Photo: Kusa Dogwood, Lois Barber
June 2013 - "All 104 nuclear power reactors now in operation in the US have a safety problem that cannot be fixed." So said Dr. Gregory Jaczko, former Chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), at the Carnegie Nuclear Policy Conference on April 8, 2013. A most astonishing and unsettling statement! He further said that while it is impractical to shut them all immediately, certain "band-aids" must be used in the meantime. Two issues stand out.
1. During the Fukushima disaster, pressure built up in the reactor containment vessels, threatening to explode them; the operators were reluctant to open their safety vents because that would release intense radiation into the general population. In response, Japanese and European reactors are now required to have radiation filters on vents. In the US, the NRC caved to industry cost concerns, despite its staff's recommendations to demand the filters.
2. After 18 months in the reactor, the "spent" fuel is removed, hot and radioactive, and stored in a cooling pool. Any ongoing interruption of cooling water could trigger a fire, releasing intensely radioactive material, as happened in Japan. In the US, fuel assemblies can be packed in 4 times as densely as in Japan, increasing the danger. After 5 years, they should be removed and placed into "dry cask storage". To avoid the costs of dry cask storage, industry wants the fuel assemblies moved to "Interim Storage Sites". Imagine the dangers of radioactive spills and theft for bomb making, if this fuel were traveling on trucks and trains!
Alert your Representative to these serious risks, and ask him or her to urge the NRC to demand radiation filters on all containment vessel vents, and dry cask storage for all fuel rods after 5 years in the pool. Consider mentioning that you're ... miles from ... nuclear power plant. (Search, "US nuclear power plants" to find the one nearest you.)
Tel: (Capitol switchboard): 202 224–3121
Mail: Representative (first & last name) U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 20515
Photo: Belmar, NJ, July, Curt Lamb
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