC licensing board

ESBWR graphic from NRC websiteAn environmental coalition, co-led by Beyond Nuclear, has won a hearing from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (NRC ASLB). Despite NRC staff and company objections to the contrary, the ASLB's June 15, 2010 ruling recognized the safety significance of quality assurance (QA) violations, and agreed that the environmental coalition's evidence of Detroit Edison QA shortcomings deserved a full adjudicatory hearing on the merits. The contention relied heavily on an expert affidavit filed on Dec. 8, 2010 by nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen of Fairewinds Associates in Vermont on behalf of the environmental coalition. Gundersen expanded his relevant testimony with a June 8, 2010 filing. The ASLB admitted the contention even before taking Gundersen's latest allegations and evidence into consideration. A This marks the fifth contention thus far to be granted a hearing in the Fermi 3 licensing proceeding.

House hearing on Gulf oil catastrophe should serve as warning on reactor risks

The grilling of BP and other oil company executives at a June 15, 2010 U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Environment Subcommittee hearing on the BP Gulf of Mexico oil catastrophe should serve as a warning that very similar risks exist in the nuclear power industry, albeit radiological rather than petrol. An earlier version of the New York Times article linked above reported "Representative Henry A. Waxman, chairman of the House committee, focused on the spill response plans of the five companies. They were prepared by an outside contractor and are virtually identical, Mr. Waxman said." The article continued "Mr. Markey [chairman of the subcommittee] added: 'In preparation for this hearing, the committee reviewed the oil spill safety response plans for all of the companies here today. What we found was that these five companies have response plans that are virtually identical. The plans cite identical response capabilities and tout identical ineffective equipment. In some cases, they use the exact same words. We found that all of these companies, not just BP, made the exact same assurances.' " Similarly, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Office of Inspector General reported in 2006 that NRC staff "safety reviews" of atomic reactor 20 year license extension applications were regularly "cut and pasted" directly from nuclear utility analyses, sometimes verbatim. NRC has thus far rubberstamped approval for every single one of the over 50 license extension requests it has recieved, with many more awaiting approval. Waxman was also quoted as saying that the oil companies'  disaster response "plans are 'just paper exercises,' " and that "BP failed miserably when confronted with a real leak...and Exxon Mobil and the other companies would do no better." This is a frightful parallel of nuclear utilities' self-congratulatory assurance that their radiological emergency planning is adequate, despite widespread evidence to the contrary. As but one example, the Chesapeake Safe Energy Coalition, of which Beyond Nuclear is a member, challenged the adequacy of the emergency preparedness and evacuation plans at the two reactor Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant in Maryland; this pressure successfully forced the Federal Emergency Management Agency to hold a public meeting on the matter, at which was revealed that even FEMA did not know where potassium iodine tablets for protecting human thyroids in the event of radiological iodine-131 releases during a disaster. Act now to prevent an atomic catastrophe -- contact the House Energy and Commerce Committee at (202) 225-2927 and urge that hearings be held on widespread, risky NRC regulatory shortfalls. Call your own U.S. Representative via the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and urge them to contact their colleagues on the Energy and Commerce Committee about the importance of such hearings.

Gulf oil disaster threatens reactor safety, groups warn

Nuclear watchdog groups are raising concerns about the safe operation of coastal nuclear power plants threatened by the BP oil spill. In a letter to several U.S. government agencies the groups – Beyond Nuclear, Three Mile Island Alert and Salem Watch – warn that if surface or submerged oil-contaminated water were to infiltrate reactor water intake systems, serious damage to safety systems could result.

The Crystal River Nuclear Power Plant on the Florida Gulf Coast and Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station, on the Atlantic Florida coast, are potentially the most imminently threatened.

In a letter to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the US Coast Guard, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Department of Homeland Security, the watchdog groups call for an across-the-board and transparent analysis of all critical actions which will be necessary to prevent damage to coastal reactors posed by the threat of contaminated water. The letter asks for assurances that comprehensive guidance from federal agencies is being provided to reactor licensees. It also calls for the constant monitoring of the oil plumes.

"BP is disputing that underwater oil plumes are spreading throughout the Gulf region," said Paul Gunter, Director of the Reactor Oversight Project for the Takoma Park, MD based organization Beyond Nuclear. "It is vital that an NRC safety analysis be made public before coastal reactors take in billions of gallons of oil-contaminated water."

Read the press release and letter here.



A Nuclear Gamble on the Not-So-Distant Horizon

The Beyond Nuclear Op-Ed in Common Dreams warns  that President Obama and NRC's coziness with the nuclear power industry increasingly risks disaster similar to the Deepwater Horizon eco-catastrophe unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico.