Japanese Toshiba-Westinghouse AP1000 design, just approved for construction in US by NRC, has major safety flaw

Nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen at Fairewinds Associates has warned the AP1000 has a major safety flawBy a 4 to 1 vote, the Commissioners of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) today approved the combined Construction and Operating License Application (COLA) of Southern Nuclear Company, paving the way for two 1,100 megawatt-electric Toshiba-Westinghouse "Advanced Passive" AP1000s to be built at the Vogtle nuclear power plant near Augusta, Georgia. NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko cast the sole "no" vote, while Commissioners Kristine Svinicki, George Apostolakis, William Magwood IV, and William Ostendorff voted in favor. Chairman Jaczko had previously cast the sole dissenting votes against such controversial proposals as: the 20 year license extension at the Oyster Creek, NJ GE BWR Mark I, the oldest operating reactor in the U.S. and identical in design to Fukushima Daiichi Units 1 to 4; and the Private Fuel Storage, LLC high-level radioactive waste "parking lot dump" targeted at the tiny Skull Valley Goshutes Indian Reservation in Utah. Recently, Beyond Nuclear's Linda Gunter pointed out that Chairman Jaczko, although not perfect, shows concern for safety that sets him apart from the other four NRC Commissioners.

Beyond Nuclear responded to the Vogtle Units 3 and 4 NRC approval with a media statement, pointing out that a NRC license does not ensure project success.

Japanese nuclear giant Toshiba, which acquired the U.S. nuclear giant Westinghouse some years ago, was the reactor supplier and architect at Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3. That atomic reactor suffered the worst explosion of all at the Fukushima Nuclear Catastrophe, and its high-level radioactive waste storage pool is filled with debris. The Unit 3 reactor building appears as a mound of twisted rubble.

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