The back story of author Abby Luby

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By Abby Luby

Buchanan, New York  – - Several fire safety practices at the Indian Point Nuclear power plants would be ineffective in detecting and extinguishing a fire, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Last week the federal agency denied the plant’s request to be exempt from updating certain fire safety regulations because of potential dangers and risks posed by several of the plant’s non compliant fire safety measures.  Of the 50 exemption requests, 42 were turned down.

“The new requirements state that the company has to have a means [to extinguish fires] that don’t involve operators having to go to where the fire is,” said NRC spokesperson Neil Sheehan.

Fire safety regulations have been a serious issue at nuclear power plants since 1975 when a significant fire at the Browns Ferry nuclear reactor in Alabama disabled and ate through hundreds of electric cables running safety systems that could allow operators to control the reactor in an emergency and shut it down if necessary.

In 2000 the NRC began inspecting nuclear power plants for inappropriate fire protection systems and procedures and found many plants relied on their work force to manually respond to fires. In 2006 the NRC updated their fire protection regulations and required plants to comply with the new fire safety procedures by 2009. Compliance required automatic detection and suppression of fires.

In a 98-page letter of February 1, 2012 in which the NRC denied Indian Point owner Entergy exemption requests, numerous non-compliant “fire zones” at the plant were cited that currently required plant workers to manually respond to a fire. For example, one particular zone included a control room, turbine building, superheater building, nuclear service building, chemical systems building and administration building. Combustibles in this particular zone were in “cable insulation, lube oil, vinyl insulation, and hydrogen,” and that “transient combustibles in this zone consist of trash, cardboard drums, lube oil, fiberglass ladders, paint, and radiation boundaries.”

According to Sheehan, there are 350 fire zones at Indian Point. “This is a typical number for these types of reactors. However, plant owners are free to define what they consider a fire zone, so the numbers can vary.”

Entergy spokesperson Jerry Nappi said Indian Point conducts fire watches on an hourly basis and on an ‘as-needed’ basis for areas that are undergoing work. Nappi also said the plant had a trained fire brigade of about 100 members.

“This is not a volunteer position but a requirement. They undergo training at an accredited fire training academy offsite prior to being able to stand watch or begin working in the plant. They also undergo annual re-qualification training and periodic drills throughout the year.”

Although there is no fire truck on site, Nappi said there is a large volume of designated water for fires stored in several tanks which is more than the amount of water contained in a fire truck. Overall Nappi added that “the plant has several installed fixed suppression systems including foam systems, and fire water systems covering all areas of the plant. Fire water systems support sprinklers, hydrants, and hose stations.”

Denying exemptions is rare for the NRC. According to audits by the federal Government Accounting Office and the NRC’s own Inspector General, between 1982 and 2001 the NRC handed out 900 exemptions from the fire safety regulations to nuclear power plants across the country. It’s unknown how many exemptions the NRC granted from 2001 to 2011. In 2007 the NRC granted an exemption to Indian Point that allowed them to use a lower quality fire resistant material known as Hemyc which resists fire for only 24 minutes, a period of time critics claimed wouldn’t be long enough to catch and contain a fire in an area that was monitored hourly.

Allowing Indian Point to use Hemyc exposed the exemption process for being non-transparent and secretive, where the exchange between the NRC and power plant owners excludes the public. Challenging the legality of the Hemyc exemption in 2009 was Richard Brodsky. The former New York assemblyman sued the NRC claiming the practice of exempting nuclear plants from binding safety requirements was illegal.  Brodsky claimed that “Rather than require Entergy to upgrade the insulation to meet its own requirements, the NRC in complete secrecy with no public announcement, no public participation, and no public hearing, granted Entergy an exemption.” The case is still pending in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York. Co-plantiffs are the Atlantic Chapter of the Sierra Club.

The NRC’s rejection of Indian Point’s exemption requests was applauded by New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman who saw the action supporting his own petition submitted to the NRC last March urging the federal agency to take enforcement action against Indian Point for “continued failure to comply with federal fire safety regulations established to keep plants secure in an emergency.” The petition is still pending.  Both Schneiderman and Governor Andrew Cuomo have been active in opposing Indian Point’s application for a 20-year extension of the plants’ operating licenses.

In a press release last week Schneiderman said “The NRC should be commended for its action on this matter. However, many basic questions still remain regarding the safety of Indian Point and the security of the 17 million people who live and work in close proximity to the nuclear plant. We will continue to use the full force of this office to push the NRC to fully evaluate — and ensure –Indian Point’s safety.”

Indian Point has 30 days to respond to the NRC’s letter.  Entergy spokesperson Jim Steets said costs to upgrade the fire safety systems won’t be significant.

“We spent $70 million on maintenance and depending on how long it takes to install a new system, the cost will be absorbed in the maintenance budget. We originally thought we could accomplish the same [fire safety practices] to avoid lengthy development and the review process. You don’t want to spend money you don’t need to spend.”

The second half of this excerpt is based on a radioactive groundwater leak discovered at Indian Point in 2005. The leak was from a crack in the unit 2 spent fuel pool and tested positive for high levels for strontium 90 and tritium. (photo courtesy of Riverkeeper)

Excerpt 7

When he got to the high school, throngs of kids and parents had crammed into the gym. The popular team was one of the best in the area and promised an exciting game to a hyped crowd. Lou found the staff photographer who would later shoot a picture of the kids getting awards, an image that later would be ubiquitously cut out of the paper and framed by several proud parents.

As he watched the first half of the game, his eye kept drifting to the ads for ALLPower. In two-foot-high letters their motto screamed out, “Your Power Plant: Safe, Essential, Local.” Lou thought about the cryptic phone call from the unnamed woman who insinuated that Kaylee’s death might have something to do with the plant.

At halftime, when the awards were announced, Lou barreled over to the small makeshift platform to interview the lucky kids and their parents. Holding two gold trophies was a beaming Bob Stalinsky. He leaned into the microphone and sharply cleared his throat, a signal for fans to hush.

“Aren’t these kids the greatest?” he sang out.

Applause. Cheers.

“We at ALLPower think they should be awarded with these!” Bob waved shiny gold trophies in the air. More applause.

“And although these are pretty to look at, these kids also need the green stuff to get them to college!”

He handed the two players the trophies and pulled two checks out of his suit pocket. The crowd loved it.

Lou edged in to interview the kids and their parents, who were thrilled to claim their minute of fame. When he was done, Bob sidled over to him.

“Hi. I’m Bob Stalinsky with ALLPower. Great that you’re covering this, Mr. Padera. These kids are the best, aren’t they?”

“They are. Can I ask you a few questions, Mr. Stalinsky?”

“Hey, call me Bob.”

“How long has ALLPower been giving these awards and how much do you actually give each kid?”

“We’ve been doing this for years. Can’t really say when it started—it was way before I began working for the company. It’s our way of appreciating the community and being a good neighbor.”

“Yeah. And how much do the kids get?”

Bob pulled a tiny bottle of antibiotic hand gel out of his pocket, and a sharp whiff of lemon stung the air.

“Altogether, we give students tens of thousands every year. ALLPower is a very generous company, Mr. Padera.”

“Right. But how much were the checks you gave out tonight?”

“Oh.” Bob scratched his chin. “Well, those were small awards compared to what we usually give.”

“How much?”

“A thousand. Each.”

Lou jotted a few notes down. A question lurked, not about the trophies. Before Lou could switch gears and muster a question about the plant, Bob leaned in to him.

“By the way, that was some story you wrote about the little girl. Touching piece. Really. Got my heartstrings. Poor thing.”

“Oh, thanks. Actually, can I ask you something about the plant, Bob?”

“Sure. Anything.”

“Is there any chance that something leaked into the river that could have made that little girl sick?”

Bob’s smile faded as if he had peeled off a mask. He assumed his corporate role, primping for an earnest-sounding answer.

“Absolutely not. We’re monitoring the plant all the time. You should come and take a tour of the place, see how safe it is.”

Bob reached into his pocket, pulled out a business card and handed it to Lou.

“I can set up a special plant tour for you any time. Just give me a call, Mr. Padera.

“I just may do that. And you can call me Lou.”

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - -

It looked like a small stream bubbling up from underground. Six construction workers peered down at the small, unexpected geyser that gushed out right after a backhoe accidentally gauged out a chunk of earth. Hurriedly a phone call was made, and an NRC inspector was on his way.

From the muddied ditch, the foreman looked up at the pristine, ALLPower glass tower, hoping the pause in ground activity wouldn’t be noticed by a random executive surveying from the comfort of an air-conditioned office.

The men had been working for the better part of the day, digging down into the ground to shore up the foundation of the transformer building. The dig wasn’t anywhere near the vast infrastructure of thousands of underground pipes. So where was this water coming from? And was it radioactive?

Two hours later Bob Stalinsky was staring woefully down at the pit. The inspector said there was a good chance the leak was radioactive, but just how much? Tests would be run to make sure. Worse, the source of the leak was unknown. Bob dragged back to his office. There were a few ways he could play this thing.

As the group dispersed, Larry Hines lingered at the far end of the ditch. He pretty much knew every inch of the intricate underground network, which pipes were the oldest, which ones couldn’t be reached or monitored. Some might be rusted, and you’d never know it. His eye ran an imaginary line from the ditch to where he estimated the old fuel pool was, where spent fuel was stored for the oldest reactor that had been closed for decades. That’s the culprit, I bet, he thought. But tracing it would be difficult, time consuming, and expensive. Because it could get worse, Larry felt obligated to share his thoughts with the powers that be. He would urge them to check out every possibility.

Back up in his office, Bob worked on his PR game plan and talking points for his boss, Mike O’Brien. Public officials would have to be alerted and a press conference called, soon—maybe within twenty-four hours. The company had to sound responsible, honest, and upfront. Bob would make sure Mike had the key words down—words of assurance—that the leak was contained, and there was nothing to worry about.

He tried to keep O’Brien’s comments short and easy to remember. The man’s true passion was out on the fairway with a five-iron, and when it came to speaking to the press, he was known for rattling off plausible facts that were difficult to substantiate. For now, the leak would be played down. The NRC would issue a press release late on Friday, a time that newsrooms were winding down or closed for the weekend. The report would be lost at the bottom of the pile by Monday.

Although they were the federal oversight agency, Bob knew the NRC wouldn’t nag the company about the leak. In fact, the federal agency was more friend than foe. No matter what went wrong at the plant, the NRC would issue its own public statement acknowledging the situation. If it was something really bad, they might slap ALLPower with a fine. But the fines were minimal, never over $50,000, which hardly made a dent in the multibillion-dollar corporation’s revenue base.

In fact, the feds were more an asset and less a regulator. The NRC was autonomous, and the only way to change their lofty status was by a vote in Congress, a process that takes years and the right political climate.

Right now, everything was very cozy. If ALLPower failed an inspection, the NRC would lower their safety rating a notch and demand they get their act together. The company, wise to this charade, promised timely repairs, adding exponentially to the backlogged fix-it list. Bob would diligently issue press releases, dumbing down a complicated problem and reiterating that the plant was a safe, reliable source of much-needed electricity.

It was all about keeping the business looking good and the shareholders happy. The two working reactors on the shores of theHudson Riverraked in over one million dollars a day from selling electricity. It would be a big loss if the plant was ever forced to shut down.

Jan.19, 2012  pgs. 10-11

www.westchesterguardian.com

     Life without Indian Point?

By Abby Luby

New York City - – In a          landmark public hearing last Thursday, state lawmakers listened to testimony on the potential effects of closing down the Indian Point nuclear power plants just 24 miles north of the city. In a public hearing that lasted most of the day here in lower Manhattan, the New York State Assembly Committee on Energy heard from regulatory and utility brass who support the continued operation of the twin reactors in Buchanan and from experts who want to shutter the 40 year old twin reactors.

The hearing room was filled to capacity. More than 16 Assembly members sat on the panel led by Assemblyman Kevin A. Cahill, Chairman of the Committee on Energy, and Assemblyman James F. Brennan. Testimony, which was by invitation only, was heard from the New York Independent System Operators (NYISO), Con Ed, New York Public Service Commission, Synapse, an energy consulting firm, Indian Point owner Entergy and others. Environmental groups such as Clearwater and Riverkeeper were not invited to speak, but the panel encouraged the groups and the public to submit written testimony.

Would closing Indian Point impact the state’s economy and electrical system? And how can we tap into the surplus electricity being generated by facilities in upstate New York, electricity that could replace Indian Point’s output?

Prohibiting the flow of needed electricity to the southern part of New York and to New York City is known as “transmission congestion.”

“The last transmission upgrade was in 1987,” Brennan told NYISO Chief Operating Officer, Rick Gonzalez. “We’ve been talking about upgrades for decades. Why is it taking so long?”

“This issue is the cost allocations,” said Gonzalez. “Who will pay for the upgrades?” Gonzalez said NYISO used a model study that looked at a generic solution to congestion where the cost ratio benefits were greater than one. “In general, the beneficiaries [rate payers] would have to pay for the upgrade.”

NYISO oversees and operates New York’s electricity grid and plans for future energy needs of the state. Brennan pressed Gonzalez on how to get power downstate.

“What could we do more quickly to lessen transmission congestion?”  Gonzalez mentioned a few programs NYISO was considering to augment the existing transmission system. “It would get us 300 megawatts,” he said.

At times panel members seemed to bartering for more electricity to replace the 2000 megawatts produced by Indian Point.

Of the current projects geared to bring additional power to New York City, some are already have the green light, others are in the approval process. The already approved Hudson Transmission Line is expected to bring 660 megawatts from New Jersey to Manhattan. The completion date is 2013. Pending is the Cross Hudson Line which will offer 800 megawatts from New Jersey to Manhattan. Other pending proposals to build 1000 megawatt transmission lines from upstate New York or Canada include the Champlain Hudson Cable, New York Power Pathway, and the West Point Transmission Line.

Gonzalez warned that replacement resources must be in place before closing Indian Point. “Failure to do that will have serious reliability consequences and an increase in rolling blackouts.”

Verbal sparring about the reliability of electricity produced by Indian Point to the plant’s safety reliability was initiated by Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee from Rockland. Jaffee intoned a history of accidental shutdowns at Indian Point, including the most recent shutdown last Monday from a broken pump seal at Unit 2.

“Given an aging plant and its shutdowns, how can you suggest that Indian Point is a reliable source of energy?” asked Jaffee, who received a round of applause.

“My reliability statement is focused on grid reliability, not the reliability of the plant,” said Gonzalez.

Jaffee referred to the disaster last year at the nuclear power plants in Fukushima, where a major earthquake and tsunami caused the destruction of four plants resulting in a core meltdown and the large release of radiation. “I question whether Indian Point is reliable or safe, especially in light of what happened in Japan,” she said.

Gonzalez was questioned for over an hour, a terse exchange at times only to be ironically interrupted by the lights going out for no apparent reason, garnering a moment of humor in the proceedings.

Activists made their voice heard during a break and chanted the benefits of closing Indian Point. Lead by Luna Scarano, an activist from the Occupy Wall Street environmental group, numerous anti nuclear activists echoed Scarano’s shouted words admonishing the plant for threatening the lives of 20 million people who wouldn’t be able to evacuate in case of an serious accident at Indian Point.

Indian Point 2 produces 1,028 megawatts of electricity and Indian Point 3 produces 1,041 megawatts. Currently Con Edison, who purchases 350 megawatts of electricity from Entergy, transmits between a total of 9,000 and 13,000 megawatts of electricity to New York City and Westchester during daily peak periods.  Joseph Oates, Con Edison’s vice president of energy management told the panel that on the hottest summer day, if the plant wasn’t producing electricity, there would be 1000 megawatt shortfall. Cahill asked Oates how they would replace the power if the state closed down the plant.

“We have not made any firm plans if the state decides that. There’s been no official announcement of a plant shut down – that process hasn’t been triggered,” Oates answered.

“What if Indian Point has to construct cooling towers and the plant has to close? Is Con Ed prepared for that contingency?” asked Cahill.

“We are preparing generic types of solutions. If a situation of retrofitting required support, our recommendation would be to shut only one plant at a time to satisfy needs in the short term.”

Breenan asked Oates about electricity produced by the gas powered, cogenerated plant in the Brooklyn Navy Yard and if it could make up the lost power from a retired Indian Point.

“Could taking power from a co-generated market in the future be a potentially economical purchase?”

Oates agreed.  “Co-generation is a more efficient use of the fuel because we are using it twice.  We are open to good ideas, especially ones that will minimize the cost for the customer.”

Both operating licenses for units 2 and 3 at Indian Point will expire in 2013 and 2015. Entergy applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2007 to renew their licenses, but their application has met much resistance from Governor Andrew Cuomo and environmental groups Riverkeeper and Clearwater. Since the nuclear disaster in Fukushima last March, the anti-nuclear movement has rallied with concerns about safe evacuation, Hudson River fish-kill by thermal pollution and the precarious location of the plant on a seismic fault.

It is unknown at this time how the Assembly Energy committee will use the information from the public hearing. The committee has the power to enact legislation and amend energy law and policies that impact energy availability and Public Service Law.

“Padera here. On deadline. Can I call you back?”

“Have you figured out how that young girl really died?”

A woman’s voice.

“Who is this?”

“Check out stuff leaking from the old nuke plant. That will give you a clue.”        Click.

Lou glared at the phone. He quickly punched a code to trace the call, but the number was blocked. What was that about? He returned to his story and wrote some formulaic wrap-up that he could change depending on who won the game. He leaned back, his eyes fixed on his phone, his mind picturing the two plant domes on the river’s edge.

- – - – - – - -

Diana Chase wiped the tears from her face. She slowly folded up the newspaper and put Jen Elery’s story out of sight. As the assistant principal of an elementary school, she mustn’t be seen crying, especially for the next ten minutes as she greets kids bouncing off the school bus and funneling through the halls to their classrooms.

She regained her composure and pulled a mirror from her desk drawer, swishing back her straight, dark auburn hair from her angular face, her features a striking composite of her Irish mother and her Asian father. Her dark brown eyes were still red and blotchy, nothing some eye drops and a quick brush of mascara wouldn’t fix.

Outside her window, Diana could see the morning procession of school buses pull up the front drive, their yellow hulks casting a golden hue over the brightly lit office. She kept the room sparse. Except for her computer, a neat stack of folders on a file cabinet, and a single shelf of books, Diana allowed herself only a few personal items: a large aquarium by the window for her box turtle and a long, colorful dragon kite arching a far corner near the door. On her desk was a small picture of her shih tzu, Lin, next to a slightly larger, years-old picture of her parents, her mom’s flaming red hair tickling the cheek of her smiling dad.

Diana stood up and did a quick yoga stretch and headed out into the reception area, where she could see directly into the office of the principal, Jane Bigley. Jane hired Diana five years ago, and the two women ran the school like clockwork. Jane was considerably older than the thirty-eight-year-old Diana, and except for butting heads a few times over school policy, they got along. Ultimately, both women were professionally committed to the students; in the great educational complex, the kids came first.

The reception area was large, with two desks for secretaries and one for a receptionist. Two of the desks were empty; one secretary was out on maternity leave and the receptionist had taken early retirement. Diana’s morning station was traffic control in the school lobby; stopping the running and pushing, saying hi to the kids she knew, checking their energy—who was excited, who was sickly, who would get in trouble that day. It was the faces of kids streaming past her each morning that inspired Diana and fueled her dedication.

“Hey, Jimmy! Remember your lunch today?”

“Sure did, Ms. Chase!”

“Don’t drop your violin, Meghan!”

“I got it, Ms. Chase.”

As the parade thinned out, Ricky Elery walked in, his gait slow, eyes to the floor. Diana fought the tears and looked away. Suddenly Jane was by her side and stepped up to the boy.

“Hi, Ricky. Are you competing in the fifth grade readathon this month?”

“Oh. Hi, Mrs. Bigley. No. I’m just not up to it this time.”

He looked at Jane and Diana, sensing their pity.

