News

From the NRC:

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff is seeking public comment and offering the opportunity to request a hearing regarding a request from PSEG Nuclear for a pilot program to explore the production of Cobalt-60 at the Hope Creek Generating Station, located about 18 miles south of Wilmington, Del.

If approved, the requested license amendment would give PSEG permission to generate and transfer Cobalt-60 under the NRC’s regulations for “byproduct” material. The Cobalt-60, as a radioactive material licensed by the NRC and Agreement States, is used in applications such as cancer treatment and for irradiation sterilization of foods and medical devices.

PSEG seeks permission to alter the reactor’s core by inserting up to 12 modified fuel assemblies with rods containing Cobalt-59 pellets, which would absorb neutrons during reactor operation and become Cobalt-60. PSEG’s pilot program would gather data to verify that the modified fuel assemblies perform satisfactorily in service prior to use on a production basis. PSEG has informed the NRC that if the amendment is granted, the company plans to insert the modified assemblies during Hope Creek’s planned fall 2010 refueling outage.

The NRC staff review of the amendment request will include evaluating the potential effects of the modified fuel assemblies on plant operation and accident scenarios. The amendment will only be approved if the staff concludes the modified core will continue to meet the agency’s safety requirements.

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From the New York Times:

Thomas H. Pigford, an independent-minded nuclear engineer who was recruited by the federal government for his advice on major nuclear accidents and nuclear waste, died Saturday at his home in Oakland, Calif.. He was 87.

His death was confirmed by the nuclear engineering department at the University of California, Berkeley, of which he was the first chairman. Dr. Pigford had been treated for Parkinson’s disease for nine years, his wife, Elizabeth Pigford, said.

In 1979 he was a member of the commission that investigated the accident at the Three Mile Island reactor, near Harrisburg, Pa. The panel found that poorly trained operators had turned off key safety systems, allowing a simple malfunction to grow into a harrowing accident that reduced the nuclear core to rubble.

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From Vermont Public Radio:

(Host) The troubles at Vermont Yankee are beginning to affect the nuclear power industry elsewhere in the country.

Today, New York regulators raised concerns about Entergy's record in Vermont.

As VPR's John Dillon reports, the questions came as New York considered Entergy's plan to spin off some of its reactors into a new company.

(Dillon) Entergy faces a criminal investigation for misleading regulators about leaking underground pipes at Vermont Yankee.

The Vermont investigation came up during a hearing in Albany. Entergy owns three nuclear plants in New York that it wants to spin off - along with Vermont Yankee - into a new corporation.

New York utility commissioner Robert Curry said the company's record in Vermont raises a warning flag.

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February 26 2010
Contact: Jan Schaefer, Public Information Officer
601/359.2002

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JACKSON, Miss.—In the wake of the Vermont Senate’s decision on Wednesday to shut down an Entergy Corp.-owned nuclear plant, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood is questioning the company’s recent transfer of $1.3 billion from its parent company that oversees operations in Mississippi to its troubled nuclear program.
The Vermont Senate, in an unusual move, voted 26-4 to block the license extension for the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, citing radioactive leaks, false statements in testimony by Entergy officials and other problems.
Entergy Corp., in its 4th Quarter 2009 Earnings Report, noted that the nuclear side of the company had received $1.3 billion from the utility that provides service to Mississippi taxpayers.
“My translation of the (transfer) means that the regulated utilities like Entergy Mississippi, which are subsidiaries of Entergy Corp., put $1.3 billion less in their pockets in 2009,” General Hood stated in a letter to Vermont Attorney General William H. Sorrell. “One of my claims in Mississippi is that Entergy Corp. has wrongfully transferred money from the regulated utilities to Entergy’s Nuclear businesses and that money should be returned to Mississippi ratepayers.”
General Hood wants answers to the following questions:
1. What is the source of the $1.3 billion cash payment from Entergy Corp. and its regulated utilities such as Entergy Mississippi to its nuclear program?
2. What is the intended purpose for the 2009 infusion of $1.3 billion in cash from Entergy Corp. to its nuclear operations?
3. Does Entergy Corp. plan to use any portion of the $1.3 billion to pay for the decommissioning of its malfunctioning nuclear plants, and, if so, which ones?
“The ratepayers of Mississippi—and the rest of those inside Entergy’s service area—have a right to know where their hard-earned money is going, and what it is being used for,” General Hood said. “When our ratepayers are paying their light bills each month, they should not have to worry that their dollars are headed to Vermont to pay for a leaking nuclear reactor.”
The Vermont Yankee plant has a troubled history that led to the Vermont Senate’s vote. They include recent leaks of radioactive tritium, the collapse of a cooling tower and innaccurate testimony by the plant’s owner, Lousiana-based Entergy Corp.. Plant officials had testified under oath that there were no underground pipes at Vermont Yankee that could leak tritium, although there were.
Vermont Attorney General Sorrell is conducting a criminal investigation into the Entergy misinformation and two of the state’s leading environmental groups have asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to launch his own criminal investigation, saying Entergy “carelessly disregarded obligations to maintain and provide accurate information on critical power plant systems.”
Attorney General Hood said: “If this type of misinformation and these false statements can happen in Vermont, it can happen in Mississippi—and we believe it already has.”
In Mississippi, the Attorney General’s Office was forced to file a lawsuit against Entergy on behalf of the state after the company refused repeated requests to turn over documents about its business practices and show ratepayers they were not being overcharged for power. Company officials first denied that customers were being overcharged, then admitted to the practice. The lawsuit charges the company with fraud, unjust enrichment, anti-trust violations and other illegal conduct. The case is currently awaiting a ruling in federal court.

Subject: Forthcoming Meeting With Exelon Nuclear To Discuss The NRC Request For Additional Information Regarding Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 And 3 License Amendment Request To Revise The Technical Specifications For The Spent Fuel Pool K-Infinity Value

Date and Time: Thursday, March 18, 2010, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Location:
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
One White Flint North, Room 16-B4
11555 Rockville Pike
Rockville, MD 20852

Download PDF (ML100610536)

From the PA Dept of Environmental Protection:

Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger today encouraged medical facilities to eliminate potential radiological hazards by reviewing and evaluating their practices and properly calibrating medical diagnostic or therapeutic X-ray devices.

In addition, Hanger reminded facilities of the requirement to report all medical events that may cause unintended harm to patients.

Recent media reports have highlighted serious medical incidents nationally involving diagnostic computed tomography (CT) and radiation therapy procedures.
Hanger said these incidents underscore the importance of medical professionals verifying proper patient referral and radiation protection protocols throughout all phases of medical treatment.

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From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

After working on energy, and particularly nuclear power, issues for more than 30 years now, I find it really frustrating to see continued references to nuclear power as a clean and safe source of energy ("Power of Support," Feb. 23 editorial). These myths continue to be propagated by the nuclear industry and bought into by those in the media who know little about nuclear power.

First, as a formal petitioner at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on nuclear plant safety, I can assure you that the NRC oversight of safety at U.S. nuclear plants is seriously lacking, as several General Accounting Office reports have confirmed.

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From the Rutland Herald:

The low point in the debate last week about Vermont Yankee came on Tuesday when an executive from Entergy Corp., owner of the nuclear plant, said that if Vermont extended Yankee's license, the company would sell the state a block of low-cost power for three years. He said it was a gift and had nothing to do with the vote that loomed in the Senate.

The offer exhibited a level of cynicism that doomed for good Yankee's prospects in the Senate, which was scheduled to vote on Yankee's license the next day. Vermont policymakers and utility executives have expressed astonishment at the cluelessness of Entergy executives about Vermont. That the man from Entergy would offer a bribe, with the effrontery to say it wasn't a bribe, demonstrated how far removed from the practice of ordinary honesty Entergy executives have veered.

Another low point occurred when a group of Yankee workers angrily confronted a group of anti-Yankee business people at the Statehouse. It was a low point not because of the workers' anger. Rather, the incident demonstrated that the people hurt the most by Entergy's incompetence and dishonesty may be Entergy's own employees.

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From AlterNet:

Nuclear power has been a hot topic these past few weeks with Vermont’s leaking reactor, Georgia’s plans for new ones (thanks to Obama), and the press’s blind approval of all things nuclear.

And now, Rachel Waldholz from High Country News, writes that Blue Castle Holdings, “a 3-year-old, politically connected startup” is trying to get Utah’s first new nuclear plant since 1987 built in the state.

While there are lots of reasons that nuclear power is a bad idea, residents in Utah are particularly concerned about water. Waldholz writes:

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From the New York Times:

In an unusual state foray into nuclear regulation, the Vermont Senate voted 26 to 4 Wednesday to block operation of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant after 2012, citing radioactive leaks, misstatements in testimony by plant officials and other problems.

Unless the chamber reverses itself, it will be the first time in more than 20 years that the public or its representatives has decided to close a reactor.

The vote came just more than a week after President Obama declared a new era of rebirth for the nation’s nuclear industry, announcing federal loan guarantees of $8.3 billion to assure the construction of a twin-reactor plant near Augusta, Ga.

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