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Nuclear Regulatory Commission rubber stamps Salem Nuclear plants’ license renewal

Salem Nuclear Power Plants Sail Through Relicensing Process, NJSP Spotlight,  By Tom Johnson, July 1  The federal government yesterday approved a 20-year extension of the operating licenses for the two Salem nuclear power plants in Lower Alloways Creek Township in South Jersey. The extension from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was not unexpected, since the its staff had signed off on the extension earlier this month and the regulatory agency has never failed to approve a relicensing request…….

Safety Concerns, Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, expressed disappointment in the decision. “The NRC believes in license first, inspect and regulate later. They have it backward,” Tittel said. “We believe outside independent experts need to review the plants and their different design features to ensure safety.”

In the relicensing process, the NRC failed to address sizable tritium leaks causing contamination of groundwater near the plant, Tittel said. He also argued that the Salem plant is old, saying the federal agency failed to look at metal fatigue and other issues that come up as these facilities age……http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/11/0701/0058/

July 3, 2011 - Posted by | safety, USA

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