Showing posts with label ACTION ALERT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ACTION ALERT. Show all posts
4/4/11
8/14/08
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: TVS HAS CLOSED.
Dear Readers,
"Clamshell-TVS.org", the umbrella organization which hosted "THE NO NUKER" has closed due to a lack of funding.
While THE NO NUKER will no longer provide its edited news selection, it will keep all links to resources open, as well as a constant stream of relevant news from all over the world, as offered by GOOGLE.
All past news material are archived here and easily searchable.
No Nukes !
lioneldelevingne@gmail.com
8/6/08
NRC HEARING OSWEGO NY 8/21/08
August 5, 2008
Below is a copy of a memo we received today from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission concerning a public meeting in Oswego, New York on August 21, 2008, to discuss the upcoming application for a Construction/Operating License for a new atomic reactor at Nine Mile Point. We hope as many of you as possible will make it to this meeting and let Unistar and the NRC know that New York opposes new reactors!
NIRS is actively working against a similar reactor Unistar has proposed for Maryland. Feel free to contact us if we can provide more information about the NRC’s licensing process or anything else.
Michael Mariotte
Executive Director
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
nirsnet@nirs.org; www.nirs.org
301-270-6477
July 30, 2008
MEMORANDUM TO: Joseph Colaccino, Chief
EPR Projects Branch
Division of New Reactor Licensing
Office of New Reactors
FROM: Michael A. Canova, Project Manager /RA/ for
EPR Projects Branch
Division of New Reactor Licensing
Office of New Reactors
SUBJECT: PUBLIC OUTREACH MEETING ON THE COMBINED LICENSE
APPLICATION PROCESS FOR THE PROPOSED NINE MILE POINT
UNIT 3 NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
DATE & TIME: August 21, 2008
6:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
LOCATION: SUNY Oswego – Sheldon Hall
7060 Route 104
Oswego, NY 13126
PURPOSE: The U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff will discuss the role that the NRC will play in the anticipated review of the UniStar’s application for a combined license including details of the safety and environmental reviews. A key topic is how and when the public may participate in NRC processes, if so desired. The public is encouraged to ask questions about the NRC’s review of the Nine Mile Point Unit 3 combined license application (COLA).
CATEGORY 3: * This is a Category 3 Meeting. The public is invited to participate in this
meeting by providing comments and asking questions throughout the
meeting.
CONTACTS: Primary
Michael A. Canova, NRO/DNRL Surinder Arora, NRO/DNRL
301-415-0737 301-415-1421
michael.canova@nrc.gov surinder.arora@nrc.gov
*Commission's Policy Statement on AEnhancing Public Participation in NRC Meetings@
(67 FR 36920), May 28, 2002
PARTICIPANTS: Participants from the NRC include the following members from the Office
of New Reactors (NRO).
NRC
J. Colaccino, NRO
M. Canova, NRO
S. Arora, NRO
P. Brandt, NRO
J. Jennings, NRO
L. Rakovan, EDO, et al.
ADAMS ACCESSION NO.: ML082120125 NRC-001
OFFICE PM:DNRL/NARP/NRO LA:DNRL/NARP/NRO BC:DNRL/NARP/NRO
NAME GTesfaye for MCanova JMcLellan JColaccino
DATE 7/30/2008 7/30/2008 7/30/2008
OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
OPEN HOUSE AND PUBLIC OUTREACH MEETING
UNISTAR APPLICATION FOR A COMBINED LICENSE
Nine Mile Point Unit 3
August 21, 2008
Time
(approximate)
Topic Presenter
6:00 p.m. Open House (Sheldon Hall Lower Lobby) NRC
7:00 p.m. Public Outreach Meeting Begins. (Sheldon Hall
Ballroom)
Introductions/Opening Remarks
NRC
7:15 p.m. NC Staff Presentations
• NRC: Who We Are And What We Do
• Overview of COLA Review Process
o Safety Review
o Environmental Review
o How the public may participate
• Construction Inspection
NRC
7:45 p.m. Open forum for public questions and comments on
NRC processes with regard to Nine Mile Point Unit 3.
9:30 p.m.
Adjourn
7/22/08
Annual Congressional Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency EXPO + Forum
SUSTAINABLE ENERGY NETWORK from Ken Bossong
On July 31, our colleague - the Sustainable Energy Coalition – will be hosting the 11th Annual Congressional Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency EXPO + Forum in the Cannon Office Building of the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, DC. The event is being co-sponsored by Members of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Caucuses.
The day-long program, which is free and open to the public, will bring together nearly 50 exhibitors representing the cross-section of sustainable energy technologies. A morning news conference with Members of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives as well as a series of afternoon speakers will address the status, economics, benefits, and near-term potential of sustainable energy technologies to address rising energy prices, increased reliance on energy imports, and climate change.
We are therefore writing to you for three reasons:
First, if you plan to be in the Washington DC area on Thursday - July 31, we invite and encourage you to attend the EXPO. No RSVP is required.
Second, we would welcome your sharing information about this event with any, and all, members of the news media, businesses, non-profit organizations, students, or other interested members of the general public. A flier describing the EXPO is attached; please feel free to forward it to any contacts you may have.
Third – and perhaps most importantly – we would like to request your assistance in encouraging Members of Congress and their staff to attend this event.
As you know, Congress currently is considering a range of energy-related issues including climate change legislation, annual appropriations bills, initiatives to extend the renewable energy and energy efficiency production tax and investment tax credits, and proposals to expand domestic oil & gas drilling plus new incentives for fossil fuels and nuclear power. We believe the EXPO offers an unparalleled opportunity for sustainable energy advocates to educate Members of Congress about the role of sustainable energy technologies and the policy options that would affect their development.
However, as a first step, it is necessary to get the Members and their staff to attend the EXPO. And inasmuch as most Members try to be responsive to their constituents, we hope that you would be willing to telephone, e-mail, or fax a request to your congressional delegation and encourage their attendance.
Accordingly, we have attached a suggested letter for your use. Feel free to personalize it with your own letterhead and/or name and to edit the text to highlight any policy issues you would like to stress.
If you wish to telephone your congressional delegation, the main switchboard number for the U.S. Capitol is 202-224-3121.
If you wish to e-mail or fax your Senators and/or Representatives, you can find their contact information by going to either www.house.gov or www.senate.gov. (We advise against mailing letters since there is a one or two week security delay in delivering “snail mail.”)
Thank you very much for any assistance you may be able to give in helping to spread the word about the 11th Annual Congressional Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency EXPO + Forum.
NOTE: Additional details about the EXPO can be found at www.sustainableenergycoalition.org.
SUSTAINABLE ENERGY NETWORK
8606 Greenwood Avenue, #2
Takoma Park, MD 20912
Sustainable-energy-network@hotmail.com
7/3/08
*The Solar Rollers* are back !
*The Solar Rollers*_ will be making an historical, anniversary biking
trip this summer.
Starting with a kick off rally in Vernon on August, 10th and ending with
a closing rally in Montpelier on August 25th, we will be biking the
state, raising awareness about the need to STOP THE RELICENCING OF
ENTERGY/VERMONT YANKEE when it comes up for a vote in Jan/Feb '09.
If you are interested in riding for a day or more, driving the "sag
wagon" or helping to organize housing or community potlucks along the
route....PLEASE be in touch. We can use you!! For more info contact:
solarollers@gmail.com Peg Alden (802)387-4845 David Detmold
(413)863-8666 Cosponsored by Citizen's Awareness Network & Vermont
Yankee Decommissioning Alliance
6/24/08
" Glow Train Catastrophe" TONITE ON TV !
Mega Disasters : Glow Train Catastrophe
Airs TONIGHT Tuesday 6/24 10:00 PM
on The History Channel
The U.S. Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission plan to transport 77,000 tons of nuclear waste to a permanent storage facility 950 feet below Nevada's Yucca Mountain. If the plan goes through, much of the cargo will travel through Las Vegas, making an accident there a very disturbing possibility. If history has taught us anything, it's that transporting dangerous goods can sometimes have catastrophic results. Take a look at the potential disaster that such a rail accident would have in Las Vegas.
6/12/08
Great Lakes United Nuclear-Free/Green Energy Task Force
Please circulate the following sign-on statement to your email lists. To sign on, simply email kevin@beyondnuclear.org your name, title, organization, and full contact information. Individuals are also welcome to sign. Please sign on by noon on Wednesday, June 18th so that we can submit our group comment to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency by the official deadline later that day. Click MORE for text / or on title for additional info
If you'd like to submit additional comments, email them to DGR.Review@ceaa-acee.gc.ca no later than Wednesday, June 18th.
See http://www.acee-ceaa.gc.ca/050/DocHTMLContainer_e.cfm?DocumentID=26204 for additional information.
Thanks!
---Kevin Kamps, Great Lakes United Nuclear-Free/Green Energy Task Force
cell 240-462-3216, kevin@beyondnuclear.org
No Radioactive Waste Dump
in the Heart of the Great Lakes!
The proposal to build a deep underground dump (DUD) for radioactive wastes on the shoreline of the Great Lakes is unacceptable. Water is the most likely dispersal medium for toxic materials in general, and for radioactive wastes in particular.
Nevertheless, that's what is being considered at the Bruce nuclear complex on the Canadian side of Lake Huron. The DUD would be located just over one kilometre (less than one mile) from the Lake, and would house all of the radioactive wastes from 20 commercial nuclear power reactors in Ontario – with the exception of the irradiated nuclear fuel.
It was recently reported that the Canadian Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) wants to manage the DUD project. But the NWMO deals exclusively with the long-term management of irradiated nuclear fuel, and has nothing whatever to do with other categories of nuclear waste materials. Does the NWMO's involvement mean that the proposed DUD will eventually become a permanent repository for high-level radioactive waste -- making it the "Yucca Mountain" of the Great Lakes region?
The Bruce nuclear complex currently hosts nine reactors (one of them permanently shut down), with proposals for four more. This would make it the largest nuclear power complex in the world. Already there are 500 outdoor silos for the “interim storage” of irradiated nuclear fuel about one kilometre from Lake Huron, and there are plans to build 2,000 more.
Since the DUD is only 50 miles from Michigan across Lake Huron, leakage of radioactivity from the dump could directly affect tens of millions of residents in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York, and contaminate the drinking water in Port Huron, Sarnia, Detroit, Windsor, Toledo, Cleveland, Erie, Buffalo, Toronto and countless other communities downstream.
Thus, this DUD proposal is not just a Canadian issue, but an international one. In 1986, Canada protested when the U.S. proposed a high-level radioactive waste dump in Vermont because it was too close to the Canadian border; that proposed dump was subsequently cancelled. Now it is time for U.S. residents to speak out. The Canadian DUD proposal sets a dangerous precedent for the establishment of perpetually hazardous facilities on the Great Lakes, and impacts people on both sides of the border.
The successful emplacement of the DUD for so-called “low” and “intermediate” level radioactive wastes from across Ontario – and potentially from the rest of Canada – will create a threat to the Great Lakes watershed for generations to come. It will also increase the likelihood of the Bruce site becoming a permanent disposal dump for high-level radioactive wastes (i.e. irradiated nuclear fuel), which would increase the risks by many orders of magnitude.
Alarming as this proposal is, the process for assessing its environmental impact is also cause for grave concern. In Canada, environmental panels reviewing proposed nuclear facilities have always been independent of the nuclear establishment -- until now. But for the DUD, the Government of Canada intends to place the review panel under the control of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) which is the regulatory authority for licensing nuclear facilities in Canada.
Six months ago, the President of the CNSC was fired by the Canadian federal government for being too strict in her enforcement of reactor safety regulations. The new CNSC President has clear instructions to fast-track all nuclear regulatory approval processes. No environmental assessment panel will be credible if it is dominated by this highly politicized regulatory agency.
Despite the conflict of interest, the CNSC stands ready to chair the environmental assessment panel and to fill two of its three positions. CNSC’s domination of the Full Panel Review is unprecedented, and will undermine the panel's credibility. We urge CNSC’s exclusion from the Panel, so the panel's independence is assured.
We ask that the public comment deadline be extended for six months beyond June 18th. Given the longevity and the unprecedented nature of the hazard that the DUD represents for the entire Great Lakes ecosystem, as well as the minimal outreach to the United States and Native American/First Nations that the Canadian federal government has undertaken, this extension request is reasonable.
Sincerely,
Gordon Edwards (Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, Montreal, Quebec)
and Michael Keegan (Coalition for a Nuclear-Free Great Lakes, Monroe, Michigan)
Co-Chairs
Great Lakes United Nuclear-Free/Green Energy Task Force
NUCLEAR ENERGY: THE TRUE COST
Meeting on June 18
NUCLEAR ENERGY: THE TRUE COST
Budgetary, security & environmental implications
THE OPTIONS: ENERGY SUPPLY, EFFICIENCY AND RENEWABLES
Can we afford to say “no” to nuclear energy?
JOBS CREATION: RENEWABLE VS. NUCLEAR
HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT: DAMAGE ASSESSMENT
QUESTIONS/ANSWERS & ACTION STEPS
Presenters:
Deb Katz - CAN Executive Director
Michael J. Daley - Trustee, New England Coalition
Chris Williams - sustainable energy policy activitist
Hattie Nestel, CAN outreach educator
NUCLEAR ENERGY AT WHAT COST?
A PROGRAM YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO MISS!
WEDNESDAY JUNE 18 7:00 PM
Bangs Community Center, Boltwood Walk, Amherst, MA
(behind the Unitarian Meetinghouse, Kellogg and N. Pleasant Sts.)
Info: 413-256-1760
PRESENTED BY THE CITIZEN AWARENESS NETWORK (CAN) and SAGE
SUPPORTING SPONSORS: Western Mass American Friends Service Committee, The Enviro
Show, National Priorities Project, Socialist Party USA, Physicians for Social
Responsibility of the Pioneer Valley, Pioneer Valley War Tax Resisters, Amherst Green
Rainbow, North Quabbin Women in Black, Traprock Peace Center, Co-Op Power
5/27/08
5/9/08
National Activist Summit on Nuclear Waste
May 30 -- June 1, 2008
Columbia, South Carolina
This is the "call" we posted a few weeks ago: We as a community say "stop making more" radioactive waste since we understand that the failure to find a real solution to this problem is the failure of the technologies that produce it; We as a community demand responsible management of radioactive waste; We stand firm against false "solutions;" We reject the idea that this waste should be exported -- to Indigenous Lands -- or anywhere else; We call for better security and improved management and containment where ever the waste is now; We focus on the hazards of transporting radioactive waste and materials -- particularly in the case of irresponsible, false "solutions..." it is time for us to come together -- to find and re-affirm that "We" -- in the sense of The People, in the sense of impacted communities -- and essentially as activists.
Now we have more information:
Dr. Frank von Hippel will speak on Friday May 30 on the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership and reprocessing with a panel including Steve Frischman, Kevin Kamps and Diane D'Arrigo
Dr. Arjun Makhijani will speak on Sunday June 1 on his Carbon Free and Nuclear Free: a Roadmap for US Energy Policy
Saturday we will share our stories and have 8 -- 10 options for information workshops -- as well as time to think together about nuclear waste in the context of the industry's effort to "come back" in both the commercial and military sectors.
For event schedule, costs (as low as $15 if you stay off-site OR total of $110 with 2 nights and 5 meals) and registration page (note: registration is required). Please visit: http://www.nirs.org/nwsummit/summit.htm for more information or https://secure.campagne-online.com/registrant/donate.aspx?EventID=4211&LangPref=en-CA if you already know you want to register.
This event was born in a moment at a 'break-out' session of a conference on Precautionary Action in Greensboro, NC in November 2007 -- and is being carried forward by a planning group* including participation from:
Bobbie Paul -- Atlanta WAND
David Kraft -- Nuclear Energy Information Service
Debbie Grinnell -- C-10
Diane D'Arrigo -- Nuclear Information and Resource Service
Glenn Carroll -- Nuclear Watch South
Janet Marsh -- Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League
Judy Treichel -- Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force
Kevin Kamps -- Beyond Nuclear
Leslie Minerd
Liz Veazy -- Southern Energy Network
Mary Olson -- NIRS Southeast
Rochelle Becker -- Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility
Sara Barczak -- Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
Sara Tansey -- South Carolina Alliance for Sustainable Campuses and Communities
Susan Corbett -- Sierra Club, South Carolina Chapter
Tom Clements -- Friends of the Earth
*this list now also includes cosponsoring organizations -- and I am sure more will be added -- please be in touch if your group wants to cosponsor!
Note: due to industry attempts to participate in recent events intended for activists, there will be a pre-registration process. This event is open to all who are working positively for the end of the production of more radioactive waste (stop making it)!
Mary Olson
Southeast Regional Coordinator
NIRS Southeast Office
PO Box 7586 Asheville, NC 28802
828-675-1792 nirs@main.nc.us
http://www.nirs.org/southeast
Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS)
6930 Carroll Ave, Suite 340, Takoma Park, MD 20912
301-270-NIRS fax 301-270-4291 nirsnet@nirs.org http://www.nirs.org
NIRS affiliated with World Information Service on Energy (WISE) in 2000 -- the NIRS / WISE Network serves grassroots activists on 5 continents
This is NIRS’ 30th anniversary year: Help kick off our next 30 years, and our work to build a nuclear-free, carbon-free energy future, with your most generous contribution possible. Please make your tax-deductible donation here.
And if you haven’t done so yet, don’t forget to sign the statement on nuclear power and climate at www.nirs.org (but please don’t sign more than once!). If you’ve already signed, ask your friends and colleagues to sign!
4/15/08
Save the dates -- National Activist Summit on Radioactive Waste & National Integrity in Science Conference
May 30 -- June 1, 2008 Columbia, South Carolina
National Activist Summit on Radioactive Waste
Fourth National Integrity in Science Conference: Rejuvenating Public Sector Science
July 11, 2008 Washington, DC 20004
*We as a community say "stop making more" radioactive waste since we understand that the failure to find a real solution to this problem is the failure of the technologies that produce it;
*We as a community demand responsible management of radioactive waste;
*We stand firm against false "solutions;"
*We reject the idea that this waste should be exported -- to Indigenous Lands -- or anywhere else;
*We call for better security and improved management and containment where ever the waste is now;
_We focus on the hazards of transporting radioactive waste and materials -- particularly in the case of irresponsible, false "solutions..."
Today the nuclear industry is trying to revive: both the electric power nuclear generating infrastructure (with new nuclear reactors breaking out like pox) and the move to expand the Bombplex. The military/civilian distinction is diminishing (if there ever was one). It is time for us to come together--to find and re-affirm that "We" -- in the sense of The People, in the sense of impacted communities--and essentially as activists.
This event was born in a moment at a 'break-out' session of a conference on Precautionary Action in Greensboro, NC in November 2007--and is being carried forward by a planning group including participation from:
David Kraft -- Nuclear Energy Information Service
Debbie Grinnell -- C-10
Diane D'Arrigo -- Nuclear Information and Resource Service
Glenn Carroll -- Nuclear Watch South
Janet Marsh -- Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League
Judy Treichel -- Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force
Kevin Kamps -- Beyond Nuclear
Leslie Minerd
Mary Olson -- NIRS Southeast
Rochelle Becker – Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility
Sara Barczak -- Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
Susan Corbett -- Sierra Club, South Carolina Chapter
Tom Clements -- Friends of the Earth
The Summit will convene on the evening of Friday May 30 with an event also promoted to the public in Columbia: Keynote presentation by Dr. Frank von Hippel on the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership -- with panel of discussants including Steve Frishman, Kevin Kamps and Diane D'Arrigo to bring into focus the new challenges we face in the arena of nuclear expansionism.
Saturday morning our activist community will convene, get acquainted/tell our stories. Saturday afternoon we will share information and ideas in issue and technical break-out sessions. Saturday evening will be a combination of time to think together and party! Sunday morning we will share our vision and formulate messages that we can all stand behind. We will wrap up with a Keynote presentation by Dr. Arjun Makhijani on his new Carbon Free, Nuclear Free: A Roadmap for US Energy Policy to inspire us with real solutions.
Costs will be nominal--we are working on having some modest support funds to assist far-flung communities to be represented at the Summit. The site includes dorm-style private rooms with shared baths. Food will be simple. We are working to keep registration (with food and lodging) well under $100.
Please drop a message to Mary Olson nirs@main.nc.us or call 828-675-1792 if you want to be part of this event or want to get updates. We will follow up with a more detailed program and registration details soon.
Note: due to industry attempts to participate in recent events intended for activists, there will be a pre-registration process. This event is open to all who are working positively for the end of the production of more radioactive waste (stop making it)!
Mary Olson
Southeast Regional Coordinator
NIRS Southeast Office
PO Box 7586 Asheville, NC 28802
828-675-1792 nirs@main.nc.us
http://www.nirs.org/southeast
Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS)
6930 Carroll Ave, Suite 340, Takoma Park, MD 20912
301-270-NIRS fax 301-270-4291 nirsnet@nirs.org http://www.nirs.org
NIRS affiliated with World Information Service on Energy (WISE) in 2000 -- the NIRS / WISE Network serves grassroots activists on 5 continents
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Registration Is Now Open
The Center for Science in the Public Interest's
Fourth National
Integrity in Science Conference:
Rejuvenating Public Sector Science
July 11, 2008
9 am - 5:30 pm
Ronald Reagan International Center
1300 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20004
Register now for a daylong event that will forge an agenda for independent, regulatory science and protecting public sector scientists from political meddling and corporate influence. Speakers will include:
Anthony Broccoli, IPCC participant and Rutgers University professor of atmospheric science
Dominick DellaSala, Chief Scientist, National Center for Conservation Science and Policy
William Hirzy, Executive Vice President, Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters Union
Jim Furnish, Clinton Administration Forest Service Deputy Chief
David Michaels, director, Project on Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy, author of "Doubt Is Their Product"
Ken Zweibel, former director, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Diana Zuckerman, President, National Research Center for Women & Families
with more added every day!
Sessions will include:
Tackling the Climate Crisis: Unleashing Government Research
When Regulators and the Regulated Collaborate: What Are the Rules?
Protecting Public Sector Scientists
Setting the Comparative Effectiveness Agenda: Should Industry Have a Say?
Empowering Science and Scientists at Federal Agencies
Clean Energy — Do Special Interests Drive the Agenda?
Endangered Species Protection in a Hostile Climate
Reducing Conflicts of Interest on Advisory Committees – Shortage of Unconflicted Scientists or Failure to Look?
Register now at http://www.regonline.com/Checkin.asp?EventId=606569
Registration:
$200 before May 16/$250 after
$99 before May 16/$109 after for non-profits, educational institutions, and government agencies
$30 for students
Housing for out of town registrants is at the Marriott Metro Center, 775 12th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005. Hotel Rate: $215.00 (Single/Double) + applicable taxes (14.5%). To make your reservations, call the hotel directly at 202-737-2200 or 800-228-9290 by Thursday, June 19, 2008 and mention the "Integrity in Science Conference."
Conference co-sponsors include:
Beyond Nuclear
Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment
Earthjustice
Edmonds Institute
Endangered Species Coalition
Government Accountability Project
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
OMB Watch
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
The Project on Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy
Union of Concerned Scientists
This is NIRS’ 30th anniversary year: help us kick off our next 30 years, and our work to build a nuclear-free, carbon-free energy future, with your most generous contribution possible. Please make your tax-deductible donation here.
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This is the NIRS E-Mail Alert list. You are on this list because you signed up on our website, at a NIRS table at a concert, on a petition, or directly to NIRS. Your name and address are never sold, rented, or traded with anyone for any reason.
For address changes or to unsubscribe, just send an e-mail to nirsnet@nirs.org. If you have friends or colleagues who would like to be on this list, have them send a note to nirsnet@nirs.org
3/27/08
STOP THE IMPORT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE
STOP THE IMPORT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE!
SUPPORT HR 5632—CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE NOW
On March 2, we told you about EnergySolutions’ scheme to import some 20,000 tons of radioactive waste from Italy to the U.S. EnergySolutions wants to bring this waste in through the ports of Charleston, SC and New Orleans, LA; ship it to Tennessee for various types of “processing”—including incineration and possible “recycling” into consumer and industrial goods—and then send what’s left for burial in the company’s shallow landfill in Utah.
click here for full text....
This is a fight we have to win! EnergySolutions’ scheme would open the door to making the U.S. the dumping ground for the world’s radioactive waste. Help stop this dangerous precedent with your contribution here on our secure online server.
There have been two important developments:
Legislative: Reps. Gordon (TN), Whitfield (KY) and Matheson (UT) have introduced HR 5632, a bill to ban the import of such radioactive waste. The text of the bill is below. However, the bill isn’t going anywhere unless we all back it loudly and clearly. Please call your Representative today and demand that he/she cosponsor HR 5632, and work to get this bill to the House floor and on to the Senate. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121.
*A big thank-you to those of you who have contributed toward our obtaining the technology necessary to enable you to send e-mails to your Congressmembers directly from our Alerts. However, we still have a ways to go before we can afford this. You can help with your contribution here. We want to make this available to you, but we need dedicated funding to do so. Your help is essential.
Regulatory: Thanks to all your efforts, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has extended the comment period on this proposal until June 10, 2008. Those of you on our mailing list will soon be receiving a comment postcard you can mail directly to the NRC, or to NIRS and we’ll send it on to the NRC.
The postcard states simply:
Don’t let the United States become the world’s radioactive waste dumping ground!
I urge the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to deny license applications IW023 and XW013. These applications would allow EnergySolutions to import some 20,000 tons--a million cubic feet--of radioactive waste from Italy into the United States. Energy-Solutions proposes to ship this waste into SC and LA, “process” it in Tennessee, where it could be incinerated, dumped in regular trash landfills, or “recycled” into consumer and industrial goods, and then ship the remainder to Utah for shallow land burial.
This scheme is fraught with unnecessary danger, could increase radiation exposures to the public, and would set a terrible precedent. The United States must not become the dumping ground for the world’s radioactive waste. These applications must be rejected.
If you don’t want to wait, or aren’t on our mailing list, you can e-mail these comments, or your own thoughts, directly to the NRC at secy@nrc.gov and reference license applications IW023 and XW013.
And if you want more postcards to pass out in your community, let us know and we’ll send them to you.
We can stop this scheme and prevent the U.S. from becoming an international radioactive waste dumping ground. Your actions will make the difference!
Thanks for all you do,
Michael Mariotte
Executive Director
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
6930 Carroll Avenue, #340
Takoma Park, MD 20912
301-270-6477
nirsnet@nirs.org, www.nirs.org
For updates, technical and background information, stay in touch with Diane D’Arrigo of NIRS at dianed@nirs.org
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If you haven’t yet signed the Simple Statement on Nuclear Power and Climate, please do so here: http://www.nirs.org/petition2/index.php (but please don’t sign multiple times!). If you have signed, please pass this address on to your friends, colleagues, congregations, PTA groups, and any other e-mail lists you have!
3/10/08
Nuclear plant hearings starts TODAY
Dear Friends,
Below are two articles on the upcoming hearings (click on "more" for hearings schedule info). What is amazing – and is very much the result of the grassroots effort is this:
NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said of the agency's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board. "Keep in mind that with Indian Point, this is the largest number of contentions that have been submitted in a license-renewal proceeding." It's also the first time that the host state has so strongly opposed an extension.
Score one point for democracy.
Michel
click on "more" for full text/letter
___________________________________________________________
March 9, 2008
Nuclear plant hearings start tomorrow
Greg Clary The Journal News
BUCHANAN - Indian Point's application to continue making electricity through 2035 comes to a White Plains courthouse this week, where a three-person panel will ask detailed questions of opponents seeking to stop the plant from getting a 20-year license renewal.
Those who have filed arguments against the relicensing application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission include the states of New York and Connecticut; Westchester County and the town of Cortlandt; and environmental groups such as Riverkeeper and Hudson River Sloop Clearwater.
A consortium of grass-roots organizations represented by Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, D-Greenburgh, and Spring Valley lawyer Susan Shapiro has been given an April 1 hearing date at NRC headquarters in Rockville, Md., because of scheduling conflicts.
The issues to be raised in the three days of hearings include the region's dense population and the chances for success during an emergency evacuation, as well as the nuclear plant's impact on Hudson River aquatic life.
"They have so much ground to cover," NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said of the agency's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board. "Keep in mind that with Indian Point, this is the largest number of contentions that have been submitted in a license-renewal proceeding."
It's also the first time that the host state has so strongly opposed an extension.
Of the 48 other nuclear reactors that have appealed for 20-year extensions to their initial 40-year operating licenses, none have been turned down. The NRC is reviewing license renewal applications for another 11 of the nation's 104 reactors. There is no limit to the number of extensions that a reactor can receive.
Entergy Nuclear, the plant's owner and operator, will have its team of legal and engineering experts to counter opponents' arguments, in what Sheehan said would include a lot of back and forth between the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board and the participants.
Without the license renewals, Indian Point 2 would have to close in 2013, and Indian Point 3 in 2015.
Westchester County will lead off the 10 a.m. hearing tomorrow by asking to be linked to the state's 32 contentions as a full participant rather than an "interested government body."
The county didn't submit its own contentions, which according to NRC regulations should keep its lawyers from directly participating, but have since requested a chance to be included with the state.
As to the substance of some of the nearly 100 contentions submitted against the extension, the state's top lawyer will be the first to speak.
"This is such a unique proceeding before the NRC," said Joan Leary Matthews, who as a deputy New York attorney general beat the car manufacturers in the 1990s on a case that ultimately required tighter pollution controls on new vehicles. "We don't even know if they're going to ask us questions about every one (of the state's 32 contentions)."
The state's list of problems with the 20 extra years dovetails with Riverkeeper's in a couple of areas:
- The nuclear plant's use of Hudson River water to cool its operation and the resulting release of warmed water, known as thermal pollution.
- The need to accurately gauge metal fatigue in critical infrastructure at the plant, including underground piping.
Riverkeeper officials said they expect to bring three lawyers and four experts, including a retired nuclear engineer and a specialist in aquatic habitats.
"This is a really important day or week," said Diane Curran, the organization's outside counsel. "The contentions that are admitted will determine the scope of the hearings. There isn't anything else that gets heard by these judges. So, for us, this is kind of like the gateway."
NRC officials said the board would not make any determinations in the coming week about which arguments will be accepted for further review or who will make the cut to be a direct participant.
That is slated to be completed within the next two months. After that, appeals must first go through the NRC itself, a five-member board that sets policy for the agency. Beyond that, those who aren't satisfied with the agency's decision could seek relief in federal courts.
Riverkeeper and New York State officials said they were prepared for that, if necessary.
_____________________________________________________
March 6, 2008
Arguments start on Indian Point license renewal
By Abby Luby North County News
Groups opposed to renewing Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant’s operating license will have a chance to argue their cases in public next week.
Starting Monday, a panel of three judges will ask state and local governments and environmental organizations about contentions that they filed last November against the re-licensing application made by Indian Point’s owner, Entergy Nuclear. The judges make up the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel, an independent judicial arm of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the federal oversight agency for nuclear power plants.
The myriad contentions against renewing Entergy’s operating license generally claim that the 40-year-old plant is no longer safe. Three years ago, leaks of radioactive tritium and strontium-90 from the spent nuclear fuel pools were found in the groundwater beneath Indian Point and in the Hudson River. Also, Entergy has missed two deadlines in the past year to fix the failing siren system that alerts people within 10 miles of the plant of emergencies.
“The aim here is to allow the judges to gain a better understanding of the issues that have already been submitted in the contentions,” said Neil Sheehan, spokesperson for the NRC. “If there is new information it has to be filed under a separate motion.”
Entergy seeks a 20-year extension of its current 40-year operating license set to expire in 2013 and 2015 for Unit 2 and 3 reactors. The new license will allow the Buchanan facility to stay on line until 2033 and 2035. The re-licensing process, which could take up to two years, was started in April 2007 when Entergy submitted its 2,500-page application to the NRC. The NRC has never denied a license renewal application by a utility company.
Margo Schepart of the Westchester Citizens Awareness Network, a grass roots organization seeking to shut down the plant, said that filing contentions was difficult, expensive and required legal consultation.
“The NRC tried to knock us out every step along the way and now we made it through their hoops,” she said. “We look forward to meeting the panel of judges face to face.”
The NRC has consistently said that the re-licensing process looks only at how aging plants are managed and whether operating components within the plant can keep the utility running safely. In 2007, Westchester County Executive Andy Spano petitioned the NRC to change the re-licensing criteria to include emergency evacuation plans, proximity to dense population areas and vulnerability to terrorist attacks. The NRC denied the petition and Spano appealed it to the United States Court of Appeals where it is still pending.
Two bills currently in Congress propose that a mandatory Independent Safety Assessment review (ISA) of Indian Point be a condition for a new operating license. The ISA would be done by specialists not connected with the utility or the NRC. One bill is sponsored by New York Senator Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.). The Congressional bill was introduced over a year ago by Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-Middletown) and was co-sponsored by Reps. Eliot Engel (D-Bronx), Nita Lowey (D-Harrison), and Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) and John Hall (D-Dover Plains). The bill is still in the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Several counties and municipalities that have already passed ISA resolutions supporting the pending congressional bill include Westchester and Rockland County, Croton, Ossining, Beacon, Putnam Valley, Ramapo and Cortlandt.
The NRC has claims that the plant already undergoes independent assessments by independent contractors not connected with the oversight agency.
Spearheading the opposition for New York State at the hearings will be Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, who will be joined by five other states attorneys general from Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky and Vermont. Scheduled to appear before the panel on Monday are Westchester County and the State of New York; Tuesday: The Town of Cortlandt, the State of Connecticut and Riverkeeper; Wednesday: Hudson River Sloop, Clearwater and Connecticut Residents Opposed to Relicensing of Indian Point (CRORIP); Thursday: Westchester Citizens’ Awareness Network, Rockland County Conservation Association, Public Health and Sustainable Energy and the Sierra Club.
The judges for the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel are Lawrence McDade, chairman; Dr. Kaye Lathrop and Dr. Richard Wardwell.
The sessions, open to the public for observation only, will be held at the Richard J. Daronco Courthouse, 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd. in White Plains. They are scheduled to start at 9 a.m. most mornings and run to 5 p.m. The judges can continue the discussion into the next day, if needed.
________________________________________________________
Schedule of Hearings
March hearings on the Indian Point license extension application, will be held at the Richard J. Daronco Courthouse, 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd., White Plains. The proceedings are open to the public.
Tomorrow: Westchester County, the state of New York.
Tuesday: The town of Cortlandt, the state of Connecticut and Riverkeeper Inc.
Wednesday: Riverkeeper Inc., Hudson River Sloop Clearwater Inc. and Connecticut Residents Opposed to Relicensing of Indian Point (CRORIP).
April 1: NRC headquarters, Rockville Md. – Westchester Citizen’s Awareness Network; Rockland County Conservation Association; Public Health and Sustainable Energy; Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter
Michel Lee, Esq.
Steering Committee
Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition
Chairman
Council on Intelligent Energy
& Conservation Policy
P.O. Box 312
White Plains, New York 10602
(914) 420-5624
ciecplee@verizon.net
3/8/08
Juging Indian Point Nuclear this week.
North County News - Award winning local news for the Hudson Valley, NY: "Groups opposed to renewing Power Plant’s operating license will have a chance to argue their cases in public next"
Indian Point Update on Re-Licensing
Dear Friends,
Here is a summary of some of the behind-the-scenes work that has been going on. Our strongest asset is an informed public. I have tried to be concise about what is a complicated issue. I hope that this is useful and that you will continue to do what you can to close the reactors at Indian Point. Please feel free to use this information in any way that is useful. Now is the best time to write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper! We also need funds to carry on. Details are below, but please think about your involvement and what you can do.
Sincerely,
Marilyn Elie
Co-Founder, Westchester Citizens Awareness Network
click here for full text
The final battle has been joined. When Entergy applied to relicense the reactors at Indian Point, they initiated a complicated three-year process dictated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Forty-eight other nuclear plants across the country have already gone through the same procedure; 11 others are pending. So far, all have been approved; for most the NRC did not even go through the more rigorous evaluation in the hearing stage. If you think this approval rating indicates that the process is skewed in favor of industry, you are correct.
The only way to trigger a hearing is by filing contentions.Contentions list reasons the NRC should deny the plant a license to continue to operate. Under NRC regulations, concerns about theevacuation plan, population density, high-level radioactive waste and terrorism are not considered topics for contentions. Likewise, radioactive water leaking into the Hudson is not on the agenda because “it has already been entered into the company's corrective action program.” Only two categories for complaints are allowed under current rules: Environmental Concerns and Aging Equipment.
WestCAN filed contentions as did other environmental organizations and grassroots organizations. Even better, so did the Attorney General of the State of New York and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. WestCAN submitted many contentions, perhaps the strongest being the one on Fire Safety. Susan Shapiro has been the driving force behind these contentions. She and Assemblyman Richard Brodsky will act as our pro bono lawyers as the hearing progresses. Our expert witness is Ulrich Witte. His knowledge and familiarity with relicensing gave us a strong set of contentions. Ulrich is not pro bono and we need to pay him for his time and knowledge.
In the beginning, the NRC invited everyone to participate in the process. However it has turned out to be an extremely expensive, time consuming and stressful legal procedure. Submitting contentions was an extraordinary amount of work and expense crammed into a very short deadline. Thanks to the fundraiser by Pete Seeger, Ani DeFranco and others, Ulrich has been paid to date, but his testimony will be required to support the WestCAN contentions.
During the initial proceedings it seemed like NRC lawyers were acting as co-counsel with Entergy to find reasons to strike our contentions and keep them for going to a hearing. On one occasion we were required to resubmit seven copies of a thousand pages of testimony because the page number for one exhibit was slightly off. So far our contentions have survived and we will be allowed to appear before the Atomic Safety Licensing Board.
Those who have filed contentions are invited to appear before the board on March 10th as the first step in the process. The meeting is open to the public but only those who have submitted contentions can speak. It would be meaningful to have community support. If you are free during the day, please hold the date. Details and directions will be posted shortly.
Whatever contentions are left standing after the initial arguments will go to the hearing next summer. After the hearing, an appeal is possible to the Chairman of the NRC. It is not hard to predict the outcome of his decision. After that, appeals go to the Appellate Court. Expect a court case at the end of the appeals process no matter what the decision is. It is clear that it will take an act of Congress before for this flawed process can address public health and safety. Here's what you can do.
Donate money to WestCAN! We need to continue to pay our expert witness Ulrich Witte. Copying costs are enormous. The last bill was $800. We are a 501c3 non-profit organization and your donation is tax deductible. Make your check out to WestCAN and mail it to 2A Adrian Court, Cortlandt Manor, NY, 10567.
We really need a volunteer to help us set up a site for on line donations. Contact Marilyn if you can work on this.
Pick up the phone and talk to your local elected officials and Federal representatives to express your concerns. Keep this issue on the front burner.
Write a letter to Gov. Spitzer. If you voted for him because of his stance on Indian Point, tell him so. Make sure he understands your pressing need to see the plant closed.
Arrange a meeting and call Westchester Citizens Awareness Network for a speaker. One of the most pressing questions to address is "How do we replace the energy that is generated at Indian Point?" This question can be answered.
For more information call 914-954-6739 or email ElieWestCAN@gmail.com
Marilyn Elie, Margo Schepart and Mark Jacobs
are co- founders of Westchester Citizens Awareness Network,
a grassroots group that has opposed the plant for over a decade.
WestCAN is a member of the Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition
2/22/08
IEER | Campaign to Include Women, Children, and Future Generations in Environmental Health Standards
IEER | Campaign to Include Women, Children, and Future Generations in Environmental Health Standards: "Dear President Bush:
We are writing to call your attention to a serious problem in public health protection and ask that you take action to fix it.
Presently, many federal radiation protection standards are based on average lifetime exposure or on 'Reference Man,' a hypothetical adult 'Caucasian' male who is 20 to 30 years old, weighs 154 pounds, is five feet seven inches tall, and is 'Western European or North American in habitat and custom.' Reference Man is widely used to set federal rules and regulations, for instance, limits on how much residual radiation will be allowed in radioactively contaminated soil."
2/13/08
It’s too weak on climate….It’s too strong on nuclear….
STOP THE LIEBERMAN/WARNER CLIMATE CHANGE BILL!
An aide to Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) says the Lieberman/Warner climate change bill (S. 2191) “would be the most historic incentive for nuclear in the history of the United States.” (E&E Daily, February 8, 2008).
He’s not kidding: the bill’s complicated “cap-and-trade” carbon system could give billions of dollars—perhaps $500 Billion (no, that’s not a typo--$500 Billion)--to “zero or low-carbon” energy technologies, including dirty energy like nuclear power.
Moreover, the bill falls far short of the carbon emissions cuts necessary to address the climate crisis: a cut of only about 60-65% by 2050. There is a better way: we need to go carbon-free and nuclear-free, and it can be done by 2050—but only if we all act to make it happen.
S. 2191 is expected to be debated on the Senate floor this Spring. Let’s start telling Senate offices now that we want a real climate change bill, one that leads to a complete end to carbon emissions and one that supports sustainable energy technologies, not one that resurrects the failed nuclear power program of the 20th century.
Your help is needed:
1. Call, write and/or e-mail your Senators now. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121; mailing address: U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510. You can look up your Senators’ e-mail addresses at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
2. Contribute as generously as you can to NIRS’ efforts to build a sustainable, carbon-free, nuclear-free future on our secure server at at https://secure.campagne-online.com/registrant/donate.aspx?EventID=2927&LangPref=en-CA
To make matters worse, pro-nuclear Senators—including Lieberman and Warner themselves—are planning to introduce numerous amendments on the Senate floor to provide additional support for the nuclear industry. They’re planning on including everything from more loan guarantees and other subsidies for new reactors, to setting up an “interim” high-level waste storage site, to forcing the opening of Yucca Mountain.
Our allies at Friends of the Earth have taken the lead on challenging the current Lieberman/Warner bill. You can find their factsheets on the bill at http://action.foe.org/content.jsp?content_KEY=3723&t=Lieberman_Warner.dwt.
Want to learn more about how to attain a carbon-free, nuclear-free energy future? Check out the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research website at http://www.ieer.org/
Don’t wait until the Lieberman/Warner bill reaches the Senate floor to act; by then, many Senators will already have made up their minds. Start now by contacting your Senators and organizing among your friends, colleagues, your group’s members, everywhere you can, to bring our pro-climate, anti-nuclear message to Capitol Hill.
We know many of you have been contributing to various presidential candidates, and we support that, of course. And the candidates have certainly been raising a lot of money. But don’t forget that a president can’t do it all: NIRS exists to represent you in Washington and across the country on the sustainable energy issues that matter so much. Just 1% of what the Democratic candidates have spent over the past few months would meet NIRS’ budget needs for more than a year.
This is NIRS’ 30th anniversary year: we’ve been here for you for 30 years now; help us kick off our next 30 years, and our work to build a nuclear-free, carbon-free energy future, with your most generous contribution possible. Please donate at https://secure.campagne-online.com/registrant/donate.aspx?EventID=2927&LangPref=en-CA
Don’t forget to call your Senators! Thank you for all your support and activism,
Michael Mariotte
Executive Director
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
p.s. and look for a new NIRS Alert soon on taxpayer loan guarantees for new reactor construction. Hint: there is going to have to be another vote on them this year, we can stop them!
LATE BREAKING NEWS: We just got in word that the NRC has suspended the license application process for NRG’s South Texas Nuclear Project! The order is at http://www.nirs.org/nukerelapse/stexas/stporder2-13-08.pdf. Last Friday, four groups (NIRS, SEED Coalition, Sierra Club, Beyond Nuclear) filed a motion with NRC to suspend the proceeding because of the company’s incomplete license application. While NRC says this renders our filing moot, it’s pretty clear that they just didn’t want to directly answer it, which can be found along with exhibits at http://www.nirs.org/nukerelapse/stexas/stexashome.htm.
1/3/08
GROUPS FILE PETITION TO HALT NRC “CUT AND PASTE” RELICENSING TACTIC
Dear Friends:
Below is a press release about an important legal petition filed today with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by NIRS and eight other environmental groups. We are asking the NRC to halt the nuclear reactor license renewal process based on the agency’s failure to identify safety-related issues, its acceptance without investigation of utility assertions, and other problems identified by the agency’s Inspector General.
The formatted press release and entire filing are available on the front page of NIRS’ website, www.nirs.org.
YOU CAN GET INVOLVED AND HELP! We want to get broad attention and political support for this petition. Please bring it to the attention of your local media and to your Congressmembers, and ask them to issue a statement of support for this initiative and a halt to the NRC’s reactor licensing process.
While the petition, for legal reasons, is limited to Oyster Creek, Indian Point, Pilgrim and Vermont Yankee, it is our hope that its ramifications will be felt in every license renewal action from now on.
Please contact Michael Mariotte or Aja Binette at NIRS, 202.328.0002, nirsnet@nirs.org, if you’d like any more information on how you can help.
As always, thank you for everything you do.
And here’s to a 2008 that brings us closer to a sustainable, nuclear-free future.
Michael Mariotte
Executive Director
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 3, 2008
CONTACT:
Richard Webster, Eastern Environmental Law Center, 973-353-3189
Janet Tauro, Stop the Relicensing of Oyster Creek, 732-295-3874
Peggy Sturmfels, NJ Environmental Federation 732-280-8990
Renee Cho, Riverkeeper 914-478-4501, ext. 239
GROUPS FILE PETITION TO HALT NRC “CUT AND PASTE” RELICENSING TACTICS
NRC Failures Threaten Public Health and Safety
OCEAN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY: In response to a scathing review by a federal investigatory agency, Stop the Relicensing of Oyster Creek (STROC), a coalition of six environmental and citizen’s groups, has teamed with Riverkeeper today to petition the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to halt the license renewal process for America’s aging fleet of nuclear power plants until objective and independent analysis is conducted into the current licensing renewal process. Pilgrim Watch and New England Coalition, the only other groups that are currently challenging license renewals, join STROC and Riverkeeper.
This petition is in direct response to a Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Inspector General (OIG) audit in September 2007 that found:
1) In over 70% of the audited plant renewals the NRC staff did not verity the authenticity of technical safety information submitted by nuclear power plant operators; and
2) NRC staff reviewers routinely “cut and pasted” whole sections of the renewal application text into their own safety reviews, rather than write their own evaluations.
3) The NRC had no procedures in place to check whether the safety reviews were done properly.
At one plant in New York State, the Inspector General found that NRC staff had copied 100% of the safety review data provided by the nuclear operator into its own application.
STROC, a coalition of six environmental and citizen groups, is battling to prevent the 20-year extension of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant, the country’s oldest and with the worst safety record. Investigators from the OIG uncovered that over 70% of Oyster Creek’s safety evaluation was “unsubstantiated” by NRC staff. The Atomic Safety Licensing Board (ASLB) ruled on the challenge to Oyster Creek’s license renewal on December 20. Despite one of the three-panel judges finding that Exelon has not fully met the requirements to show it complied with the minimum safety standards, the panel decided to allow the license procedure to proceed. To date, STROC is the only group in the country to have won a hearing before the ASLB.
Richard Webster of the Eastern Environmental Law Center, the attorney representing STROC stated: “The OIG report confirms that the deficiencies we found throughout the hearing process for Oyster Creek were only the tip of the iceberg. The NRC is illegally allowing licensees to write their own safety evaluations. So far, the relicensing process has been a conveyor belt to a rubber stamp, not a proper safety review.”
“You would think a relicensing inspection for a nuclear power plant would be at least as thorough as the house inspection you get when you purchase a home,’ said STROC member Paula Gotsch. “My inspector tested equipment and systems carefully--himself. Here you have a federal agency, the NRC, content to just shuffle papers. It’s truly mind boggling.”
Peggi Sturmfels, also a STROC member, said the report demands Congressional review. “The NRC is an agency in need of Congressional overhaul, and if this OIG report doesn’t prove that, nothing short of a nuclear meltdown will.”
“I don’t know how the NRC is going to wiggle its way out of this one,” says Janet Tauro, of STROC. “We now have a federal investigatory agency saying that the NRC reviews are shoddy and without legitimacy. There can be no relicensings until this agency is fixed.”
Across the Hudson River, Entergy Nuclear Northeast submitted its application for a 20-year license extension of the Indian Point nuclear power plant. Riverkeeper and the State of New York have petitioned to intervene in the licensing proceedings.
“For years, Riverkeeper has been gravely concerned with the NRC’s lackluster approach to regulating the nuclear industry,” notes Lisa Rainwater, Riverkeeper’s Policy Director. “The infamous revolving door syndrome of the nuclear industry is the underlying cause of this grave problem. Backslapping industry and agency officials swap safety review data just as readily as they swap jobs. The time has come to put a wedge in the swinging door.”
The group’s petition demands that the NRC suspend all current license renewal proceedings pending completion of the following actions:
* A comprehensive, independent investigation to determine whether NRC staff are actually conducting independent technical reviews of license renewal applications or merely “cutting and pasting” whole sections of the applications into their safety reviews or approving them without independent verification.
* Complete revision of existing NRC procedures for license renewal reviews to ensure completeness, consistency, and documentation of review by NRC staff prior to license renewal;
*Establishment of a Quality Assurance program for NRC staff review of renewal applications.
*Redoing the safety reviews for pending license renewals, the reviews done so far are obviously inadequate.
“The OIG report makes it clear that the current NRC license renewal process is a failure and must be completely re-evaluated before another plant is relicensed,” states Phillip Musegaas, Riverkeeper staff attorney. “The Indian Point license renewal process has just gotten underway. The 20 million people who live in the shadow of Indian Point deserve a federal agency that does more than cut and paste with their health and safety.”
Riverkeeper co-petitioned with STROC’s six member groups; New Jersey Environmental Federation, Nuclear Information & Resource Service, New Jersey Sierra Club, NJ Public Interest Research Group, Jersey Shore Nuclear Watch, and Grandmothers, Mothers, and More (GRAMMES) for Energy Safety.
The petition can be found at: www.nirs.org.
12/25/07
No Nukes Jingles from IPSEC
And for music lovers and Christmas carolers, reprinted below is the IPSEC Holiday Songbook, a sonorous seasonal expression of our overflowing joy about having the Indian Point nuclear plant in our very own backyard.
Michel
Michel Lee, Esq.
Steering Committee
Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition
The Indian Point Holiday Songbook
(Tune: “Jingle Bell Rock”)
Nuclear, Nuclear, Nuclear Waste
Nuclear, nuclear, nuclear waste
It blows in the air
It blows in your face
Tritiated water
Makes a great baste
It’s just nuclear
It’s just nuclear
It’s just nuclear waste
What a bright dump
It’s the right dump
For the bank of the Hudson River
An alpha particle
Is the right particle
To ingest in your liver
Nuclear, nuclear, nuclear waste
Put it in casks
There’s no other place
The spent fuel pools
Have run out of space
For the nuclear
All the nuclear
For the nuclear waste
Plutonium the Red-Nosed Reindeer (First version)
You know Uranium and Strontium
And Barium and Cesium
Krypton and Xenon
And Cobalt and Tritium
But do you recall
The most deadly radionuclide of them all?
Plutonium Two Three Eight
Has a very shiny nose
And if you ever saw it
You’d be fatally exposed
All the gamma ra-ays
Used to laugh at P u and say
We can penetrate concrete
You can’t even get through hay
Then one foggy Christmas Eve
Half-a-million years from today
Plutonium will shout out with glee
I’m still toxic! Look at me!
Tho it’s hard to be-lieve
The following fact is true:
If Ancient Roman had a nuclear plant
Its Plutonium could still kill you.
(Tune: “Have a Holly Jolly K-I Pill”)
Have a Holly Jolly K-I Pill
Have a holly jolly K-I pill
At the ready throughout the year
I don’t know
If Indian Point will blow
But it’s better to have K-I near
Have a holly jolly K-I pill
And when you walk down the street
Say hello to friends you know
And give K-I to all you meet
Oh ho radiation could blow
With poisons you cannot see
But you can protect your thyroid at least
With this simple remedy
Have a holly jolly K-I pill
And in case you didn’t hear
Change your family’s supply
Of this iodide
Every 5 year
(Tune: “Santa Clause is Coming to Town” )
Entergy Must Shut This Plant Down
You better rethink
You better recant
You better shut down this nuclear plant
Shut down Indian Point, right now
You better get off
The nuclear course
And switch to a safer energy source
Shut down Indian Point, right now
You can’t evacuate us
If the plant melts down
Or save us from the poison rain
Of fallout all around
You better think hard
Consider your lives
Your parents and kids and husbands and wives
Shut down Indian Point, right now
You better come out
You better not hide
You better come hear the citizen’s cry
Shut Indian Point
Shut Indian Point
Shut down Indian Point, right now
(Tune: “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree”)
Rocking Around the Reactor Core
Rocking around the reactor core
At the Indian Point power plant
Nuke waste lovers just adore
The nuclear power plant
Rocking around the reactor core
At the Indian Point power plant
Nuke waste lovers just adore
The nuclear power plant
A new nuke dump is being built
To hold the overflow
The spent fuel pool is so tightly packed
The water is aglow
You will get a sentimental feeling when you hear
The NRC saying
Just keep a praying
For 20 more year
Rocking around the reactor core
Have a radioactive day
Everyone fleeing hysterically
When the core starts to melt away!
(Also sung to “Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer” - avoid singing the two songs consecutively)
On the Banks of the Hudson River
On the banks of the Hudson River
Radioactive waste descends
Throughout the Hudson Valley
Shut it down and it will end
Every day of its operation
Indian Point makes toxic streams
Don’t let the Nuke Commission
Threaten all our future dreams
The region’s first responders say
The escape plan isn’t right
Evacuation’s impossible
Especially at night
We hate Entergy’s pollution
We don’t want to live in fear
We know there’s no solution
For about a million years
Out of love of living
And all humanity
We can’t allow this nuke plant
Doom us to its legacy
(Tune: “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”)
Protect Us From This Evil Waste
Protect us from this evil waste
It’s time to show you care
Act now before a meltdown brings
Disaster and despair
And mortgages - if we live - to pay
Would leave our wallets bare
That’s no tiding of comfort or joy
Comfort or joy
That’s no tiding of comfort or joy
Protect us from this undue threat
Just look and you will find
Your Homeowners excludes nuclear
Events of any kind
You’ll be left destitute
But Entergy doesn’t mind
That’s no tiding of comfort or joy
Comfort or joy
That’s no tiding of comfort or joy
Protect us from this evil waste
Just look and you will find
That toxic waste from fission is
An awful thing to mind
It poisons our environment
For such a long, long time
That’s no tiding of comfort or joy
Comfort or joy
That’s no tiding of comfort or joy
(Tune: "Let it Snow" )
Let it Glow
The evacuation plan is frightful
But the profits are so delightful
And since we have no place to go
Let us glow let us glow let us glow!
When the sirens don’t work we worry
But there’s really no need to hurry
Since we have no place to go
Let us glow let us glow let us glow!
When it’s finally sealed up tight
Our homes will still be warm
And we’ll peacefully sleep at night
Like the people who shut Shoreham
Though the plants are old and dying
The operator is not good-byeing
Entergy just loves the dough
Let us glow let us glow let us glow!
(Tune: “Christmastime is Coming Again”)
Indian Point is Leaking Again
You wanna sleep nice
You wanna dream sweet
But the Geiger counter is going beep beep
Indian Point is leaking again
Sirens are failing
Repeated tests
Some of them malfunctioned
Because of birds nests
Indian Point is leaking again
Tritium’s in the water
The Hudson’s beginning to glow
Cesium isn’t where it oughta be
And Strontium’s mixed in the snow
It’s dripping from pools
Coming thru cracks
Heading to the river
For your coffee and snacks
Indian Point is leaking again
(Tune: Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel)
Nuke Waste, Nuke Waste, Nuke Waste
Oh nuke waste, nuke waste, nuke waste
I made it out of uranium
And when it comes out of the reactor
It’ll last for many a millennium
Oh nuke waste, nuke waste, nuke waste
I made it out of uranium
And when it comes out of the reactor
It’ll last for many a millennium
We have a little nuke plant
We wish would go away
But they don't want to close it
They think it still can pay
Close it close it close it
Please make it go away
Close it close it close it
So we can dance and play
(Tune: “Winter WonderlandJ T)
This one was written especially for NRC officials to sing
An NRC Fantasy Land
Spent fuel pools, are a leaking
Warning sirens, ain’t a sounding
But we’re strolling along
Whistling a song
Living in NRC fantasy land
Gone away - real oversight
Here to stay - a nuclear fright
And we’re strolling along
Whistling a song
Living in NRC fantasy land
You say terrorism is something to consider
In a post 9/11 world
We say IP makes Entergy richer
With profits so big shareholders twirl
Backup generators, are a failing
Sump pumps, are a ailing
Fireproofing material
That’s quite ethereal
Who cares? We live in fantasy land!
Security guards asleep on duty
Well, that’s A-OK
We don’t really give a hootie
Since no terrorists attacked that day
Indian Point, is a aging
Nuclear fire, could be a raging
But we don’t care
We don’t live near there
We’re living in NRC fantasy land
Living in NRC fantasy land
Living in NRC fantasy land
(Tune: “We Wish You a Merry Christmas)
We Wish You Would Shut the Nuke Plant
We wish you would shut the nuke plant
We wish you would shut the nuke plant
We wish you would shut the nuke plant
For a Happy New Year
Petitions we bring
To you NRC
We wish you would shut the nuke plant
For a Happy New Year
We want some solar power
We want geothermal systems
We’d love to see some windmills
Please bring them all here!
Clean energy we'd bring
To you and your kin
Clean energy for Christmas
And every future year
We want leaders who will get some
We want leaders who will get some
We want leaders who will get some
Clean energy here!
(Tune: “The 12 Days of Christmas”)
The 12 Days of Nukemess
On the first day of Nukemess
Entergy sent to me:
A mountain of nuclear waste
On the second day of Nukemess
Entergy sent to me:
Two old reactors
And a mountain of nuclear waste
On the third day of Nukemess
Entergy sent to me:
No escape plan
Two old reactors
And a mountain of nuclear waste
On the fourth day of Nukemess
Entergy sent to me:
Bad fireproofing
No escape plan
Two old reactors
And a mountain of nuclear waste
On the fifth day of Nukemess
Entergy sent to me:
Many whistleblowers
Bad fireproofing
No escape plan
Two old reactors
And a mountain of nuclear waste
On the sixth day of Nukemess
Entergy sent to me:
Sirens not a working
Many whistleblowers
Bad fireproofing
No escape plan
Two old reactors
And a mountain of nuclear waste
On the seventh day of Nukemess
Entergy sent to me:
Radiation leaking
Sirens not a working
Many whistleblowers
Bad fireproofing
No escape plan
Two old reactors
And a mountain of nuclear waste
On the eighth day of Nukemess
Entergy sent to me:
Pumps a clogging
Radiation leaking
Sirens not a sounding
Many whistleblowers
Bad fireproofing
No escape plan
Two old reactors
And a mountain of nuclear waste
On the ninth day of Nukemess
Entergy sent to me:
Generators failing
Pumps a clogging
Radiation leaking
Sirens not a sounding
Many whistleblowers
Bad fireproofing
No escape plan
Two old reactors
And a mountain of nuclear waste
On the tenth day of Nukemess
Entergy sent to me:
Guards found a sleeping
Generators failing
Pumps a clogging
Radiation leaking
Sirens not a sounding
Many whistleblowers
Bad fireproofing
No escape plan
Two old reactors
And a mountain of nuclear waste
On the eleventh day of Nukemess
Entergy sent to me
A coolant pump shutting
Guards found a sleeping
Generators failing
Pumps a clogging
Radiation leaking
Sirens not a sounding
Many whistleblowers
Bad fireproofing
No escape plan
Two old reactors
And a mountain of nuclear waste
On the twelfth day of Nukemess
Entergy gave to me:
An accident waiting to happen
A coolant pump shutting
Guards found a sleeping
Generators failing
Pumps a clogging
Radiation leaking
Sirens not a sounding
Many whistleblowers
Bad fireproofing
No escape plan
Two old reactors
And a mountain of nuclear waste
(Tune: “Auld Lang Syne”)
Naught on Line
Should Indian Point be shut at last
And no more brought on line
At least we’d halt creation now
Of waste that outlasts time
We’d end the hazard of the dome
No threat inside there’d be
And we could then light our home
With clean safe energy
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