Decommissioning

Although it is imperative that we shut down nuclear plants, they remain dangerous, and expensive even when closed. Radioactive inventories remain present on the site and decommissioning costs have been skyrocketing, presenting the real danger that utilities will not be able to afford to properly shut down and clean up non-operating reactor sites.

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Wednesday
May202020

NRC to bury SONGS 1 vessel without autopsy for embrittlement science to inform license renewal process

SONGS-1 reactor pressure vessel/ NRCOn May 19, 2020, Beyond Nuclear participated in a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) teleconference with the atomic power industry to discuss its program for the material surveillance of aging reactor pressure vessels at power stations requesting a second operating license extension (Subsequent License Renewal) period out to 80 years. The large majority of the nation's nuclear power fleet is already operating in their first 20-year license extension from the original 40 year license out to 60-years. Now the industry is seeking applications to extend operations by an additional 20-years. As a result, the NRC and industry need to track and reliably predict the progression of a time-temperature-radiation phenomenon that continues to embrittle the reactor pressure vessel into the license extension period. The temperature and radiation changes the chemical make up of the carbon steel walls as well as that of the weld materials that fabricate the largest component in a nuclear power reactor which operates at temperature of 600 degrees Fahrenheit at pressure of 2000 pounds per square inch. The chemical change causes the loss of the ductility of the metal and its ablity to expand and contract bith temperature change. The "embrittlement" can cause the metal to crack and shatter under extreme operational temperature and pressure changes following an accident that initiates the reactor cooling system. This can result in a catastrophic nuclear accident. 

Beyond Nuclear is intervening in the NRC license extension programs that approve the industry age management programs into the license extension period. This has included watchdogging the NRC staff and national laboratory research that has recommended that as nuclear power stations permanently shutdown for decommissioning that a forensic autopsy be conducted on reactor sytems, structures and components, particularly the reactor pressure vessels, to determine their operational reliability during the extension period and safety-risks as various age-related degradation mechanisms eat away at safety margins.

The need for these autopsies, otherwise known as "strategic harvesting" for laboratory analyses, during decommissioning, has long been sought by the NRC, the national labs and public interest groups since the early 1990s including by emergency enforcement actions focused on the embrittlement of reactor pressure vessels. One such effort that we participated in singled out the permanently closed reactors at Yankee Rowe (MA), Rancho Seco (CA), Trojan (OR) and San Onofre Unit 1 (CA) where public interest groups sought to require the operators and NRC to cut and archive material sampes from embrittled reactor pressure vessels for laboratory study on the initiation and progression of embrittlement. The NRC dismissed the citizens enforcement petition in a Director's Decision issued in June 1996. The NRC decision said that taking archival samples at that time was necessary. In particular, the NRC decision cited the example of San Onofre Unit 1 because Southern California Edison (SCE) can wait to extract the embrittlement vessel samples until after San Onofre (SONGS) units 2 and 3 permanently close. Units 2 and 3 permanently closed in 2013. That time is now. 

During the May 19, 2020 meeting, Beyond Nuclear discovered that rather than require the decommissioning of San Onofre Unit 1 to include the harvesting of material samples for scientific analysis and surveillance they now seek to inform the second license renewal process, the NRC and SCE are going to bury it whole in Clive, Utah without an autopsy. So much for the agency's sincerity on legitimately advancing any surveillance project. Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to nuclear power. 

Monday
Apr062020

"I firmly believe TMI Unit 2 is the most radiologically contaminated facility in our nation outside of the Department of Energy’s weapons complex."

So wrote the State of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary, Patrick McDonnell, to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairwoman, Kristine Svinicki. The DEP secretary wrote the NRC chair expressing many concerns regarding the recently announced intention by EnergySolutions of Utah to takeover the Three Mile Island Unit 2 site from current owner GPU Nuclear, for rapid decommissioning, despite still lingering high radioactivity contamination risks resulting from the March 28, 1979 reactor meltdown there.

The DEP secretary's concerns include environmental and safety impacts, cost of clean-up and financial responsibility, and radioactive waste handling.

See the letter posted at the NRC website here.

Thursday
Feb132020

Broad coalition intervenes against Holtec takeover of Indian Point for decommissioning & HLRW management

This includes the State of New York, the Town of Cortlandt, Village of Buchanan, and Hendrick Hudson School District, Riverkeeper, and Safe Energy Rights Group. These intervenors met the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Feb. 12, 2020, deadline for interventions. The NY Attorney General has issued a press release about its intervention.

A related public comment deadline has been extended until March 25, 2020. Click here to see the NRC's public comment opportunity announcement, including ways to submit your comments.

See the Riverkeeper action alert, here. It provides a way to submit e-comments.

As reported by the Patch: "[The] Westchester County Executive announced that Holtec has agreed to a public meeting in March."

Re: the NRC public comment opportunity, Manna Green at Hudson River Sloop Clearwater put out the following call:

We are requesting folk from across the country to:

1) Request a public hearing re: the Indian Point License Transfer Application (LTA);

2) File comments by Feb. 24 to NRC on problems with Holtec at San Onofre CA, Pilgrim MA, Palisades & Big Rock Point MI, Oyster Creek NJ, etc. (You do not have to be an intervenor to file comments).

Indian Pt. LTA Docket Nos. 50-003 and 50-247 and NRC-2020-0021 If you do file comments, please let us know that you have done so.  Please send a copy to me: <mannajo@clearwater.org>.

These challenges to the license transfer from Entergy Nuclear to Holtec International at Indian Point near New York City, for nuclear power plant decommissioning and high-level radioactive waste management (HLRW, irradiated nuclear fuel), are very similar to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' and Pilgrim Watch's interventions against the Entergy to Holtec license transfer at Pilgrim near Boston. In that case, NRC has shown its true colors, rubber-stamping whatever the nuclear corporations ask, and attempting to ignore state government and public watchdog demands for very serious health, safety, environmental, and financial concerns and risks to be addressed.

To learn more about the many skeletons in Holtec's closet, see the annotated bibliography compiled by Beyond Nuclear. Similarly, see the skeletons-in-the-closet listing by Beyond Nuclear about Holtec's scandal-ridden Canadian partner in decommissioning and irradiated nuclear fuel management, SNC-Lavalin. And learn more about Holtec's environmentally unjust irradiated nuclear fuel consolidated interim storage facility scheme in New Mexico at our Centralized Storage website section. See also our website section about the Mobile Chernobyls, by the tens of thousands, that Holtec's CISF would launch, throughout the Lower 48, along truck, train, and/or barge routes that it has thus far kept largely to entirely secret, with NRC's complicity.

Nancy Vann, a watchdog on the Indian Point nuclear power plant, has published "rap sheets" on Holtec International and SNC-Lavalin, as well: 2/16/20 Holtec & SNC-Lavalin Profiles and "Rap Sheet".

Friday
Jan242020

NRC webinar, February 5th, re: atomic reactor Decommissioning Trust Funds

Webinar February 5th on Decommissioning Trust Funds
02/05/20
12:30PM -
2:30PM

Meeting info
Present NRC findings of power reactor decommissioning trust funds and financial assurance due to changes in decommissioning business models  [more...]

Participation: Category 3
Friday
Jan242020

NY State AG: 'Grave concerns' over Indian Point nuclear plant decommissioning [by Holtec]

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