News

The time listed is local to the jurisdiction where the meeting is being held. When a meeting offers video conferencing at multiple locations, these details will be provided.
Meetings presently scheduled from 09/01/2012 forward

Public Meeting Schedule

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THREE MILE ISLAND NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT 1 - REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING SECURITY PLAN REVIEW

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LONDONDERRY TOWNSHIP, PA (Aug. 22, 2012) – Operators at Three Mile Island Generating Station took the unit offline today to make repairs to a heater element on the plant’s pressurizer tank.  The repairs can only be done with the unit offline.  TMI will return to service after the repairs, inspections and testing on the heater element are complete. 

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BORAFLEX DEGRADATION SURVEILLANCE PROGRAMS AND CORRECTIVE ACTIONS IN THE SPENT FUEL POOL

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Susquehanna Steam Electric Station – NRC Integrated Inspection Report 05000387/2012003 and 05000388/2012003.

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From Bellona:

The reactor vessel is one of the most important safety elements, both holding hot water under pressure and preventing the escape of radionuclides into the environment. Theoretically, should Dael No 3’s vessel be damaged, a cement barrier surrounding it would prevent further spread of radionuclides. (Lampert emphasis)

Possible problems with the vessel were first suspected by FANC in June, it said on its website statement. The agency has also promised to publicize a dossier of its data confirming that the cracks “do not threaten the structural integrity of the reactor vessel,” suggesting that the regulator is attempting to justify the reactor’s further use.

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SUSQUEHANNA STEAM ELECTRIC STATION, UNITS 1 AND 2 ­ WITHDRAWAL OF RELIEF REQUEST NO. 3RR-19 (TAC NOS. ME8521 AND ME8522).

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COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
Dept. of Environmental Protection
Commonwealth News Bureau
Room 308, Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg PA., 17120

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
08/9/2012

CONTACT:
Colleen Connolly, Department of Environmental Protection Northeast Regional Office
570-826-2035

 
Free Radon Test Kits Available in Nine Counties through American Lung Association

 

WILKES-BARRE -- Free home radon test kits are available to residents of nine counties in northeast and north-central Pennsylvania, thanks to a $75,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to the American Lung Association, or ALA.

The kits are offered to residents of Bradford, Clinton, Lycoming, Northumberland, Potter, Schuylkill, Sullivan, Susquehanna and Tioga counties.

“These test kits equip residents with information needed to confront the dangers of having radon in our homes,” DEP Secretary Mike Krancer said. “By providing this vital tool, DEP and ALA are making sure residents stay safe and informed.”

The testing is part of a three-year, community-based program ALA sponsors to promote radon awareness in Pennsylvania. The first year of the program is focused on the northeast region, which ALA has identified as having lower radon testing rates and greater likelihood of elevated radon levels than other areas of the state.

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that is colorless, odorless and tasteless. It is second only to cigarette smoking as a cause of lung cancer. The only way to know the level of radon inside a home or other kind of building is to test for it, and the U.S. Surgeon General and ALA recommend that all homes be tested for radon. Nearly one in 15 homes nationwide has a high level of indoor radon, and in Pennsylvania, the rates are even higher.

Residents who are interested in obtaining a kit can do so in several ways. Visit ALA’s website at www.lunginfo.org/freeradonkit, where Pennsylvania residents can order a free home radon test kit, while supplies last.

School-based programs at which ALA representatives give presentations may provide radon test kits to students for use in their homes. Commitment from parents that the test would be performed is required and, ideally, the school would use the radon program as part of its science lessons.

ALA staff members or the organization’s cooperative partners may also provide radon test kits to members of the public at community outreach events. In the past, businesses, extension agents, health centers, municipal governments, shopping malls and civic clubs have participated.

Interested schools and organizations should contact Tony Delonti, ALA program specialist, at 570-346-1784 or adelonti@lunginfo.org.

For more information, visit www.dep.state.pa.us or call 717-783-3594.

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August 7, 2012

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION AGREES TO HOLD REACTOR LICENSING DECISIONS IN ABEYANCE

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted the Motion of Three Mile Island Alert, Inc.*, and nuclear interveners at 21 other plants across the country, to suspend all licensing decisions that are dependent on the agency's Waste Confidence Rule.

On June 8, 2012 the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit tossed out a regulation that allowed nuclear waste to be stored at reactors for 100 years or more. The Appeals Court said the Nuclear Regulatory Commission failed to fully study the environmental risks of long-term onsite storage when it adopted the so-called "waste confidence" rule in December 2010.

Today’s Order assures  the public of an opportunity to participate, regardless of how the Commission proceeds, and states that individual contentions based on the federal court decision should be held in abeyance pending a further order.

Diane Curran, one of the attorneys spearheading the litigation project, said from her Washington, D.C. office, "This order pretty much gives us all we asked for." However it is unclear as to which recent NRC licensing decisions the agency deems dependent on the Waste Confidence Rule.

Beginning in 2007, Three Mile Island has prepared comments,  and testimony and filed litigation opposing the licensing and construction of the Bell Bend Nuclear Power Plan before the NRC, Susquehanna River Basin Commission and US. Army Corps of Engineers.

Eric Epstein, Chairman of TMI Alert, Inc. said, “This is victory for common sense and prevents the nuclear industry from flushing its radioactive waste down the streets of reactor communities.”

*Three Mile Island Alert , Inc., tmia.com, a safe-energy organization based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and founded in 1977. TMIA monitors Peach Bottom, Susquehanna, and Three Mile Island nuclear generating stations.

Eric Epstein can be reached at 717-541-1101.

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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has reintegrated security inspection results into the agency’s Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) assessment program, effective July 1. The reintegration will be reflected in the August quarterly update to the ROP’s Action Matrix.

The NRC previously treated safety and security inputs to the Action Matrix separately. Reintegrating security information provides a holistic representation of licensee performance and will allow NRC staff to more fully leverage supplemental inspection procedures and resources when performance warrants.

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