nuclear-news

Nuclear Regulatory Commission does not protect public from radioactive groundwater leaks

The NRC’s decision on groundwater protection comes four months after an Asbury Park Press investigation documented hundreds of leaks and spills of radioactive water called tritium over the decades at plants, including Oyster Creek in Lacey. The NRC has never issued a fine against any plant.

NRC fails to change groundwater protection rules for nuclear plants, Activist says NRC needs to enforce its rules on radioactive water leaks and spills, Aug. 17, 2011 APP.com, Todd B. Bates:After years of criticisms that they were lax in dealing with radioactive leaks, spills and groundwater contamination at nuclear power plants, federal regulators have decided to let the industry keep policing itself.

The five-member U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission agreed to maintain the status quo and not add a tougher level of oversight — at least for now.

NRC Chairman Gregory B. Jaczko, the lone supporter of new regulations, had stressed that voluntary efforts aren’t good enough. But the four other commissioners disagreed, and the agency will monitor the effectiveness of a voluntary industry initiative on protecting groundwater.

“This reconfirms our concern that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is taking a hands-off approach to a very serious pollution issue,” said Paul Gunter, director of the Reactor Oversight Project at Beyond Nuclear, an anti-nuclear group in Takoma Park, Md.

Dave Lochbaum, director of the Nuclear Safety Project at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit alliance of scientists and citizens based in Cambridge, Mass., said the NRC should enforce its rules against spills and leaks……

The NRC’s decision on groundwater protection comes four months after an Asbury Park Press investigation documented hundreds of leaks and spills of radioactive water called tritium over the decades at plants, including Oyster Creek in Lacey. The NRC has never issued a fine against any plant.

The Press also found that lax inspections and corroding underground pipes led to many leaks, and major leaks have increased in recent years.

In June, a U.S. Government Accountability Office report said more leaks from corroding underground pipes can be expected……

http://www.app.com/article/20110817/NJNEWS/308170066/NRC-fails-to-change-groundwater-protection-rules-for-nuclear-plants

August 18, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, water