nuclear-news

Seashore studies nuclear effects – PILgrim NPP

SOUTH WELLFLEET — The Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission on Monday will discuss a new report on the economic effects on Cape Cod of a public safety emergency at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth.

A subcommittee of the commission has initiated creation of the report, which was researched and written by a University of Massachusetts Amherst student pursuing a doctorate in economics, according to commission member Maureen Burgess, who represents Truro.

The nine-member commission represents the six Cape Cod towns within the boundaries of the Seashore along with county, state and federal representatives.

The commission wrote to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in March 2012 stating its opposition to the relicensing of Pilgrim because of the potential threat to public safety and the environment.

The commission also created the subcommittee on Pilgrim safety, of which Burgess is a member.

Nuclear regulators approved a 20-year extension of the plant’s license in May 2012.

The new report is not at the level of a peer-review journal article, Burgess said Tuesday. “It’s a preliminary study. The only reason to do it is to try to encourage further public participation, discussion and awareness of the issue.”

An anonymous donation of about $5,000, facilitated by commission alternate member Ted Thomas, of Wellfleet, was used to pay a stipend to the researcher, Burgess said. She declined to give the name of the researcher until the Monday meeting.

The report is based on the ideas that the Cape heavily relies on tourism and real estate and that a potential disaster at the nuclear power plant could affect the region’s main source of revenue, Burgess said. “Anything that impacts tourism would impact visitation to the Seashore,” she said.

The Seashore hosted 4.4 million recreational visitors in 2012, according to the National Park Service.

The meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Seashore headquarters off Marconi Station Road.

A copy of the 2012 letter the commission wrote to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is at www.nps.gov/caco/parkmgmt/advisory-commission.htm.

February 2, 2014 - Posted by arclight2011part2 | Uncategorized