Beyond Nuclear presses NRC to compel “autopsy” of closed reactors: Oyster Creek to close September 17, 2018

Beyond Nuclear is pressing the call for an “autopsy” of New Jersey’s Oyster Creek nuclear power station and other decommissioning commercial power reactors in the United States. Beyond Nuclear covered the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) public meeting in Forked River, NJ with the operator, Exelon Generation, to lay out their decommissioning options. Exelon is considering  "mothballing" for 50-years following the September 17 2018 closure. Oyster Creek is the nation’s oldest nuclear power station. The 49-year old GE Mark I boiling water reactor on Barnegat Bay, is the first and oldest Fukushima-style reactor in the world. Exelon has previously said it could seek to mothball Oyster Creek for up to 50 years before beginning a ten-year dismantlement and decommissioning operation. While shutting down its oldest GE reactor, Exelon has applied to NRC for a second license renewal (60 to 80-year extension) of two of its other GE Mark I reactors at Peach Bottom units 2 and 3 in Pennsylvania. A post-shutdown autopsy to harvest aged material samples from Oyster Creek for scientifically analyze is necessary to assess the material damage on safety margins in aging nuclear power plants seeking dramatic license extensions. More on nuclear autopsies…