November, 19 2018, 11:00pm EDT

For Immediate Release
Contact:
Paul Gunter, Director, Reactor Oversight Project, Beyond Nuclear, 301-523-0201
David Lochbaum, independent nuclear engineer and expert witness, 423-488-8318
Beyond Nuclear Opposes Second License Extension for Peach Bottom Nuclear Plant Relicensing Could See Aging PA Reactors Run for 80 Years With Deteriorating Safety
Scientific knowledge gaps in the management of reactor safety issues caused by aging, and acknowledged by the nuclear industry, have prompted Beyond Nuclear to challenge an application to extend the operating license for two nuclear reactors in Pennsylvania.
Beyond Nuclear, an environmental advocacy group based in Takoma Park, MD, is opposing an application from Exelon Generation, owner of the Peach Bottom nuclear power plant in Delta, PA, to extend the operating lifetime of its two reactors there for another 20 years.
WASHINGTON
Scientific knowledge gaps in the management of reactor safety issues caused by aging, and acknowledged by the nuclear industry, have prompted Beyond Nuclear to challenge an application to extend the operating license for two nuclear reactors in Pennsylvania.
Beyond Nuclear, an environmental advocacy group based in Takoma Park, MD, is opposing an application from Exelon Generation, owner of the Peach Bottom nuclear power plant in Delta, PA, to extend the operating lifetime of its two reactors there for another 20 years.
Exelon has submitted a Second License Renewal (SLR) application for an additional 20-year extension of the operating license for Peach Bottom units 2 and 3.
Beyond Nuclear submitted a request on Monday asking the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a public hearing and intervention before the NRC's Atomic Safety Licensing Board.
The hearing would address the application's failure to comply with NRC regulations that require Exelon to demonstrate how it will manage increasing wear and tear caused by the combination of extreme heat, pressure, radiation and vibration on Peach Bottom safety systems throughout the requested 60- to 80-year extended period of operation.
Both units are GE Mark I boiling water reactors and are already operating within their first approved 20-year license extension to the original 40-year license which expired in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Exelon is now seeking NRC approval to extend the operation of Peach Bottom Unit 2 from 2033 to 2053 and Unit 3 from 2034 to 2054.
"According to NRC regulations, the onus is on Exelon to demonstrate in its application how Peach Bottom operators will manage the destructive effects of aging on safety systems and the material reliability of structures and components for the extension period," said Paul Gunter, Director of the Reactor Oversight Project with Beyond Nuclear. "This application fails to satisfy NRC regulations that require Peach Bottom to have effective age management programs throughout the next license renewal period," he said.
Presently, there are as many as 16 known significant age-related degradation mechanisms (i.e. radiation and thermal induced embrittlement, stress corrosion cracking, fatigue) attacking the base metals, welds, concrete and entire systems including more than 1,200 miles of control, instrumentation and power cables at the two-unit reactor site. The industry, the regulator and national laboratories publicly acknowledge an abundance of gaps, deficiencies, and uncertainties in their present understanding of how these aging degradation mechanisms and their synergies destructively impact reactor safety and performance.
Analyzing a sufficient amount of information on the material condition of reactor systems, structures and components collected from reactor operating experience is essential, in fact required, to reasonably project Peach Bottom's safety performance into the future.
However, reactors in the US are closing due to a variety of economical, technological and political challenges. Several reactors have closed in just the past few years, more upcoming closures have been announced, and others could possibly close before Peach Bottom enters the proposed second license renewal period in 2033 and 2034. As currently trending, the amount of operating experience could be significantly reduced, consequentially reducing age management insights needed for the requested license renewal period.
"Exelon fails to acknowledge just how dependent its age management programs are on evidence gathered internally from Peach Bottom's operating experience and externally from other reactors of like design and materials," said Gunter, citing from expert testimony submitted with the legal filing to the NRC.
"Further, the application fails to address when the number of reactor closures and the associated reduction in the amount of external operating experience impairs the effectiveness of its age management programs," he continued.
"Of more concern, the application is silent on how Exelon would provide the required operating experience gathered from alternate sources including strategic autopsies on the growing number of decommissioning reactors like Exelon's Oyster Creek plant in New Jersey," Gunter added.
According to Beyond Nuclear's expert witness, David Lochbaum, a widely recognized independent nuclear engineer on reactor safety, "In order to comply with NRC relicensing regulations and protect public health and safety, Exelon needs to address several factors. First, how much of Exelon's age management programs depends on operating experience of other reactors; second, how will Exelon determine what amount of operating experience information is sufficient to assure safety, and finally; how the required operating experience will be augmented if it is found to be insufficient," Lochbaum said.
Beyond Nuclear concludes that without Exelon first demonstrating how it will reliably manage the increasing effects of aging during the second renewal, Peach Bottom cannot be relicensed.
Beyond Nuclear aims to educate and activate the public about the connections between nuclear power and nuclear weapons and the need to abandon both to safeguard our future. Beyond Nuclear advocates for an energy future that is sustainable, benign and democratic.
(301) 270-2209LATEST NEWS
'Spineless Capitulation to Extortion': Paramount Caves to Trump With $16 Million Settlement
Critics characterized the payment as a bribe in exchange for federal approval of Paramount's pending merger with Skydance.
Jul 02, 2025
The parent company of CBS News, Paramount Global, announced Tuesday that it has agreed to pay U.S. President Donald Trump $16 million to settle what legal experts called an entirely meritless lawsuit over the media organization's handling of a pre-election "60 Minutes" interview with Kamala Harris.
Under the reported terms of the settlement, the money will go toward Trump's legal fees and his future presidential library. Paramount said the settlement deal does not include a formal apology, but the company agreed to release written transcripts of future "60 Minutes" interviews with presidential candidates.
Critics responded with outrage to news of the settlement, which one observer characterized as "spineless capitulation to extortion." Some posted screenshots to social media showing they canceled their Paramount+ subscriptions in response.
As Paramount engaged in talks with Trump's legal team over the lawsuit in recent weeks, press freedom advocates and members of Congress implored the organization not to settle, warning that caving to the president would reward and embolden his attacks on media outlets he views as his political enemies.
"If you settle cases, you're going to send a message to your news team to not push the envelope for fear of people being sued," media attorney Edward Klaris toldThe Washington Post, "and you're going to court more cases against your company because they might think that if they sue you they're going to collect."
Paramount's controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, supported a settlement with Trump in the hope that it would "clear the way" for federal approval of the company's merger with the entertainment company Skydance, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited sources familiar with the internal discussions. Bloombergreported that Redstone could reap $180 million in "severance and other benefits on top of hundreds of millions from the sale of her stock" if the merger goes through.
In May, the Freedom of the Press Foundation—a Paramount shareholder—cautioned that a settlement with Trump "could amount to a bribe" to the Trump administration in exchange for approval of the merger. The advocacy group said it would sue Paramount if the company caved to the president, arguing that "a settlement of Trump's meritless lawsuit may well be a thinly veiled effort to launder bribes through the court system."
Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) similarly warned Paramount that a settlement with Trump could run afoul of federal anti-bribery laws.
"Paramount appears to be attempting to appease the administration in order to secure merger approval," the senators wrote in a May 19 letter to Redstone.
Keep ReadingShow Less
'We Will Not Accept This Intimidation,' Mamdani Says of Trump Threat to Arrest Him
"That Trump included praise for Eric Adams in his authoritarian threats is unsurprising, but highlights the urgency of bringing an end to this mayor's time in City Hall," said the New York City mayoral candidate.
Jul 01, 2025
Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani made clear on Tuesday that he would not be intimidated by Republican U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to arrest him.
A journalist who falsely described Mamdani—a democratic socialist—as a "communist" asked Trump about the candidate's pledge not to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), whose agents are working to carry out the president's promised mass deportations.
"Well then, we'll have to arrest him," said Trump, a former New Yorker who has taken aim at Mamdani since his victory in last Tuesday's Democratic primary. "Look, we don't need a communist in this country."
Mamdani, who currently serves in the New York State Assembly, was born in Uganda to Indian parents and moved to NYC as a child. He was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2018. Throughout his campaign, the 33-year-old has faced numerous Islamophobic attacks, and after his primary win, Congressman Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) urged the Trump administration to target him with "denaturalization proceedings," in line with a broader effort at the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Trump said Tuesday that his administration would be watching Mamdani "very carefully." The president, a well-documented liar, added that "a lot of people are saying he's here illegally—you know, we're gonna look at everything... and ideally he's gonna turn out to be much less than a communist, but right now he's a communist, that's not a socialist."
Trump also blasted Congressman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), a supporter of Mamdani, and praised the city's current mayor, Eric Adams, who is seeking another term as an Independent. After Trump returned to office in January, the DOJ instructed prosecutors to drop federal corruption charges against Adams, triggering widespread outrage over the attempted "illegal quid pro quo," as some critics called it.
Responding to Trump's remarks in a lengthy statement, Mamdani said Tuesday that "the president of the United States just threatened to have me arrested, stripped of my citizenship, put in a detention camp, and deported. Not because I have broken any law, but because I will refuse to let ICE terrorize our city."
