nuclear-news

Nuclear regulators uphold secrecy about San Onofre nuclear plant agreement

“I would like to have them at least list the documents that are being
kept in confidentiality and say why,”

Damon Moglen of Friends of the Earth said the group’s ultimate goal is
to require a more detailed, public review of Edison’s restart plan for
San Onofre. “We may not like this process very much,” he said. “But
we’re committed to that as our goal and our objective.”

NUCLEAR REGULATORS DISMISS PROTESTS TO PRIVATE REPORTS
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jan/04/tp-nuclear-regulators-dismiss-protests-to-private/
Watchdog group, Edison agreed to restrict information  by  Morgan Lee
4 Jan 13, Nuclear safety regulators have dismissed objections to a
nondisclosure agreement that seals from public view some documents
related to faulty steam generators at the San Onofre nuclear plant and
an application to restart the facility.

Open-government activist Ray Lutz of El Cajon filed the objections to
an agreement made in early December between plant operator Southern
California Edison and Friends of the Earth, an international
environmental and nuclear watchdog group.

Friends of the Earth is pushing for a more-thorough public and
regulatory review of Edison’s application to restart one of two
reactors at San Onofre. The plant, in northern San Diego County, has
been offline since Jan. 31. Edison and Friends of the Earth signed off
on a protective order that restricts information deemed proprietary by
Edison and its third-party vendors, contractors and consultants.

Lutz, in filings on behalf of his Citizens Oversight group, argued
that Edison needs to publicly disclose information unless it can “show
that actual, and not hypothetical, injury will occur.”
The objection was dismissed Monday by an administrative judge who
ruled that Citizens Oversight is not an official party to the
proceeding, so it can only express an opinion on the issues involved.

Contacted by phone, Lutz said there occasionally may be legitimate
reasons for withholding specifications about the plant and its steam
generators, including security-related matters. Proprietary concerns
are essentially moot, he said, given the generators’ apparent design
flaws and the fact that Edison has hired the principal competitors to
the manufacturer, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, to analyze its restart
plan.

“I would like to have them at least list the documents that are being
kept in confidentiality and say why,” said Lutz, noting that he was
removed from the docket distribution and access list after the judge’s
ruling. “The best approach is to be completely open. … What they’re
doing is the exact opposite.”

Edison had no immediate comment.
Damon Moglen of Friends of the Earth said the group’s ultimate goal is
to require a more detailed, public review of Edison’s restart plan for
San Onofre. “We may not like this process very much,” he said. “But
we’re committed to that as our goal and our objective.”

The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board of the nuclear commission is
considering whether Edison’s restart application should be treated as
a license amendment proceeding, which would require more rigorous,
quasi-judicial hearings and documentation.

Parties to that proceeding must sign an affidavit to access any
restricted information. The agreement also provides for the
destruction of restricted documents and any copies once the
proceedings conclude.

Wording of the nondisclosure agreement, however, allows “any person”
to seek public disclosure of protected information “in accordance with
Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations.”

An earlier request by Citizens Oversight, also known as Citizens
Oversight Projects, for a formal hearing on changes to technical
specifications for operating the San Onofre reactors was turned down
in early December after oral arguments.

January 5, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA