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Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s poor record on fire safety

The written comments by NRC Chairman Gregory B. Jaczko, released last week, were made as the commission voted in late May to continue a policy of citing only the most serious fire violations at 44 of the nation’s 101 reactors that are in the process of updating fire plans, and to address old hazards.

As ProPublica recently reported, many of the plants are relying on fire watches and other short-term measures while they work on their new plans. But critics say the NRC’s enforcement policy has allowed nuclear companies to put off installing fire suppression, barriers and other safety features for years.

Fire is among the most serious risks to nuclear reactors, according to NRC experts. Jaczko said in the written statement explaining his vote that fires can represent as much as 50 percent of a plant’s “core damage frequency”—the likelihood of an accident that affected a reactor’s radioactive fuel.

Jaczko said that the NRC should have been better prepared to review the nuclear companies’ fire plans. Instead, he said the agency had let the process drag on too long.

“But the continued willingness to tie inspectors’ hands by limiting the tools they have available to ensure we meet our mission of protecting public health and safety, is more than disappointing—it is unacceptable.”

“The bottom line is that licensees have had years to identify fire protection deficiencies, and the commission must close this very long chapter of not enforcing all fire protection violations,” he wrote. …..

According to NRC records, there have been at least 154 fires at nuclear plants since 1995, an average of 10 a year. On June 7, a fire at the Fort Calhoun nuclear plant in Nebraska temporarily knocked out cooling to a pool holding spent fuel at the site, prompting an emergency declaration……http://www.propublica.org/article/nuclear-regulatory-commission-chief-blasts-agencys-approach-to-fire-safety

June 16, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA