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31 USA nuclear power plants must upgrade ventilation systems

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Orders Power Plant Vent Upgrades, But Falls Short Of Requiring Filters HUFFINGTON POST, By MATTHEW DALY 03/19/13 WASHINGTON — U.S. nuclear power plants must upgrade ventilation systems at 31 reactors with designs similar to those that melted down two years ago in Japan, under a Nuclear Regulatory Commission order that stops short of requiring filtered vents, as some safety advocates and NRC’s staff had urged.

The filters are required in Japan and much of Europe, but U.S. utilities say they are unnecessary and expensive.

The order issued Tuesday requires U.S. operators to upgrade vents to ensure they remain operable even during severe accidents, such as the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that crippled Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant. The tsunami sent three of the plant’s reactors into meltdown in the world’s worst nuclear crisis in a quarter-century.

The commission said the order will improve safety and help prevent radioactive particles from escaping into the atmosphere after a Japan-style meltdown.

The commission also directed its staff to study a rule requiring filters at two dozen nuclear sites with 31 boiling water reactors similar to the ones in Japan that melted down. The commission also will consider a performance-based approach that would use existing systems to achieve similar results to limit release of radioactive materials. The rule would not be finalized until 2017…….

Commission records show she and commissioner George Apostolakis, both Democrats, supported the filter requirement but were outvoted by the three other commissioners. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/20/nuclear-regulatory-commission_n_2914662.html

March 21, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA