Nuclear Power
Progress Energy's nuclear plans on hold for now
Submitted by johnmurawski
Progress Energy, not long ago considered to be in the forefront of the nation's nuclear renaissance, continues delaying its timeline on nuclear energy development. Some projects are now a decade behind schedule, prompting nuclear critics say that despite hundreds of millions of dollars of up-front investment these power plants are not likely to get built.
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Groups Call for Closure of FitzPatrick Nuclear Plant, Say Entergy is “Gambling” with Public Safety
A year after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, a statewide alliance is calling on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to suspend operations at the James A. FitzPatrick nuclear reactor near Oswego, New York. NRC documents obtained by the groups show that FitzPatrick's design poses an especially grave threat to public safety in the event of an accident at the plant.
The New York-based Alliance for a Green Economy (AGREE) has filed a petition with the NRC asking for an emergency enforcement action against the FitzPatrick plant. AGREE is joined in the petition by Beyond Nuclear, a Washington DC-based nuclear watchdog organization. The petition asks for the immediate suspension of the plant's operating license, public hearings on the safety of the plant, and the public release of a post-Fukushima safety reassessment.
The petition and related documents are available AGREE's website: www.agreenewyork.org.
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Maryknoll leadership calls for alternatives to nuclear power
The production of nuclear power poses threats to the health of people and the well-being of the environment and should be abandoned in favor of alternate forms of energy, says a statement from Maryknoll leadership.
Released today, the statement also connects the development of nuclear energy to nuclear weapons proliferation, which has been opposed by church officials worldwide, including Pope Benedict XVI.
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Nuclear Fallout Map Arrives At The Anniversary Of Fukushima Disaster
Nothing to be frightened of...yet (NRDC)
Sunday is the one-year anniversary of Japan's earthquake and tsunami that led to the Fukushima disaster. As the crippled nuclear plant continues to struggle with rebuilding and containing the radiation, several workers at the plant traveled to New York this week to speak at Manhattanville College. "I came to convey the reality," one of Fukushima's relief workers, Kazuhiko Amano, told the panel. Even with years of rigorous emergency drills, the community around Fukushima was unprepared. In contrast, Indian Point lacks basic firefighting equipment, and the evacuation plan would take nine-and-a-half hours to evacuate the 450,000 people within a 10-mile radius.
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No More Fukushimas Peace Walk: March 2- March 21, 2012
Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant- Forked River, NJ
To
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant- Vernon, VT
One year after the Nuclear disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Facility the situation is far from under control. Dangerous levels of radioactivity are still being found hundreds of miles from the site of the accident. More than 80,000 people have been forced to leave their homes with little hope of returning. In addition to the incalculable health costs, the decades-long process of clean-up and decontamination of almost 1000 square miles of
land may cost as much as 250 billion dollars with limited prospects for success.
Our walk is a prayer for the suffering of the Japanese people as a result of their government’s reckless nuclear policies, and a plea for the people of New England to recognize the grave dangers that nuclear energy poses to our lives, our property, and all life on our Mother Earth. Nuclear energy is neither safe nor clean. The threat of a nuclear accident at one of our own aging nuclear facilities is all too real and the consequences would be unimaginable catastrophic.
We walk together in love and solidarity for a nuclear free future. A more just, sustainable, and compassionate world built on respect for all living beings and for the earth that sustains us is possible now more than ever. Please join us to help make it a reality.
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Reclaiming Power:
Remembering the Fukushima Accident and Combating Nuclear Threats in CNY
A year ago, multiple nuclear meltdowns and explosions in Japan exposed thousands to life-threatening radiation in Japan. One year after the disaster, reactors just like those that exploded in Japan continue to operate just 36 miles from Syracuse. The US government and nuclear industry promised to learn the lessons from Fukushima and prevent similar accidents here. But in reality, nothing has changed, except we now know that nuclear plants in Central New York are more dangerous than previously thought.
Find out about the Fukushima-style reactors in Central New York and what you can do about them.
Sunday, March 11
1-3pm
Artrage Gallery
505 Hawley Ave, Syracuse
Free and Open to the Public
with Paul Gunter from Beyond Nuclear (Washington, DC)
Tim Judson from Citizens’ Awareness Network (New York, NY)
and Physics Professor Steve Penn (Syracuse, NY)
Alliance for a Green Economy | www.agreenewyork.org
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Nuclear Power Aging Reactors & Earthquakes
The US has more than 100 reactors similar to Japan's destroyed Fukushima plant. Some located in earthquake zones or close to major cities are now reaching the end of their working lives. People & Power sent Joe Rubin and Serene Fang to investigate.
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Agency Rejects Indian Point Fire Safety Plan
Earthquakes are not the only major problem for the Indian Point Nuclear Facility and its twin reactors.
Fire is a much more frequent occurrence than earthquakes. Entergy the plant's owner has substituted procedures, like fire watches, rather than installating fire- safe equipment. Indian Point is the only nuclear facility in the country that has not obtained NRC approval for these substitutions. NRC recently found only 6 fire zones out of 30 it examined to be in compliance. There are 356 fire zones at the facility. See NYTimes 2/1/12.
Indian Point may now be able to add the highest fire risk to the highest earthquake risk in the nation.
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Maddow: Energy Regulators May Not Be Snorting Meth Off a Toaster Oven Anymore, But There's Still Alarming Nuclear News
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New Study Confirms We Don't Need Indian Point's Power
New York’s energy supply is secure and abundant even without electricity from Entergy’s Indian Point nuclear reactors, according to a new study commissioned by Riverkeeper and its partner, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
If Indian Point’s reactors are shuttered in 2015, as we believe they should be, New York will still have excess energy through 2020. By that time, we’ll have another 4,500 megawatts (two Indian Points!) of energy alternatives available to replace the power Indian Point generates today. This new power will be cleaner, far safer, and will ONLY cost the average home owner between $1 - 5 per month.
This authoritative new report undercuts Entergy’s longstanding argument that New York needs Indian Point’s power. Put simply, we don’t need Indian Point, and we can’t afford the risk of an accident at a nuclear plant just 35 miles from Midtown Manhattan.
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“Heightened Risk” of Nuclear Project Causes Credit Downgrade in South Carolina
Moody’s says even Super-CWIP legislation leaves too much risk of project abandonment and “rate fatigue” that could harm South Carolina economy
Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers insists he cannot build nuclear plants unless the North Carolina legislature enhances 2007 CWIP legislation to match South Carolina’s “SuperCWIP,” which adds the utility benefit of automatic annual rate hikes without full rate proceedings.
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Shocking Nuclear News (InsideEPA.com)
November 10, 2010
The US has NO plan to address a large scale accident at a nuclear power plant. The NRC, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, has signalled that it has no plans to oversee any long term cleanup and has signalled that EPA could take the lead. Authority for responding to a nuclear disaster is also not clear. FEMA is only authorized to respond to natural disasters. Federal Agencies are currently trying to figure out a plan and identify funding. The funding associated with the Price- Anderson Act is limited to paying for immediate damages and the additional bills that are supposed to be paid by industry may prove illusory. Apparently the federal government may not be able to access those funds unless it has damages to federally- owned property. This could leave states, local government and communities with an enormous cleanup burden and no funding!
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Fukushima China Syndrome 'clearly a concern': Expert
Fukushima 'seriously out of control,' nuclear industry seriously in control of global media blackout
Since Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear energy plant has reportedly released 20 times the radiation contamination amount of the Hiroshima bomb, and its molten core is sinking through the Earth's crust, it appears to be in early stages of a "total China Syndrome meltdown" according to a Russia Today report Thursday during which Beyond Nuclear's Paul Gunter answered why media is blacking out the catastrophe, as noted by numerous scientists, and he revealed the increasing threat of a nuclear explosion.
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U.S. Nuclear Industry Tested by Twin Threats From Nature
"Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. nuclear plants face the first post-Fukushima test of their ability to withstand multiple natural disasters as Hurricane Irene bears down on an area shaken by a 5.8-magnitude earthquake.
The temblor yesterday knocked out power to Dominion Resources Inc.’s North Anna nuclear plant in Virginia and prompted 12 stations from North Carolina to Michigan to declare “unusual events,” the lowest-level emergency designated by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Off-site power was later restored to North Anna, eliminating the need for back-up generators for cooling, the company said late yesterday. The plant’s twin reactors halted automatically during the quake, whose epicenter was less than 15 miles (24 kilometers) from the plant, about 85 miles southwest of Washington, according to the U.S. Geological Survey".
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Why did the Virginia nuke plant, built on fault line, have its quake sensors removed?
Nuclear energy expert, Paul Gunter discusses the level of unpreparedness of officials at the North Anna Nuclear Power Station in Mineral, Virginia during August's east coast earthquake.
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Independent analysis concludes nuclear task force’s safety recommendations are insufficient: Analysis is released as regulators meet to consider recommendations
As the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission met this morning to consider a summary of lessons learned from the ongoing nuclear disaster in Japan, Friends of the Earth released an independent analysis concluding that the report is incomplete and deficient, and that its recommendations do not go far enough.
For more information, the full analysis Makhijani prepared for Friends of the Earth can be found here
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MARKEY TO NRC COMMISSIONERS: DO YOUR JOBS
NRC shouldn’t stand for “No Regulations Contemplated”; Majority of NRC Commissioners repeatedly voted NO on safety
Selected Safety and Security Votes Taken Since 2009 by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
April 15, 2009: The Commission voted 4-1 to support a proposal to enhance the security associated with cesium chloride sources rather than to phase out the most dispersible form of the material altogether as recommended by the National Academies of Science in 2008
December 2, 2010: The Commission voted 4-1 to disapprove a proposal to require specific NRC licenses for radioactive materials that could be used to make a dirty bomb whose activity level is greater than 1/10th of “Category 3,” even though a previous Commission had supported such a proposal.
March 30, 2011: The Commission voted 4-1 to disapprove a staff proposal to add requirements for personnel seeking access to nuclear reactor construction sites to ensure that appropriate security screening was conducted.
Back to the top
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INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY CHIEF SUGGESTS SURPRISE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT INSPECTIONS
"VIENNA, Austria, June 20, 2011 (ENS) - Random unannounced inspections of nuclear plants in International Atomic Energy Agency member countries would strengthen global nuclear safety, the IAEA's top official proposed today. The UN agency called a meeting of ministers to identify the lessons learned from the accident at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi power plant that has spread radiation across Asia and the Pacific."
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AP IMPACT: US NUKE REGULATORS WEAKEN SAFETY RULES
"LACEY TOWNSHIP, N.J. – Federal regulators have been working closely with the nuclear power industry to keep the nation's aging reactors operating within safety standards by repeatedly weakening those standards, or simply failing to enforce them, an investigation by The Associated Press has found.
Time after time, officials at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission have decided that original regulations were too strict, arguing that safety margins could be eased without peril, according to records and interviews.
The result? Rising fears that these accommodations by the NRC are significantly undermining safety — and inching the reactors closer to an accident that could harm the public and jeopardize the future of nuclear power in the United States..."
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NUCLEAR PLANT SAFETY RULES INADEQUATE, GROUP SAYS
"ROCKVILLE, Md. — Nuclear safety rules in the United States do not adequately weigh the risk that a single event would knock out electricity from both the grid and from emergency generators, as an earthquake and tsunami recently did at a nuclear plant in Japan, officials of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday.
A task force created after the accident at the nuclear plant, Fukushima Daiichi, delivered an oral progress report on Wednesday to the five-member commission. In that session, commission officials said they had learned that some of the safety equipment installed at American nuclear plants over the years, including hardware added after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, is not maintained or inspected as diligently as the original components are..."
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**NUCLEAR ENERGY INSTITUTE ADMITS SAFEST CONDITION FOR A NUKE PLANT IS "SHUT DOWN"**
This may be the first time CEC AGREES with the Nuclear Industry:
“The whole point of a cold shutdown is that it is the safest condition in which to keep a plant,” Jim Slider said, a senior project manager for the Nuclear Energy Institute, the industry's trade organization. “It minimizes the risks if something unexpected happens, such as a substation miles away getting flooded and the plant losing part, or all, of its off-site power.”
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HELP CLOSE DANGEROUS GE MARK I NUCLEAR REACTORS: Become a Co-Petitioner to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
On April 13, Beyond Nuclear submitted a formal emergency petition to the NRC to immediately suspend the operating license of all General Electric Mark 1 reactors in the U.S. (the same reactor design that failed so catastrophically at Fukushima) and to hold public meetings near every Mark I site. This petition would apply to the Nine Mile Point 1 and Fitzpatrick reactors in Oswego.
A factsheet on the 40-year history of the design deficiencies of the Mark I's can be found here.
The full text of the petition can be found here.
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Activist Generated NRC Report Card on Indian Point
The following is an NRC Report Card related to the Indian Point, produced by activists working on closing the Nuclear Facility. According to their assessment, the NRC does not Protect Public Health and Safety, and has ultimately failed. In order for the NRC to recieve A's, it must immediately close Indian Point, stop relicensing, and reorganize their Agency so as to stop undue influence of the Nuclear Energy Institue (NEI).
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Differences Between Boiling Water and Pressure Water Reactors
New York State has 3 Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) and 3 Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs).
Fukushima involved GE Boiling Water Reactors - Mark I type. The Fitzpatrick Plant in Oswego is a Mark I as is the Nine Mile Point One, also in Oswego. Nine Mile Point Two has a slightly modified version- a Mark II. An added danger associated with these reactors is the presence of spent fuel pools with large amounts of fuel rods --- not held in any meaningful containment.
Indian Point 2 & 3 reactors, North of NYC, are both Pressurized Water Reactors, and the Ginna reactor just 20 miles Northeast of Rochester is a PWR also.
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Markey: Statement at Hearing on Nuclear Power Plant Incident in Japan
Almost exactly 32 years after Three Mile Island, almost exactly 25 years after Chernobyl, "today, we see that we are just as helpless when faced with nuclear disaster as we were 25 and 32 years ago," asserted Rep. Edward Markey at a hearing in early April on the Nuclear Power Plant Incident in Japan. Citing concerns over desperately insufficient clean-up measures, the apparent inaction of the NRC, and the scaling back of decades old precautionary systems, Markey called for a moratorium on all pending NRC licenses "in light of the need to fully understand the safety risks and include remedies into our own regulations."
Click here to read Congressman Markey's full statement.
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Markey: NRC Directing Secrecy in the Wake of Fukushima Meltdown
In a letter written to the Director of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) revealed that significant limits may be imposed on the inspections, and that inspectors also have been directed to keep many of the most serious vulnerabilities secret. Some of these vulnerabilities include the number of hours and the events that can be considered. New events and emergencies are not to be considered and inspectors have been instructed not to record any observations or vulnerabilities that were not part of the plants original design.
"These limitations, if true, severely undermine my confidence in the Commission's interests in conducting a full and transparent assessment of the ability of U.S. nuclear power plants to be kept safe in the event of an incident" - Congressman Edward Markey
Click here for the full article.
Click here for Congressman Markey's full letter to the NRC.
