nuclear-news

Nuclear cooling pond an environmental and terrorist danger

Not only does nuclear waste pose an environmental risk, opponents say, the ever-growing collection of spent fuel rods inside the power plant also makes it an inviting target for terrorists…..

Nuclear waste to lingerTown unhappy as Pilgrim rods stay, PLYMOUTH The Boston Globe By Robert Knox October 3, 2010 A new ruling by nuclear power regulators that concludes it’s safe to store nuclear waste at a nuclear power plant for 60 years after the plant closes — the previous limit was 30 years — has led Plymouth officials to concede that nuclear waste will remain in town longer than anybody wants.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission not only decided to amend its “Waste Confidence Decision’’ to double the period when used nuclear fuel can be stored on site at plants such as Plymouth’s Pilgrim, it is also contemplating a much longer stay. The commission directed agency staff to begin analyzing the prospect of storing spent fuel at plants for “up to 300 years or beyond,’’ said spokesman Neil Sheehan.

Plymouth Town Manager Mark Stankiewicz said the decision was not good news. “We’re disappointed with that position.’’

Noting the town’s long-expressed unhappiness with hosting Pilgrim’s waste fuel, Stankiewicz said, “I think that sentiment is still here. We don’t want to be a nuclear disposal site.’’…………

Storing spent nuclear fuel within its facility is a burden — and a source of vulnerability — that Pilgrim longs to be rid of as well. The plant is currently facing opposition to its plan for a 20-year license extension in part because of the waste- storage issue.

Not only does nuclear waste pose an environmental risk, opponents say, the ever-growing collection of spent fuel rods inside the power plant also makes it an inviting target for terrorists………since the plant’s current system for storing used nuclear fuel rods in a pool of cooling water will reach the end of its capacity in two years, Entergy is preparing to adopt a “dry cask’’ storage system, which calls for storing used fuel rods inside a concrete container to be built outside the reactor building

Plymouth unhappy as its Pilgrim nuclear waste grows – The Boston Globe

October 4, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, reactor