The owner did not report the full extent of the leaks to NRC or to the public until late 2005 after tritium was found in an off-site private well. Both NRC and the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), a trade association, have begun investigations to determine whether other plants among the nation's 103 commercial nuclear reactors may have similar problems.
by Jeff Johnson | June 26, 2006
COURTESY OF USAF A new study of perchlorate by the National Research Council (NRC) sets a safe daily dose for human ingestion, which could help resolve an interagency conflict over a drinking water standard for the chemical. Accompanying release of the report, however, are charges by a mainstream environmental group that the White House tried to exert undue influence on NRC's interpretations of the scientific evidence.
by CHERYL HOGUE | January 17, 2005
Accompanying release of the report, however, are charges by a mainstream environmental group that the White House tried to exert undue influence on NRC's interpretations of the scientific evidence. The safe dose, the NRC report says, is 0.7 µg per kg of body weight per day. The figure includes a safety factor to protect those people most vulnerable to perchlorate's effects: unborn children being carried by women who have iodide-deficient diets or whose bodies don't make enough thyroid hormone.
by Cheryl Hogue | January 17, 2005
—A Nuclear Meltdown “Government: Sparks fly among NRC commissioners” Commissioners of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have accused Chairman Gregory B. Jaczko of bullying and abusive behavior. The deep divisions among NRC’s four commissioners and its chairman were on display last week when all five appeared before committees of the House of Representatives and of the Senate.
by Jeff Johnson | December 19, 2011
As retirements near, NRC’s oversight of the trust funds becomes paramount. Last year, a review by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, challenged NRC’s formula for determining the size of funds. The GAO report charges that the formula lacks detail and transparency, and in a sample of power plant savings programs, the report found NRC’s formula may underestimate cleanup costs. GAO investigated 12 reactors’ trust funds, comparing company-prepared site-specific decommissioning cost estimates to NRC’s formula. For nine reactors, NRC’s formula resulted in funds below the companies’ estimates. In one case, a company believed it needed $836 million, which was $362 million more than NRC’s formula figure. GAO also noted NRC’s funding formula was more than 30 years old. NRC agrees with some of the report’s recommendations but notes that the decommissioning formula is just one of many inputs into NRC’s regulatory system to oversee the trust funds. NRC stresses that it assumes the trusts will grow over time and that market fluctuations will even out over the lifetime of a nuclear power plant.
by Jeff Johnson | April 01, 2013
The National Academy of Sciences was to conduct the study for NRC and was in the early phases of developing a methodology and applying it at seven reactor sites. The pilot program would take 39 months and cost $8 million, and the complete study could take until 2025 with “excessive costs,” NRC says. The academy offered a scaled-back version, but NRC says the alternative was too limited and canceled the program. Instead, NRC says it will monitor health studies, “if relevant.” Environmental and scientific critics, such as the Union of Concerned Scientists and Beyond Nuclear, oppose NRC’s decision, saying European studies have raised flags about cancer incidents near plants.
by Jeff Johnson | September 14, 2015
I experienced a situation where NRC took no action to correct errors in nuclear fuel rod cladding texture data that went undetected for years (Allegation No. NRR-1999-A-0057). If fuel rod cladding texture is wrong, cladding stress-corrosion cracking increases. However, in its assessment, NRC disregarded explicit written cautions from industrial users that defects in this type of data risked significant radiological hazard.
March 21, 2011
The reactor has been shut down since February 2002, when NRC learned that corrosion had nearly eaten through the reactor vessel head. The result could have been a loss-of-coolant accident and a possible core meltdown. The corrosion was due to years of leakage from the reactor's primary coolant system, and although the owner/operator, FirstEnergy, was required to inspect and report on possible vessel head problems, the company did not do so. NRC was kept in the dark about the extent of the damage until it was revealed by a routine inspection. The incident generated a damning review of the company's and NRC's inspection protocols (C&EN, May 12, 2003, page 27). So far, FirstEnergy has avoided any enforcement action resulting from false reports it filed with NRC. NRC regional staff say an investigation is ongoing and there is legal action pending before the Department of Justice and the state attorney general. NRC says some 80 inspectors have overseen the repairs and three resident inspectors have been assigned to the plant during start-up procedures. /articles/82/i11/Troubled-Ohio-nuclear-power-plant.html 20040315 Concentrates 82 11 /magazine/82/8211.html Troubled Ohio nuclear power plant to reopen con govpol safety Troubled Ohio nuclear power plant to reopen Chemical & Engineering News Troubled Ohio nuclear power plant to reopen Troubled Ohio nuclear power plant to reopen
March 15, 2004
When approving the license, NRC used a new streamlined system that issues nuclear reactor construction and operating licenses together. Also speeding the process was NRC’s preapproval of Southern’s proposed use of an AP1000 pressurized-water reactor design. AP1000 uses passive safety features that would cool the reactor after an accident without the need for electricity or human intervention, the agency says. The license was issued on a 4-1 commission vote, with NRC Chairman Gregory B. Jaczko being the lone dissenter. Jaczko sought to include specific license provisions requiring Southern to implement safety reforms that are likely to stem from NRC’s review of the failures that contributed to Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant meltdown. The four other commissioners disagreed, saying that Southern would be required to comply with safety reforms that may result from the NRC review through its license. Several U.S. senators, mostly from Western states, have urged NRC to speed up its review of the Fukushima incident and quickly implement tougher construction requirements that might result.
by Jeff Johnson | February 20, 2012