“See ya,” he said, turning toward the stairs to his second-floor classroom.

Diana turned to Jane.

“Good try. Do you think he’s okay?”

“Don’t know. Let’s keep our eye on him. Here’s a tissue.”

Diana dabbed her eyes and nodded toward the outside parking lot.

“His mom is still driving him to school every day. She sits in the parking lot for about an hour before she leaves.”

“Poor Jen Elery.”

“Can we do anything for her?”

“Don’t know. Let’s try to come up with something.”

After teaching for almost thirteen years, Diana knew that the worst emotional trauma for a school community was the loss of a fellow student. Shocked by Kaylee’s death, the PTA organized a candlelight vigil and a food campaign to deliver meals to Jen and Ricky for the next few months. But the distraught, estranged mother shunned the offer. She wanted no part of the vigil. She just wanted to be left alone.

Diana headed for her office, half listening to Jane over the PA system incant the Pledge of Allegiance and then segue into morning announcements.

Diana sprinkled some dried turtle food into the aquarium, which took up a large place on her windowsill. She looked out to the parking lot, at the bright yellow forsythia bordering the edge, which sent out a fiery glow. At the far end of the lot, Diana saw Jen sitting in her car, staring at the school. It seemed the grieving mother wanted to stay as close to her son as possible.

Diana stared at Jen’s car. After a minute, she picked up the phone and punched Jane’s extension.

“Yes, Diana?”

“What’s happening with the part-time receptionist job out in front?”

“The job’s on hold for now.”

“Could we offer it to Jen Elery?”

“Maybe. She could give it a try as a volunteer and then see . . .”

Two minutes later Diana was outside walking slowly toward Jen’s car. As she got closer she saw that the woman had her seat tilted back and seemed to be sleeping. Diana softly knocked on the window. Jen startled up, glaring at Diana through the closed window. Then slowly she rolled the window down.

Bob leaned forward in his mahogany-and-leather chair and studied the picture of Kaylee, his brow furrowed. His phone intercom buzzed.

“Bob, it’s your wife. You want to take this, or should I give the usual excuse?”

He bit his lip. What did he forget this time?

“I’ll take it.” He plucked up the phone.

“Hey, Babe. What’s up?”

His wife, Morgan, cackled on the other end.

“Did you remember about the fund-raising dinner tonight? I’m the chairwoman pushing this one. It’s black tie. You do remember, don’t you?”

He looked at his desk calendar. It said “Basketball game—ALLPower Trophy.”

“Oh geez, Babe. I didn’t forget, but the boss just asked me to stand in for him tonight and award a trophy at a high school basketball game. We sponsor them, you know. It’s great for the company’s image.”

He heard the long, frustrated inhale. Then she said, “The image I have of you right now makes a gorilla shitting in the woods look appealing.”

The woman had a way with words. He winced. Here we go, he thought. He leaned back and started to rock in small, quick movements. In just another minute she would slam down the phone. Just count to ten.  

Bob had been working at the plant for five years. When he started he was thirty and newly married. Now, at thirty-five his temples were peppered gray, contrasting his cropped dark brown hair. His soft stubble beard was a hint of scruff, slimming his paunchy jowls. Dark, bushy eyebrows framed his gray, squinty eyes, like gashes that sparked out from a pasty complexion. Square built, he struggled to keep his heft under control.

Bob possessed an affable charm and a winning smile. He was good at promoting the company, and his work was highly valued by the ALLPower top brass. He was rewarded with substantial yearly raises. The science of nuclear power wasn’t exactly Bob’s forte, but he understood the basics. He reluctantly majored in Communications in college, a suggestion that came from his overbearing mother, Stella. Out of habit, he’d balked, then acquiesced. Even though she was his mother, she was usually right. By the time Bob graduated college, the country was demanding green energy, favoring nuclear over the dirty coal-fired plants that spewed nasty particulates into the air. For Bob it was a no-brainer: coal was dirty, nuclear was clean and didn’t pollute the air. The nuclear industry was here to stay, an easy sell right now, and in the future. You have to believe in what you sell, right?

But a lot could go wrong at a nuclear power plant. Devastating accidents at Three Mile Island and a few years later at the Russian plant in Chernobyl shook the world and severely marred the reputation of the nuclear power industry. Panic over doomsday meltdowns fed a skittish level of fear. Movies like The China Syndrome pushed that fear to front and center, and anti-nuclear, grass-roots groups cropped up all over the country, waging a war against the dangers of nuclear power, feeding fear about the increasing accidents at aging plants.

The reputation of the nuclear power industry was seriously marred and in need of a new PR campaign. Bob changed tactics and honed the fine art of spinning bad news into good—how ALLPower was different from other plants in the country. He would sweeten the plant’s image and reign in the skeptics, a challenge he liked. 

Stream listening: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/westchesteronthelevel

The Nuclear Power Movement Today. Journalist Abby Luby will talk about the movement to shutter nuclear power, especially Indian Point. Luby’s newly realeased eBook novel, “Nuclear Romance,” is  about living near a nuclear power plant.

Tuesday, Oct. 25th between 10 – 11 am

Listener call in number: 877-674-2436.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Pro-Nukes–Anti-Nukes-hea-by-Abby-Luby-111017-688.html

By Abby Luby

America is taking to the streets.   The month-long “Occupy Wall Street” is seen as a highly charged beacon of free speech and activism, a force that has roused protesters from their comfy cyber soap boxes out to public parks and sidewalks.

The anti-nuclear movement is no exception.

Over the last few weeks, mass rallies across the United Stateshave protested the dangers of nuclear power, a cry still echoing from the devastating destruction of the Fukushimaplants in Japanlast March. The urgent message from anti-nuclear forces here: “it can happen here.”

Under the umbrella of “A National Day of Action for America’s Nuclear Free Future,” protesters took to the streets in New York City, St. Petersburg, Fort Lauderdale and Fort Meyers in Florida, San Clemente and San Diego, California, Atlanta, Michigan, Ohio, Asbury Park, New Jersey, Raleigh, North Carolina and Virginia.

These protests were fueled not only by the harrowing and cataclysmic events still unfolding at Fukushima, but by recent e arthquakes, hurricanes, floods and tornadoes here in the United States – events that the nuclear industry’s oversight agency, theNuclear Regulatory Commission considers “unlikely” to affect the safety of nuclear power plants in this country. www.nrc.gov. The NRC is unwavering in their federal conscripts, wearing their own brand of blinders tailored to forge ahead, re-licensing aging plants and building new ones, regardless of overt warning signs of possible dangers.

A story on iwatchnews in September http://www.iwatchnews.org  (Nuclear miscalculation: “Why regulators miss power plant threats from quakes and storms,” by Susan Q. Stranahan), reported that the NRC considers aFukushima type quake and tsunami a rare event in this country. The feds stolidly held to this adage while Americans lived through a quake inVirginia that shut down that state’s North Anna Power Station in August and caused the radioactive spent fuel storage casks to move unexpectedly, a tornado that ripped up the South and brought down transmission towers at the Browns Ferry power plant inAtlanta. And when Hurricane Irene ravaged the East Coast, a Maryland reactor was forced to shut down after loosened metal siding blustered up and sliced into the transformer’s high power lines.

That the NRC says they are processing all this information and initiating studies on the effects of these “unlikely” events adds incrementally to the frustrations of the anti-nuclear movement which is determined to rid the country of old and poorly designed nuclear power plants. Their voices are heard not only on the street, but in courtrooms and in the legal catacombs of administration procedural hearings. Here inNew YorkState, the battle over whether the NRC will re-license the 40-year old Indian Point Nuclear Power Plants, 24 miles fromNew York City, has become the longest and highly contested application in the agency’s history. Entergy, the plant’s owner, filed for a new operating license in 2007 to keep their twin reactors on the banks of theHudson Riverrunning until 2033 and 2035. Their licenses expire in 2013 and 2015. The re-licensing process usually takes four to five years, but a litany of contentions may take Entergy’s application past their expiration dates.

Governor Andrew Cuomo reiterated his campaign promise to shutter Indian Point in a   chat last month on his new virtual chat blog, http://www.citizenconnects.com/. He said the power from Indian Point could be replaced, according to The Daily News.  http://personals.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2011/09/cuomo-replacement-indian-point-power-can-be-found. Prior to Cuomo’s chat, in July,New YorkState won a major victory after a groundbreaking decision by the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board ruled in favor of a petition served by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. The AG argued the NRC’s environmental review violated the law by not requiring Entergy to complete severe accident mitigation analysis. This means the NRC must require Entergy to upgrade their accident impact plans unless the utility company can prove a compelling reason to refuse.

In 2010, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation denied Entergy a Water Quality Certification, which is required by law to operate the power plants. Because heated water is spewed out from Indian Point’s once-through cooling system and into the Hudson River, killing billions of fish yearly, the DEC wants Entergy to upgrade their cooling system. Although Entergy is appealing the DEC decision, the NRC says the case has no impact on Indian Point’s re-licensing application. When Patricia Kurkul, Regional Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for the National Marine Fisheries Service, asked the NRC if the uncertainty of the water quality issue would impact Entergy’s re-licensing application, the NRC told her that “Notwithstanding the uncertain outcome of New York’s Section 401 Water Quality adjudication, the NRC is required to move forward with its review of the LRA (license renewal application) as submitted by Entergy (http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1125/ML11259A018.pdf).

Traversing from court to court is a case initiated by former New York State Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, who is challenging the NRC’s common practice of “exemptions.” Five years ago the NRC exempted Indian Point from fire safety requirements that allow a minimal amount of fire insulation that protects electric cables needed to shut down the reactor and prevent a meltdown. The current insulation lasts only 27 minutes while the legal requirement for insulation to protect the cables is one hour. Brodsky claims the NRC secretly granted an exemption to Entergy, a power not within their jurisdiction according to the Atomic Energy Act. http://www.scribd.com/doc/65796345/Brodsky-v-NRC-Submission-Summary. Currently the case is in the Second Circuit of Appeals inNew York. It was previously argued before Justice Sotomayor before she became a Supreme Court Justice and then in the   United States Southern District Court in New York where Judge Loretta Preska decided in favor of the NRC, issuing her decision six days before the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe in Japan.

To counter the anti-nuke movement, a multi-billion dollar utility company like Entergy is able to enlist an army of high paid lawyers for the courtroom battles while waging expensive media campaigns. To ratchet up their corporate image, Entergy’s new advertisements features Rudy Giuliani. Entergy clearly believes the persona of the former New York City Mayor and presidential hopeful is synonymous with “safety” and “security,” which means we will see Guiliani’s face plastered on TV ads and in newspapers.http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2011/10/06/giuliani-endorses-nuclear-plant-in-new-ads/

Although Entergy has always claimed that since the 9-11 attacks, Indian Point was impenetrable, they now (incongruously) need heavier weapons to protect the plant. In April Entergy requested permission from the NRC to acquire heavier weapons to be used by “the security personnel at the Indian Point site.” The NRC wants to know if they turn down Entergy, what the impact would be on their current protection capabilitieshttp://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1127/ML112700219.pdf. . Entergy has not yet replied, but why the request now? Is Indian Point now more vulnerable than in 2001?

It’s hard to know if the government, the nuclear power industry or the anti-nuclear groups are having any kind of impact on the future of nuclear power. In a New York Times article by Stephanie Cooke [After Fukushima, Does Nuclear Power Have a Future?]http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/11/business/energy-environment/after-fukushima-does-nuclear-power-have-a-future.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail1=y, she claims that the Japanese government has reversed their pro-nuclear policy and is now moving to phase out their reactors. Cooke also writes that of the 30 new reactors planned to be built in theUnited States, the list has dwindled to four, even with President Obama’s strong endorsement for large subsidies for newly built plants. Also, the World Nuclear Association predicts a decline in the number of operating reactors in theUnited States andFrance in the next 20 years.

What does it all mean?

Increasingly, we see the strengthening of liaisons between industry and government, corporate wealth and political campaigns, bonds that seem to weaken federal oversight to protect the public. Will the voice of dissenters and activists who reach a critical mass ultimately make a difference?