NRC REJECTS SAFETY AT WI NUKE: Dangerously age-degraded nuke may get license extension

NRC file photo of Point Beach Units 1 & 2 on the Lake Michigan shoreline in WIA U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) panel has rejected numerous contentions brought by Physicians for Social Responsibility Wisconsin (PSR WI), while it acknowledged the group's legal standing. PSR raised objection to a "subsequent license renewal" at the two-reactor Point Beach nuclear power plant on the Lake Michigan shore (pictured). Point Beach is already 51 years old, but is seeking approval to operate for 80 years. It has the worst embrittled reactor pressure vessel in the U.S. -- a pathway to core meltdown, and an issue raised by PSR WI's expert witness, nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen of Fairewinds Associates. Experts Al Compaan and Mark Cooper raised contentions about safe, clean, and affordable renewable alternatives.