TMI Update: Jan 14, 2024


Did you catch "The Meltdown: Three Mile Island" on Netflix?
TMI remains a danger and TMIA is working hard to ensure the safety of our communities and the surrounding areas.
Learn more on this site and support our efforts. Join TMIA. To contact the TMIA office, call 717-233-7897.

    

Boy and Island 41st TMI Anniversary Update

Archival Super 8 film footage shot in 1979 by Middletown, PA native, Don Hossler.
Edited and posted by Andrew Hurst in recognition of the 41st anniversary of the accident at Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant.


In recognition of the 41st anniversary of the accident at Three Mile Island, I first want to send my warmest thoughts and regards to the citizens of Middletown, PA and the surrounding towns and communities who have lived through this tragedy and continue to endure its legacy with a deep sense of pride, integrity and resilience. Although there is a certain sense of relief now that the plant has officially powered down for good as of September 20, 2019 - in reality, the current plan for decommissioning and cleanup efforts will not be completed until at least 2078, thus effectively rendering the site as a toxic nuclear waste dump in which future generations of people, plants and animals will be forced to coincide with.

Secondly, I have compiled a short reel of Super 8 film footage from the collection of my dear friend Don Hossler, a Middletown, PA native and co founder of PANE (People Against Nuclear Energy). Don shot this footage in those tense weeks and months shortly after the accident in March 1979. Captured within these frames of celluloid is the tangible unease that loomed over the region during this harrowing time. Included here are scenes of the town and the plant, news footage captured directly from the television as well as headlines cut out and arranged before the camera amidst other books and memorabilia related to the accident.  Also included is a sequence showing local Middletown resident and PANE board member John Garver as he earnestly practices a speech he will deliver to the Borough Council pleading to permanently shut down the plant. But most poignant of all is the opening sequence shot from the cozy idyllic interior of the Hossler residence, as a crisp winter sun illuminates a hand-crafted stained glass ornament of a bird hanging in the window pane, the camera zooms in on the extended view beyond the inside of the house showing the ever present cooling towers of the nuclear power plant outside in the near distance. Upon viewing this footage, we the viewer are placed at the crux of the human predicament in which the camera becomes a metaphor for what happens off the record, privately experienced away from the glare of the media’s portrayal of the “facts.” The camera here functions as a tool for self reliance and self discovery and it is precisely this intervention of the human spirit that Boy And Island investigates and celebrates. As of this writing, my wife and I remain cloistered in the confines of our apartment in NYC along with many others around the world as we face the invisible enemy of the COVID-19 pandemic. Within this forced confinement, I am struck by the shocking relevance of our current circumstances with that of the nuclear catastrophe that descended upon us on March 28, 1979. These invisible terrors, and the challenges to our survival that they represent must be met with the strength of the human spirit and the will of our imagination to adapt to new realities.

Lastly, thanks for tuning in and look out for many exciting developments on the Boy And Island book project in the coming months!! Visit www.boyandisland.com.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission - News Release
No: 20-019 March 27, 2020
CONTACT: Scott Burnell, 301-415-8200
 
NRC Makes Oklo Advanced Reactor Application Publicly Available
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received an application from Oklo Power LLC for a license to build and operate the company's Aurora compact fast reactor in Idaho. The application is now available for public review on the NRC website.
Oklo filed the application on March 11, seeking NRC approval of an advanced reactor cooled by a substance other than water. The proposed Aurora design would use heat pipes to transport heat from the reactor core to a power conversion system, which then would be used to generate electricity. The NRC staff began pre-application discussions with Oklo in November 2016.
 
The NRC staff is determining whether the application has sufficient information to complete the agency’s review. If the application is determined to be complete, the staff will docket it and publish an opportunity to request a hearing on the Combined License portion of the application. Information about Combined Licenses is available on the NRC website.
 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Operations Center
 
Event Reports For
3/25/2020 - 3/26/2020
 
** EVENT NUMBERS **
 
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation
Event Number: 54612
Rep Org: SAN ONOFRE
Licensee: SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON COMPANY
Region: 4
City: SAN CLEMENTE   State: CA
County: SAN DIEGO
License #: GL
Agreement: Y
Docket: 72-41
NRC Notified By: PHYLLIS DOMINGUEZ
HQ OPS Officer: BRIAN LIN
Notification Date: 03/26/2020
Notification Time: 01:15 [ET]
Event Date: 03/25/2020
Event Time: 20:00 [PDT]
Last Update Date: 03/26/2020
Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY
10 CFR Section:
50.72(b)(2)(xi) - OFFSITE NOTIFICATION
Person (Organization):
RAY KELLAR (R4DO)
 
Event Text
OFFSITE NOTIFICATION FOR SEWAGE RELEASE

"On 3/25/2020, SONGS [San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station] made required formal notifications to the California Office of Emergency Services at 2107 PDT, the San Diego Regional Water Quality Review Board at 2123 PDT, the San Diego Department of Environmental Health (CUPA) [Certified Unified Program Agency] at 2104 PDT, the National Response Center (NRC) at 2115 PDT, and the San Diego Coast Guard at 2149 PDT, concerning an approximate 7,000 gallon release of partially treated sewage to the Pacific Ocean.

"Both Sewage Treatment Plant effluent pumps were shut down and a state certified vendor is working to bring the treatment plant back to service."
… 6721; email: Ted.Smith@ nrc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I … for Docket ID  NRC-2020-0082. •  NRC's Agencywide Documents … evidence, consistent with the  NRC's regulations, policies, … All documents filed in NRC …
Nuclear Regulatory Commission - News Release
No: 20-018 March 25, 2020
CONTACT: David McIntyre, 301-415-8200
 
NRC Approves License Renewal for Honeywell Uranium Conversion Facility
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has renewed the operating license of Honeywell International’s uranium conversion plant in Metropolis, Ill., for an additional 40 years. The new license expires on March 24, 2060.
 
Uranium conversion is an important step in the nuclear fuel cycle. Honeywell receives uranium oxide from mills and in-situ recovery facilities and converts it to uranium hexafluoride. The UF6 is then transported to other facilities, where it is enriched and subsequently made into fuel for use in commercial nuclear power reactors.
 
Honeywell submitted its license renewal application in February 2017. In its review, the NRC staff focused on Honeywell’s decommissioning funding, the environmental effects of the facility for the duration of the license, facility changes and safety basis, and the controls to monitor material degradation and aging for the duration of a license term. The staff concluded that renewing the license would not pose an undue risk to public health and safety and would not significantly affect the quality of the environment. The staff’s review is documented in a final safety evaluation report, published this month, and an environmental assessment published in October 2019.
 
The facility is currently in a “ready-idle” status with a reduced amount of material on site.
 
Dear Friends of Three Miles Island,
 
I hope that you are doing well at this critical moment. One year has already passed and the 41-year anniversary of the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster is coming soon. I am amazed at myself to be in a completely different landscape from the last year when I met you at the TMI 40th anniversary. In the sense of invisible fear, I feel here in New York City, it might be some similarity what happened 41 years ago at the Three Mile Island. 
 
This month, due to the effects of the coronavirus, internal events were no longer possible, and we planed the outside memorial gatherings of Fukushima and Three Mile Island nuclear accidents. We managed to hold the Fukushima memorial gathering. Unfortunately, Three Mile Island memorial gathering is not possible due to the coronavirus curfew. 
 
I thought that the lessons learned from the experience of the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster could help us understand the current fear of coronavirus, and think about our environmental issues with empathy. We made our Facebook page “Voices from the heart”. Please email me your message yasuyotanaka@yahoo.com and let other survivors and related people know about it. We will post your message on March 28th and pray together.
 
 
"Voices from the Heart” signals strength in unity from the perspectives of many.  It means seeking out and amplifying our most honest voices from within by sharing collective experiences, knowledge, and information, thereby creating and nurturing the common ground for our expression. Our goal is to connect individuals and communities to learn from the past and present and to explore the next steps to achieving a sustainable world together.
 
I was not good at Facebook, but I will do it from now to stay connected with you and learn from each other. I hope that the current difficult situation will give us the opportunity to review and improve our society and the world.
 
Thank you,
Yasuyo Tanaka
 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission - Press Release
No: II-20-003 March 23, 2020
Contact: Roger Hannah, 404-997-4417 Joey Ledford, 404-997-4416
 
NRC Schedules Virtual Meeting to Discuss Performance of URENCO USA Facility
 
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will discuss the results of a performance review of the URENCO USA uranium enrichment facility in Eunice, N.M., during a virtual meeting scheduled for March 30.
 
The session will be held from 3-5 p.m. Eastern Time (1-3 p.m. Mountain Time) with NRC officials from the Region II office in Atlanta and URENCO officials from the Eunice facility. The meeting can be accessed by the public and media via Skype. NRC officials will be available following the formal portion of the meeting to answer questions. For individuals without access to Skype, a telephone conference number will also be available.
 
The NRC staff assessed performance of the URENCO facility during the period beginning Jan. 1, 2018, and ending Dec. 31, 2019, in safety operations, safeguards, radiological controls, facility support and other areas. Although the safeguards, or security-related, area was assessed, that information is not publicly available due to its sensitive nature. The NRC staff review determined that URENCO continued to conduct its activities safely and securely, protecting public health and the environment.
 
The review found that none of the program areas needed improvement, thus the NRC will continue its normal inspection program for such facilities. The NRC does not have resident inspectors at the Eunice facility, but fuel facility inspectors from its Atlanta regional office conduct periodic inspections of various aspects of the operation.
 
A copy of the NRC letter to the company regarding the performance review is publicly available on the NRC website.
 
For virtual meeting access or telephone call-in information, contact either Brannen J. Adkins at 404-997-4620 (email: Brannen.Adkins@nrc.gov) or Lindsey Cooke at 404-997-4836 (email: Lindsey.Cooke@nrc.gov).
 
See the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) meeting announcement,linked here, and reproduced below:
 
Title: [NRC] Meeting with Nuclear Industry to Discuss COVID-19 Regulatory Impacts.
 
Dates and Times: March 20, 2020, 02:00 PM to 03:30 PM Eastern Time
 
Teleconference: Bridge Number (888) 469-2187; Pass Code9610583
 
Category: This is a Category 2 meeting. The public is invited to participate in this meeting by discussing regulatory issues with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) at designated points identified on the agenda.
 
Purpose: The purpose of the meeting is to discuss with the nuclear industry regulatory impacts due to COVID-19.
 
Contact: NRC staffers -- Ed Miller, 301-415-2481, Ed.Miller@nrc.gov; Mike Mahoney, 301-415-3867, Michael.Manoney@nrc.gov.
 
Participants: NRC staff listed above, plus external industry participants -- Nuclear Energy Institute; Entergy; NextEra.
 
Here is an audio recording of today's NRC teleconference meeting:
https://lhalevy.audioacrobat.com/download/lhalevy-20200320144127-5648.mp3
Thank you to Libbe HaLevy, Producer/Host, Nuclear Hotseat, for making this recording.
 

Document Title:
Three Mile Island, Unit 2 - Notification of Revision of Commitment for "Amended Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report" (PSDAR) for Three Mile Island, Unit 2 in Accordance with 10 CFR 50.82(a)(7).
Document Type:
Letter
Schedule and Calendars
Document Date:
03/02/2020
 
Document Title:
Three Mile Island, Unit 2, Application for Order Approving License Transfer and Conforming License Amendments
Document Type:
Letter
License-Application for Facility Operating License (Amend/Renewal) DKT 50
Document Date:
11/12/2019
 
Document Title:
Notification of "Amended Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report" (PSDAR) for Three Mile Island, Unit 2 in Accordance with 10 CFR 50.82(a)(7).
Document Type:
Decommissioning Funding Plan DKTs 30, 40, 50, 70
Legal-Affidavit
Letter
Document Date:
12/12/2019

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