"His statements don't just represent an attack on our democracy but an attempt to send a message to every New Yorker who refuses to hide in the shadows: If you speak up, they will come for you," Mamdani continued. "We will not accept this intimidation."
"That Trump included praise for Eric Adams in his authoritarian threats is unsurprising, but highlights the urgency of bringing an end to this mayor's time in City Hall," he asserted, directing attention to the GOP budget bill advanced by the U.S. Senate on Tuesday.
Mamdani said that "at this very moment, when MAGA Republicans are attempting to destroy the social safety net, kick millions of New Yorkers off of healthcare, and enrich their billionaire donors at the expense of working families, it is a scandal that Eric Adams echoes this president's division, distraction, and hatred. Voters will resoundingly reject it in November."
In addition to Mamdani and Adams, the general election candidates are Republican Curtis Sliwa, Independent Jim Walden, and disgraced former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is now running as an Independent after losing the Democratic primary. According to results released Tuesday, Mamdani got 56% of the vote compared to Cuomo's 44%.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Senators Demand Answers About 'Reckless' Trump Admin Use of AI Social Security Chatbot
Artificial intelligence systems, the four senators argue, "represent a troubling pattern that if continued, would significantly impede Americans' ability" to access their benefits.
Jul 01, 2025
Four U.S. senators—three Democrats and Vermont Independent Bernie Sanders—demanded answers Tuesday from the Trump administration about its "reckless rollout" of artificial intelligence chatbot technology into phone systems "that have blocked people from accessing their earned Social Security benefits."
"These AI programs, which the agency deployed with little consultation with Congress, advocates, or other key stakeholders, appear to have been developed in haste and represent a troubling pattern that if continued, would significantly impede Americans' ability to access their Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits," the senators said in a letter to Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Frank Bisignano.
While Sanders, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (Ore.), and Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.) acknowledged that "AI can be a helpful tool to simplify some workloads," they contended that artificial intelligence "is not a panacea for all challenges facing SSA."
The letter continues:
SSA is entrusted with ensuring accurate and timely payment of mtore than $1 trillion in Social Security and SSI benefit payments to over 73 million seniors, individuals with disabilities, and their families each year. Considering the agency's important mission, it is critical that SSA is responsibly deploying any technology system, including AI. For example, whether incorporating newer technology like generative AI to improve customer experience and increase efficiency or leveraging predictive AI to provide disability examiners support in the disability determination process, it is critical that SSA meaningfully engage stakeholders, including its customers and employees, the advocacy community, and members of Congress, throughout the entire process to avoid harm to claimants and beneficiaries.
"The agency's hasty AI rollouts on its national 1-800 number phone system and the phone system for its 1,200 field offices, which resulted in significant impediments for Americans simply trying to access their earned benefits, demonstrate our concern," the senators wrote. "In April, SSA announced it would be deploying an anti-fraud AI algorithm to verify the identity of callers seeking to file for benefits on its national 1-800 number, arguing—without providing any evidence—that its telephone service was rife with fraud."
"However," the lawmakers noted, "the proposal was scrapped shortly after implementation after the system found it identified two claims out of over 110,000 as potentially fraudulent. Moreover, the new program slowed claim processing by 25% and led to a 'degradation of public service.'"
The senators are asking Bisignano to:
- Provide a detailed description of the new AI-based chatbot, including how it determines whether it has successfully answered a caller's questions before hanging up;
- Describe which metrics is SSA using to determine whether this AI-based chatbot is successful at improving service delivery at the national 1-800 number;
- Explain the metrics SSA used to evaluate the successes or challenges of this AI-based chatbot before rolling it out nationwide to field offices;
- Disclose which stakeholders, especially those who represent beneficiaries and employees, were consulted pre- and post-deployment of this AI-based chatbot;
- Explain whether SSA is planning to procure, develop, or implement any new AI systems this year; and
- If the answer to the above question is yes, list and provide a detailed description of these AI systems.
The AI rollout is part of Bisignano's "technology agenda" to boost productivity at SSA amid staffing and other cuts implemented by the Trump administration and its Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. In February, SSA announced its intent to fire 7,000 workers, or about 12% of its historically low staff.
Many SSA staffers also resigned, including nearly half of the agency's senior executives. This has adversely affected SSA beneficiaries. An analysis published last week by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities revealed that one SSA staff member must now serve 1,480 beneficiaries—over three times as many as in 1967.
Last week, Warren sent a letter to Bisignano—who one advocacy group described as "a Wall Street CEO with a long history of slashing the companies he runs to the bone"—accusing him of misleading the public about longer beneficiary wait times resulting from the Trump administration and DOGE taking a "chainsaw to Social Security."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular