Give Nukes A Autopsy: Who First thought of this?

Update

My 2.206

***Yep, me. Got a answer from the NRC over my 2.206.

Generally, both the nukes and antis never give credit to me over my work. These college boys can't imagine a non college guy like me could be smarter than them.     

Give Oyster Creek an autopsy before decommissioning: Tauro

As the country’s nuclear fleet gradually retires, the next task for the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission will evolve from overseeing the operation of atomic plants to decommissioning, taking them apart piece by radioactive piece and figuring out what to do with millions of pounds of highly radioactive waste.

When the Oyster Creek nuclear plant in Lacey closes in October, an autopsy of metal components and safety structures would provide federal regulators with a wealth of scientific data on exactly what happens to steel after being blasted for half a century with high levels of radiation.

That scientific data could provide valuable information on safety margins and potential hazards for 21 similarly designed and ageing General Electric reactors that are still operating in the country. 

Oyster Creek is the world’s oldest operating Fukushima-style nuclear reactor, a GE Mark 1 boiling water reactor, where safety systems and structures failed to prevent three reactor meltdowns and released massive radioactivity in Japan following the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami. 

A series of unplanned shutdowns in recent years at Oyster Creek were routinely attributed to metal fatigue. The company announced in March that Oyster Creek would close in October, 14 months ahead of schedule. A coalition of citizens and environmental groups brought to light serious metal fatigue and corrosion at the plant during a relicensing battle a decade ago. That battle resulted in increased safety and ultrasonic monitoring at the plant.

The information on metal and safety structure wear-and-tear would be particularly useful for plants of similar-Fukushima design such as Pennsylvania’s Peach Bottom reactor, whose operators have applied for an extension to run for 80 years. 

Surprisingly few material samples have been taken from decommissioned nuclear plants nationwide. NRC personnel have cited a dearth of scientific information on aging from the limited number of decommissioned plants, and the failure to harvest material samples. Ten U.S. commercial reactors have completed decommissioning with another 19 units in the process. An NRC presentation named Oyster Creek as a candidate for harvesting material samples since it is the oldest commercial nuclear plant still operating in the country.

Clean Water Action NJ, the state’s largest environmental organization, and GRAMMES (Grandmothers, Mothers, and More for Energy Safety) have joined Beyond Nuclear, a leading anti-nuclear advocacy and environmental group based in Tacoma Park, Maryland, in calling for an autopsy of the Oyster Creek plant. The groups are demanding that the NRC publicly provide a strategic approach to obtain component-aging information from materials harvested from Oyster Creek.

State regulators and elected officials should join that call because what happens to those metal components is a life-or-death question for those living in communities near aging, brittle, corroding nukes. New Jersey has three more aging nuclear reactors being operated at Lower Alloways Creek by PSE&G and Exelon, Oyster Creek’s owner. Plant owners have been busy in Trenton lately begging the state Legislature for up to $300 million a year in ratepayer subsidies to reportedly maintain their 18 percent profit margins. An upcoming vote is expected Thursday in the Senate and Assembly.

State regulators and elected officials will have the opportunity to speak for public safety Tuesday at the NRC’s annual safety assessment hearing at the Holiday Inn on Route 72 West in Manahawkin. The public is encouraged to attend and ask questions.

Janet Tauro is New Jersey board chair of Clean Water Action.