The State of New Hampshire backs Seabrook relicensing twenty years before expiration of the license-the devil's in the yet to be disclosed details
October 22, 2010
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As the saga of the relicensing of the controversial Seabrook nuclear power plant unfolds, the State of New Hampshire Attorney General's office has struck a deal with the Seabrook reactor owners (Florida Power & Light) and will not oppose the plant's requested 20-year license extension for the 2030 to 2050 timeframe. Although the details of the deal are  not presently public, the AG said he was happy with the agreement including how the miles of inaccessible and deteriorating buried pipes under the reactor site that carry radioactive water are to be managed twenty years from now. The AG said he is pleased about  the utility's "commitment to undertake additional monitoring and assessment of key systems and components at Seabrook Station." Given the industry's  neglectful record for self-monitoring and reporting of uncontrolled and unmonitored radioactive leaks from these systems, the AG appears to have capitulated on this point to industry pressure and chosen to risk water quality and the neighboring state residents rather than intervene in and engage with Seabrook's outrageously premature request to renew its operating license 20 years before the current one expires.

Article originally appeared on Beyond Nuclear (https://archive.beyondnuclear.org/).
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