Politics & Government

NRC Nixes Petitioners' Request to Shut Down Fukushima-Style Plants, Including Oyster Creek

NRC's Japan Task Force will continue to review nuclear plants' venting and emergency back-up power systems

 

The Petition Review Board of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) denied part of a petition seeking the immediate shutdown of Boiling Water Reactor Mark 1 designs, including Oyster Creek Generating Station.

“As we have said previously, we have determined that U.S. power reactors remain safe for operation,” NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said.

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In October, there was a public hearing prompted by a , including the local group Grandmothers, Mothers and More for Energy Safety (GRAMMES), calling on the NRC to “freeze our Fukushimas.”

The petition, headed by Beyond Nuclear, an anti-nuclear organization, called for the immediate suspension of 17 nuclear facilities with General Electric (GE) Boiling Water Reactors Mark 1 units, the same type of reactors at Fukushima that experienced a meltdown following an earthquake and tsunami.

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The Petition Review Board determined that Beyond Nuclear’s request to immediately shutdown certain nuclear plants “is a general assertion without supporting facts,” a letter said.

Osyter Creek officials were pleased with the decision.

"Exelon stands by the safety of its plants. We operate a very safe and reliable plant with Oyster Creek," plant spokesperson Suzanne D'Ambrosio said. "We look at lessons learned in the industry and we will continue to work with the NRC."

The advocates are also fighting for the 1989 approval of an experimental venting system to be revoked as well as for Mark 1 operators to install emergency backup power for the spent fuel cooling system.

The Petition Review Board has accepted for review other parts of the petition, including verifying the reliability of hardened vents at Boiling Water Mark 1 Reactors and checking on back-up power for plant safety systems, Sheehan said.

The remainder of the review process will be carried out as part of the NRC’s post-Fukushima evaluation, he said.

“We arrive at a partial victory by the NRC admitting they need to revoke an approval of the venting system,” said. Paul Gunter, Director of the Reactor Oversight Project for Beyond Nuclear.

The agency is looking into revoking experimental venting systems, which is “fundamentally flawed,” he said.

“The vent itself is a big concern because it’s a deliberate defeating of the containment concept,” he said. “It’s a concern that they made a mistake when they designed this reactor. It has been a series of experimental fixes that in fact wind up defeating the last barrier of Oyster Creek.”

As for the back-up power systems, Gunter said the NRC’s acceptance to continue investigating this issue is a step up. The agency is looking into requiring emergency backup power to not only make up water after it boils out of the pool but to cool the pool before boiling.

The high notes are the venting systems and that the NRC is considering moving fuel into hardened storage in concrete structures, he said.

“They’re more definitive action items, though they are open-ended, contrary to what we requested,” Gunter said. “Oyster Creek is the first Fukushima style reactor. It’s a good steam generator but it’s a significant public hazards and it’s got a bad invertible design.”

But since none of the decisions will be rendered immediately, these issues may not be solved for years to come, Gunter said.

“They could kick these things down the road for decades,” he said. “Again, the NRC is sitting on their hands, even though they recognized the petition is viable and true.”

Beyond Nuclear will be requesting a Freedom of Information Act to the NRC for all documents, conversations, e-mails and notes reflecting how they reached this decision, Gunter said.

Gunter may also hold public hearings in Lacey Township, he said, since the NRC rejected Beyond Nuclear’s request to have immediate hearings on any further design changes.

“The public is provided due process and transparencies into the next round of experiments they’re going to conduct at Oyster Creek,” he said. “They need to explain why they’re allowing this dangerous design to operate one day longer given the demonstration of the failure at the sister plant in Fukushima.”

“I wouldn’t go to sleep at night feeling confident that Oyster Creek is safe,” Gunter said. “I’m concerned for the entire eastern seaboard.”

Janet Tauro of GRAMMES was not immediately available for comment.

The letter from the Petition Review Board, which includes a table summarizing which criteria were accepted and rejected, is attached to this story as a PDF.

Related Topics: Exelon Corporation, Japan Task Force, Oyster Creek Generating Station, beyond nuclear, boiling water reactor mark 1 units, nuclear regulator commission, and oyster creek petition


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