Regulators to investigate safety of U.S. nuclear plants
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
By Julie Patel March 21, 2011 12:25 PM
Federal nuclear regulators said today that they will verify the safety of emergency plans and equipment at 104 existing U.S. nuclear reactors in the next 30 days and will conduct deeper investigations in the next 90 days.
But there are no changes planned yet for how regulators will review proposed reactors and reactor expansions.
The U.S. Regulatory Commission met today to receive an update on problems at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, which is considered close to being stabilized. The Commission also discussed its plans in light of President Barack Obama’s request last week that the agency do a comprehensive review of existing plants.
The deeper review, based on findings of what precisely went wrong at Fukushima, will evaluate how U.S. reactors protect against natural disasters, blackouts and severe accidents of used nuclear fuel and whether new rules or regulations are needed, said Bill Borchardt, the NRC's executive director of operations.
Nuclear plant operators are also working to double-check their safety systems and plans, according to an industry trade group. Florida has five nuclear reactors, two Florida Power and Light's Turkey Point plant near Miami, two at its plant in St. Lucie County, and one at Progress Energy's plant near Crystal River.
FPL has proposed building two new reactors at Turkey Point and expanding all four of the existing reactors. Progress Energy wants to build two new reactors in Levy County. The NRC is evaluating the proposals.
"None of the existing schedules on [expansions], licensing reviews or anything else have changed as a result of the events in Japan," Joey Ledford, an NRC spokesman, wrote in an email. He said the agency expects to finish its review this fall of a proposed 15 percent expansion of the power produced by the existing Turkey Point reactors and it's not sure yet about a 12 percent expansion of the St. Lucie reactors.
The NRC decided late last month to allow opponents of new reactors proposed by FPL to raise several concerns. The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and National Parks Conservation Association will be able to raise questions on possible groundwater contamination from FPL's plan to move water used to cool the reactors into the Florida aquifer.
The Citizens Allied for Safe Energy will be allowed to raise two issues related to the environmental and safety impacts of where FPL will store low level nuclear waste in the long-term. FPL says it plans to ship the waste somewhere away from the plant but the NRC wrote that "at this juncture of the proceeding, however, we are not able to conclude, based on the present record, that FPL will in fact be able to do so."
The NRC rejected more than two dozen other concerns opponents raised. For instance, CASE alleged that FPL failed to "consider the impact of projected sea level rise, storm surge, and site inundations that could result in the dispersal of [low-level radioactive waste] off the Turkey Point site," the NRC wrote. "We conclude CASE fails to explain why such a scenario is plausible, much less reasonably foreseeable."
The regulators also said CASE's concern was premised on assumptions that are not part of FPL's plan.
"I wonder if any of them would buy a home in Leisure City or Homestead," wrote Barry White, a CASE member, after the NRC issued its decision.
The agency plans to ask for more information on safety issues in May and to release an initial report on environmental issues in October.
The NRC plans to issue an initial safety report on the expansion proposed by Progress Energy in September and a draft of responses to environmental concerns in November.
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