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Why Anti-Nuclear Belongs in All of Our Movements
Common Dreams.org Article by Betsy Hartmann
According to Betsy Hartmann, Director of the Population and Development Program and Professor of Development Studies at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, Nuclear Power is a basic democracy issue, a labor rights issue, and an environmental justice issue.
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New York City's Deadly Game of Nuclear Roulette
William Pentland recently posted about Indian Point in his Forbes blog, ranking New York City among the least logical places to place Nuclear Power Plants. According to Pentland, if something similar to Japan should occur there, "given the demographic context in which such a crisis would occur, the consequences would almost certainly be catastrophic."
Click here to read the full post by William Pentland
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Petition for a Program for Increased Nuclear Safety and Security
In the wake of Fukushima, The Nuclear Information and Research Service (NIRS) is asking us to help prevent the next nuclear catastrophe. We share their belief that the United States must quickly develop a clear plan to phase-out existing nuclear reactors at the earliest possible date and replace their power with clean, sustainable energy sources. This phase-out implies a speedy end to nuclear fuel production, and to uranium mining, importation and processing.
NIRS has developed a ten point strategy designed to increase nuclear safety and security in the U.S.:
1) Immediately and permanently close the 23 General Electric Mark 1 reactors in the U.S.
2) Immediately close of all reactors on or near seismic faults, including New York's Indian Point Nuclear Facility in Westchester County.
3) Immediately remove all nuclear subsidies. A full-cost accounting study should be done of the civilian nuclear power fuel chain and the federal subsidies provided.
4) Permanently ban radioactive waste reprocessing in the U.S.
5) Approve no new license extensions for existing nuclear facilities.
6) Approve no new licenses/permits/approvals for new uranium mines, fuel cycle facilities, reactors,
reactor design certifications.
7) Expand emergency evacuation zones to a 50 mile radius of existing reactor sites.
8) Enforce safety reviews of station blackouts
9) Update US radiation standards to reflect Post-Chernobyl understanding of radiological impacts in addition to current standards based solely on A-bomb survivors
10) End all import of foreign radioactive waste, stop all incineration of radioactive waste, ensure that all radioactive materials remain regulated.
Click here to review the strategy in detail and to sign the petition.
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U.S. System Unprepared for Major Nuclear Emergency, Officials Say
U.S. officials say the nation’s health care system is ill-prepared to cope with a catastrophic release of radiation, despite years of focus on the possibility of a terrorist “dirty bomb” or an improvised nuclear device attack.
A blunt assessment circulating among American officials says, “Current capabilities can only handle a few radiation injuries at any one time.” That assessment, prepared by the Department of Homeland Security in 2010 and stamped “for official use only,’’ says “there is no strategy for notifying the public in real time of recommendations on shelter or evacuation priorities.”
Click here to read the full Washington Post Article
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Tell Governor Cuomo to Close Indian Point Nuclear Facility
Information and disinformation has seen wide circulation since the nuclear disaster in Japan just a few weeks ago. On Tuesday, March 22, 2011, it was revealed that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) believes the Indian Point Nuclear Facility in Westchester County, New York is the most at-risk nuclear plant in the nation for earthquake damage. Environmentalists and public officials [New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, for example] who are calling for Indian Point to close have had real momentum ever since. The truth is stark: Indian Point is Old, Dangerous, and Unnecessary.
We need your help to close it down for good.
Email Governor Cuomo, "Like" his Facebook Page and post on his Wall, or write a short Public Reply to his Twitter Page. Use the following message:
"Gov. Cuomo,
Thank you for your efforts to close Indian Point. Please take all possible steps within your power to eliminate nuclear power from New York's energy future. Remove nuclear power from the Climate Action Plan and State Energy Plan. Eliminate state authorized subsidies for new nuclear power plants, withdraw all permits for existing plants and require emergency planning for a 50 mile radius around every plant.
Sincerely,
[Insert Your Name]"
With your support, we can prevent a similar nuclear disaster from happening in our own backyards.
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Send a Letter the President, Congress and NRC to Shut Down All GE Mark I Reactors
Help us by telling the President, Congress and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to shut down all 23 GE Mark I reactors in the U.S. GE Mark I reactors are the same found in Fukushima Japan, the site of the recent nuclear crisis. Two of these reactors are located in Oswego, NY alone.
The following link will connect with the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, a national group we work with, and enable you to quickly send a letter and add your own thoughts.
***PLEASE ADD TO YOUR LETTER***
Indian Point is at risk due to earthquake hazards and must be shut down immediately.
Thank you for taking a few minutes for this important action.
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Governor Cuomo Calls for Indian Point Closure, Organizations Question the Safety of All Nuclear Reactors
New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo called for the closure of the Indian Point Nuclear Facility in Buchanan, New York after a federal report branded it the MOST susceptible to earthquake damage of "all the [104] power plants across the country."
However, after a meeting of the Nuclear Reglatory Commission (NRC) on March 20, 2011, and in the wake of the Japanese Nuclear Reactor Crisis, a letter has been drafted asking Governor Cuomo to not only close Indian Point, but consider the safety of ALL of New York's commercial nuclear reactors. The letter cites several areas of concern including the use of on-site fuel storage pools, the continued use of reactors from the 1960s and 70s, as well as use of the same reactors as the Japanese Fukushima Daiichi Plant in Oswego, New York. Including CEC, sixteen Environmental, Health, and Safety Organizations have signed on, and more are expected to follow.
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Implications of the Japanese Nuclear Reactor Crisis
Our hearts go out to the people of Japan who are facing the enormity of two devastating natural disasters with significant loss of life, and destruction of entire communities. Unfortunately it is the third unfolding nuclear emergency that could become the most serious disaster, killing and sickening thousands and hindering emergency response efforts over a large area.
After a weekend of disinformation from industry and some official sources, we now have a pretty clear picture of how serious the situation really is. The New York Times now has some pretty accurate information and we recommend following their updates.
Beyond a humanitarian response to the crisis, what does this nuclear disaster mean for New York? It means that New York needs to immediately abandon all plans for new nuclear plants. Secondly, New York must establish a policy of not forcing New Yorkers to pay for nuclear reactors upfront during the usual ten plus years of construction. This is a huge subsidy to the nuclear industry. Finally, two reactors in Oswego, NY are of the GE Mark I design (like the Fukushima reactors) and must have a thorough safety review immediately. The Indian Point plant should be closed immediately because of the earthquake potential at that location.
Experts representing decades of expertise in Nuclear Energy and Environmental Research have issued a series of cautions to U.S. Policy-makers on use of the Same Aging Reactors as Japan, the High Exposure for Taxpayers/Ratepayers, the Lack of Emergency Preparedness, and the Emergence of Risky MOX Fuel.
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Nuclear Power:
Read more about CEC's stance on 'Going Nuclear'
COMMENTS
Hundreds of Safety Exemption from Regulations, Fire Protection and Inspections! Fails to keep lists of exemptions.
False Advertisement – Not Safe, Not Secure and Not Vital. Delayed Public Notifications of Accidents
Radioactive Leaks, Rusted Piping & Cracked Concrete.
Inadequate, No Defense against Airborne Terrorists.
IMPOSSIBLE - NRC requires only 2-5 mile evacuation zone in U.S., while NRC orders 50 mile zone in Japan
Meaningless, Non-existant
Doubled acceptable radiation exposure levels since Japan! Indian Point area Thyroid Cancer rates Exceedingly High.
Spends Millions in Legal Fees instead of repairs and enforcement
Ignores Congressional Mandate to protect public. Takes direction from the nuclear lobby, NEI.
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ENFORCEMENT
COMMUNICATIONS
MAINTENANCE
SECURITY
EVACUATION
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
PUBLIC HEALTH
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
FOLLOWS CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTION
CEC
FACT SHEETS on Nuclear Power
