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Breaking News from America's Progressive Community... Latest Releases
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| SEPTEMBER
25, 1998 2:18 PM FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Union of Concerned Scientists 2 Brattle Square, Cambridge, MA 02238-9105 617-547-5552, ucs@ucsusa.org |
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| River Bend--Broke! Dangerous Safety Problem at Louisiana Nuke Plant Requires Immediate Shutdown | ||||
| CAMBRIDGE,
MA - September 25 - The River Bend nuclear plant in Louisiana is operating with holes in the primary safety barrier that prevents highly radioactive material from leaking into the environment during an accident. The Union of Concerned Scientists today petitioned the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to shut down River Bend until the damage is corrected. "While the public is safe for now, we suspect that plant workers are already being exposed to increased levels of radiation," said David Lochbaum, Nuclear Safety Engineer for UCS. "However, if there was an accident, citizens in Louisiana and neighboring states could be at serious risk." The NRC granted River Bend's owners an operating license based on analyses that an accident would not expose plant workers and the public to dangerous levels of radiation. UCS determined that those analyses assume the metal safety barrier containing nuclear fuel is intact when the accident starts. If that barrier remains intact, the highly radioactive material produced when nuclear fuel is consumed cannot be released to the environment. Earlier this week, River Bend's owners reported that this nuclear fuel barrier had developed holes. The plant continues to operate. "The NRC's mission is to protect the public and plant workers from radiation hazards at nuclear power plants," said Lochbaum. "The NRC cannot allow River Bend to operate with known safety problems." "Last April we gave the NRC a full report on the serious safety hazards of operating a nuclear plant with a failed fuel barrier. They ignored it," said Lochbaum. "Now we have petitioned the NRC to take action at River Bend to protect the public. The time has come for the regulators to regulate." The UCS report documented why nuclear plants are not allowed to operate with a failed fuel barrier and the safety implications. The report concluded that a plant owner has two choices when the tubing damage is detected: (1) immediately shut down the plant and remove the damaged barrier, or (2) evaluate the degraded condition to determine if public health and safety has been compromised. River Bend's owners chose a third option--to continue operating in an unanalyzed, and potentially unsafe, condition. "Federal safety regulations are intended to minimize the risk to the public from nuclear power," said Lochbaum. "But like the directions in a recipe, they work only when followed." ### |
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