nuclear-news

USA makes nuclear emergency rules weaker, downplays radiation risk

local officials will no longer be accountable to train for a radiation release.

U.S. nuclear disaster preparedness relaxed with minimal disclosure Smart Planet, By David Worthington | May 17, 2012, “…. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency have relaxed requirements for emergency preparedness in the first major revision of emergency planning guidelines since the Three Mile Island incident in 1979.

Revisions were published without any announcement in the Federal Register during the December 2011 holiday season.

The Associated Press’s Jeff Donn shined light on the changes in an article  published yesterday. New rules require fewer emergency drills for major accidents and recommendations that evacuations should be scaled down with fewer people leaving their homes straightway. A new anti-terrorism response program was added.

More specifically, the AP reports that local officials will no longer be accountable to train for a radiation release. However, police must be ready for a possible assault on a reactor. The current evacuation zone structure remains in place, but elaborate 50-mile zone exercises will be held less frequently.

Last year, the AP also reported that the NRC regularly watered down safety standards- even wholly ignoring problems – when encountering violations  at the nation’s aging reactors. Its investigation uncovered an outwardly disturbing trend: regulations are being manipulated to allow damaged equipment to remain in place.

The report included testimony from nuclear engineers to support its findings. It cites “failed cables, busted seals, broken nozzles, clogged screens, cracked concrete, dented containers, corroded metals and rusty underground pipes.” The standard for how brittle a reactor vessel can become has been weakened twice.

Leaks are prolific at U.S. nuclear sites, but NRC officials have dismissed the impact as being too insignificant to affect public health. The AP’s investigation found that radioactive tritium has leaked into groundwater at three-quarters of U.S. commercial nuclear power sites…..

In summation, U.S. nuclear facilities are aging, the regulatory goalposts are being widened, and state and local first responders will be less prepared for a disaster. The thing about disasters is that the danger is obvious after it has happened. We’re all experts in hindsight.

It is worth asking, is that really what the American people want, and would an nuclear incident hamper the adoption of safer next generation nuclear technologies? Regulators should be working in the sunlight.  http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/intelligent-energy/us-nuclear-disaster-preparedness-relaxed-with-minimal-disclosure/16044

May 19, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA