9 States, NCSL, and Vermont NGOs join VT AG's appeal of Entergy Vermont Yankee atomic reactor ruling

State of Vermont Attorney General SorrellThe Attorney General of the State of Vermont, William Sorrell (pictured left), fresh off his victory against the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's "Nuclear Waste Confidence Decision" at the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, has filed his brief in New York City appealing a Brattleboro, VT federal district judge's ruling in January which enabled the Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee atomic reactor to continue operating, in contravention of State of Vermont laws. AG Sorrell's brief was supported by "friend of the court" briefs from nine states (Connecticut, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, and Utah), as well as the bipartisan National Conference of State Legislatures. Also filing "friend of the court" briefs in support of VT AG Sorrell were VT NGOs Conservation Law Foundation, the Vermont Natural Resources Council, the New England Coalition, and the Vermont Public Interest Research Group.

Activism revs up, as "rogue corporation" Entergy Nuclear sinks to new lows

“Occupy Entergy” coalition efforts are revving up across the U.S., as watchdogs turn up the heat on some of the oldest and most risky atomic reactors in the country. Vermont state legislature leaders have long referred to Entergy Nuclear as a "rogue corporation."

Entergy Nuclear owns the following 10 reactors: Arkansas Nuclear One Units 1 & 2; FitzPatrick, NY; Grand Gulf, MS; Indian Point Units 2 & 3, NY; Palisades, MI; Pilgrim, MA; River Bend, LA; Vermont Yankee. Although owned by Nebraska Public Power District, Entergy operates an 11th reactor at Cooper, NE. Entergy's is the second biggest nuclear "fleet" in the U.S., after Exelon Nuclear. Of these, 4 (FitzPatrick; Pilgrim; Vermont Yankee; Cooper) are General Electric Mark I Boiling Water Reactors, "identical twins" to Fukushima Daiichi Units 1 to 4. River Bend and Grand Gulf are also GE BWRs, of the Mark III containment design.

Following are updates on certain of these troubled nuclear power plants.

Vermont Yankee: although the State of Vermont and New England Coalition just disappointingly lost a round to Entergy in the courts, hope is still high that a separate, mounting appeal to the New York City federal circuit will recognize Vermont's right to "just say no" to the 20 year license extension. The extension was granted by the "Nuclear Rubberstamp Commission" just days after the Fukushima Nuclear Catastrophe began in March 2011. The Safe and Green Energy (SAGE) Alliance and the Solar Rollers plan an "Independence from Entergy" rally in Brattleboro and non-violent civil disobedience action at Vermont Yankee on July 1st (see poster, above left).

Pilgrim: Beyond Nuclear has joined with Pilgrim Watch in filing a petition to intervene before an Atomic Safety (sic) and Licensing Board, in order to challenge the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's refusal to apply "lessons learned" from the Fukushima Nuclear Catastrophe at identical twin GE BWR Mark Is here in the U.S. At the same time, Pilgrim's own workforce has gone on strike, prompting watchdogs to protest the risk of continued operations by inadequately trained replacement workers. 

Palisades: Prompted by D.C.-based attorney Billie Pirner Garde, advocate for nuclear whistleblowers with decades of experience, U.S. Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA) has raised the alarm about the worsening leakage of radioactive, acidic water into the control room and auxiliary building. Entergy has done little more than collect the leaks, originating in the Safety Injection Refueling Water storage tank, in pails. In addition, Garde revealed to Markey that Palisades' safety culture has completely collapsed, with 74% of the workforce afraid to openly challenge management decisions for fear of harassment and retaliation. Attempts to patch the leaks and re-start the reactor have failed; NRC has launced a probe into potential Entergy wrongdoing, and, at Markey's prompting, demanded a copy of the internal workforce survey showing complete collapse of the safety culture at Palisades.

Update on July 4, 2012 by admin

A giant "Trojan Cow," solar rollers, 300 protestors, and 40 non-violent civil disobedience arrests capped the "Independence from Entergy" day of action at Vermont Yankee atomic reactor on July 1st in Vernon, VT.

From Coast to Coast, Reactors Ripe for Retirement

All atomic reactors must be shutdown, of course, but a number are especially ripe for permanent "retirement."

The State of Vermont Attorney General, William Sorrell, now has the support of numerous states and environmental groups in his appeal to the federal courts in New York City, seeking the shutdown of Entergy Nuclear's Vermont Yankee atomic reactor. Sorrell also recently won a ruling from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals against the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) "Nuclear Waste Confidence Decision" -- the State of Vermont has also challenged Entergy's continued generation of irradiated nuclear fuel after the expiration of its original 40 year license.

The Attorney General of the State of New York, Eric Schneiderman, another lead plaintiff in the successful legal challenge against the Nuclear Waste Con Game, cited the ruling as reason for Entergy Nuclear's application for a 20 year license extension at its Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant near New York City to be indefinitely delayed. Beyond Nuclear filed similar motions, for postponement of licensing decisions until NRC completes its court-ordered environmental assessment of high-level radioactive waste storage risks on-site at nuclear power plants, at Davis-Besse, Ohio; Fermi 3, Michigan; and Grand Gulf 1 & 3, Mississippi.

At Entergy's Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan, which just experienced yet another age-degradation related shutdown, Beyond Nuclear and its allies fired off a letter to NRC Chairman Jaczko, asking if he had known about leakage in the reactor's Safety Injection Refueling Water storage tank when he met with their environmental coalition on May 25th, and if he did, why he didn't tell us about it.

Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant near Omaha, Nebraska remains shutdown for the 14th month, after historic floods on the Missouri River submerged miles of safety critical electrical cable underwater for weeks on end, making their integrity and function highly suspect. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has petitioned the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for upgrades to regulations for detecting defects in safety wires submerged underwater or exposed to high humidity. The Nebraska Watchdog reports that just today, the downstream Sierra Club of Iowa has officially called for Fort Calhoun's permanent shutdown.

San Onofre nuclear power plant remains shutdown for the 5th month, after a steam generator tube rupture in January led to the discovery of unexpected, widespread, premature degradation. Friends of the Earth (FOE) has petitioned NRC to block restart indefinitely until Southern California Edison (SCE) obtains a license amendment for the significant changes in design used in the replacement steam generators -- the root cause of the deterioration, that should have been caught by a rigorous review which SCE deceptively sidestepped in the first place.

Safety Critical Cables, Wires at Nuclear Plants Are At Risk of Failure due to Underwater Submersion or High Humidity

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has petitioned the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) urging an upgrade to regulations on testing and qualification of safety significant electrical cabling at nuclear power plants. Some safety critical cables, with a theoretical life of 10,000 years when kept dry, could fail within just hundreds of hours after underwater submersion or exposure to high humidity.  NRDC issued a press release on its petition.

The Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant near Omaha, Nebraska has remained shutdown since April 2011, due to historic floods on the Missouri River which submerged much of the facility (see photo, left) -- including countless miles of safety significant electrical cabling -- underwater for weeks. The integrity of those cables is now highly suspect.

Nuclear, coal power face climate change risk-study

Warmer water and reduced river flows will cause more power disruptions for nuclear and coal-fired power plants in the United States and Europe in future, scientists say, and lead to a rethink on how best to cool power stations in a hotter world.

In a study published on Monday, a team of European and U.S. scientists focused on projections of rising temperatures and lower river levels in summer and how these impacts would affect power plants dependent on river water for cooling.

The authors predict that coal and nuclear power generating capacity between 2031 and 2060 will decrease by between 4 and 16 percent in the United States and a 6 to 19 percent decline in Europe due to lack of cooling water. Reuters