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Almost cetain hat European Commission will find UK’s Hinkley nuclear funding illegal

justiceflag-EUEuropean Commission likely to find Hinkley aid illegal: Europe London (Platts)–8May2014 The European Commission will almost certainly find that EDF Energy’s funding mechanism for the construction of the Hinkley Point C nuclear unit in the UK is illegal state aid, an Austrian law professor told Platts.

Franz Leidenmuhler, who specializes in EU state aid cases and European competition law, said in an email that he believed “a rejection is nearly unavoidable. The Statement of the Commission in its first findings of December 18, 2013 is too clear. I do not think that some conditions could change that clear result.”

The new Hinkley unit will be built based on a funding model in which the UK government guarantees a floor price for future power sales. This floor price, known as a “strike price,” is the reference price below which EDF would receive UK government financial support and above which EDF would pay back money, effectively a guaranteed price for the power.

The strike price has been set at GBP92.50/MWh ($156.04) if the proposed new EPR there is the only new nuclear unit built by EDF Energy. The strike price would be GBP89.50 for both units if EDF is able to use the same EPR design to build another reactor at Sizewell C.

The support, known as contracts for difference, will be delivered through investment contracts designed to provide the most efficient long-term support for all forms of low-carbon generation. If the EC were to find the aid illegal, it is unclear whether EDF would go forward with the construction of the new reactor.

In a speech delivered at an industry conference last month, Leidenmuhler said that “in my opinion, the result has to be that this CfD is illegal state aid. Contrary to renewables, there is no exception for nuclear power in the general block exemption regulation, so that, as a result, CfDs in the field of nuclear power are not compatible with EU law.”…..

The categories of aid that are allowed under the block exemption include the areas of small- and medium-sized businesses, research, innovation, regional development, training, employment of disabled and disadvantaged workers, risk capital and environmental protection.

Leidenmuhler indicated he believed EDF’s funding mechanism for Hinkley Point C did not meet these criteria to be granted an exemption for state aid…….

The issue of a potential precedent being set was a point emphasized indirectly by Leidenmuhler in his presentation, when he cited the recent decision by the Czech government not to offer aid guarantees for the construction of a new nuclear unit at Temelin that would be similar to the guarantees offered by the UK government for Hinkley Point C.

“The decision of the Czech Government three weeks ago not to give such price guarantees in the case of Temelin is not only an economically reasonable step, but also legally required from the view of EU State aid law,” Leidenmuhler said.

May 10, 2014 Posted by | EUROPE, Legal, UK | 1 Comment

First lawsuit against TEPCO by a worker exposed to radiation

justiceflag-japanFukushima worker sues TEPCO for exposure to radiation http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201405080045 A worker at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant who was exposed to high levels of radiation in the early days of the disaster is seeking compensation from plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. and other parties.

It is the first such lawsuit by a Fukushima worker, according to the man’s lawyers. Their client’s identity was withheld.

“I wish (the utility) had informed us of possible risks in advance,” the 48-year-old man said at a news conference in Tokyo on May 7. “I want (TEPCO) to create safer conditions for workers because the decommissioning of the reactors will not finish anytime soon.”

Arguing that he was unnecessarily exposed to high levels of radiation due to slipshod instructions from TEPCO, the man is seeking 11 million yen ($107,000) in compensation. The lawsuit was filed at the Iwaki branch of the Fukushima District Court.

Just 13 days after the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, the man was among the six workers from TEPCO’s original contractor and its subcontractor who entered the basement of the No. 3 reactor turbine building, which had been flooded by tsunami, to install cables.

Three of the workers waded through contaminated water up to their ankles and were exposed to up to 180 millisieverts of radiation. They were later hospitalized.

According to the man’s complaint and other documents, he did not enter the radioactive water, but worked near a puddle of contaminated water for 90 minutes. He estimated that he received a radiation dose of at least 20 millisieverts at that time. The man argued that TEPCO should have been aware of the risks of working in the basement because it had previously discovered highly contaminated water around the No. 1 reactor on March 18. The man insists that the utility, however, told the six workers that the basement was safe to work in.

“That is a breach of responsibility to ensure safety,” the man said. “(The utility) put us in a position of being exposed to high doses of radiation unnecessarily.”

So far, the man has suffered no health issues.

“After carefully examining the contents of the demand and his arguments, we will sincerely respond to the claim,” TEPCO said in a statement issued the same day.

May 9, 2014 Posted by | Japan, Legal | Leave a comment

UK’s contract with EDF to build Hinkley nuclear station may not be valid

justiceHinkley Point nuclear power contract ‘may be invalid’ BBC News 6 May 14 The contract for building the UK’s first nuclear power station in a generation might not be “valid”, a leading legal academic has warned.

Former Liberal Democrat MP David Howarth, who lectures at Cambridge, said the deal with EDF over a plant at Hinkley Point could be seen as an “unjustifiable subsidy” under EU law.

flag-UKThe contract fixes a price for energy provided if the scheme goes ahead.

The government said the deal was “robust” and would give a “fair deal”.

The government announced last autumn that EDF, a French firm, would lead a consortium to build the Hinkley Point C station in Somerset, expected to supply around 7% of the UK’s electricity.

The company and ministers agreed a “strike price” of £92.50 for every megawatt hour, almost twice the current wholesale cost of electricity.

But Mr Howarth told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme there was a “problem with whether this is a valid contract at all”.

He argued that, under EU law, its terms could be described as an “unjustifiable subsidy” and that “because the system doesn’t allow for non-British generators to come within it, it might be a violation of the basic principle of EU law of freedom of movement of goods”. Mr Howarth added that English law could also be violated, as “the contract simply says what price it will get if it happens to supply a nuclear power station”, rather than compelling the company to build one.

Setting the price paid for the energy produced could also undermine the “long-standing legal doctrine that contracts which unduly bind the future discretion of governments to act in the public interest are void as being against public policy”.

“It’s quite possible that a contract of this size, over a period of 40 years, might find itself being caught by it,” he added…….http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-27291087

May 7, 2014 Posted by | Legal, UK | Leave a comment

Flawed review of Darlington nuclear station

justiceDarlington nuclear assessment “blinkered,” court told, Toronto Star 7 May 14 Environmental groups told a federal court that the review of the proposal to overhaul the Darlington nuclear station was flawed The agencies who gave the overhaul of the Darlington nuclear station an environmental green light had their “heads in the sand” at the prospect of a catastrophic accident, a federal court was told Tuesday.

“The responsible authorities’ blinkered approach to major accidents is not what Parliament intended,” Richard Lindgren told Mr. Justice Michael Phelan.

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) proposes to overhaul the four reactors at Darlington starting in 2016, extending their lives to 2055.

Greenpeace, the Canadian Environmental Law Association, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper and Northwatch have challenged the environmental approval granted to the project in 2013.

They want the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to give it further scrutiny.

In its environmental impact statement, OPG was only required to plan for accidents with the odds of occurring more frequently than once in a million years, per reactor.

In the world of accident assessment, that rules out catastrophic accidents on the scale of Fukushima or Chernobyl, with a widespread release of radiation and the need to evacuate many thousands of people.

“Those kinds of effects were not assessed at all,” Lindgren told the court.

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Act requires the assessment of accidents that “may” occur, he argued………

Darlington’s cooling system draws in cold lake water, circulates it through the plant, and then releases it back into the lake. Some fish are trapped on screens covering the intakes; smaller fish and eggs may be drawn in and killed.

May 7, 2014 Posted by | Canada, Legal | Leave a comment

Colorado passes Bill to protect groundwater from uranium mining’s radiation pollution

House advances uranium groundwater protection bill By  Joe Hanel Denver Herald staff writer 5 May 14, DENVER – New regulations on uranium processing passed the state House on Monday, despite a plea from Rep. Don Coram, R-Montrose, that they would destroy hope in the mining towns in his district.

Senate Bill 192 is intended to address an environmental disaster caused by the Cotter uranium mill in Cañon City, where radioactive waste poisoned a neighborhood’s groundwater for years.

It passed 43-22 Monday morning.

“We want to make sure there is not another Cotter mill. We want to make sure groundwater is not polluted by uranium processing,” said one of the sponsors, Rep. K.C. Becker, D-Boulder. The bill sets minimum standards for groundwater cleanups before a company can be let off the hook. It also requires uranium and thorium mines to get a radioactive materials license from the state health department if they use a new process that involves injecting water into the mine’s rock formations……..

Rep. Jared Wright, R-Fruita, said new mining technologies often pollute, despite promises to be safe and clean……..“This bill is about protecting our citizens, those we are all here today to serve,” Wright said.

If Energy Fuels reverses course and decides to build the new mill, SB 192’s groundwater cleanup requirements would apply to it, as well as to Cotter’s Cañon City mill.

May 6, 2014 Posted by | Legal, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Only available remedy for irradiated sailors is to sue TEPCO

Is America Abandoning its Bravest Heroes Yet justiceAgain?, WhoWhatWhy  By  on Apr 21, 2014Legal Remedy Sought“………Meanwhile, the only remedy available to Cooper, Goodwin, Sebourn, Simmons, and the others is to sue the Japanese operator of the nuclear plant, TEPCO. Lead attorney for the class action suit, Paul Garner, believes he will be able to prove that TEPCO knew on the first day of the accident that the plant was spewing deadly radiation, but concealed that information from the world. He also expresses confidence he will be able to prove that if the military had been aware of the radiation levels, it would not have sent or kept U.S. troops in harm’s way.

But Judge Janis L. Sammartino, who is hearing the case in San Diego, has set a high bar, ruling in November 2013 that the plaintiffs must show:

…not only that TEPCO misrepresented the condition of the FNPP [Fukushima nuclear power plant] and the risk to soldiers operating near the damaged facility, but also that TEPCO’s allegedly wrongful conduct, as opposed to other factors, caused the commanding officers of the Reagan “(1) to move the strike force and associated personnel into an area of dangerous radiation exposure; (2) to do so without undertaking radiation testing and research; and (3) to fail to order the necessary precautions, such as locking down the Reagan and supplying radiation monitoring.…”

And further:

At a minimum, Plaintiffs must show that, but for TEPCO’s allegedly wrongful conduct, the military would not have deployed personnel near the FNPP or would have taken additional measures to protect service members from radiation exposure. Thus, Plaintiffs’ success inevitably hinges on the conclusion that the military’s precautions were inadequate or unreasonable and that had it not been for TEPCO’s misstatements, military commanders would have adopted a different course of action…….http://whowhatwhy.com/2014/04/21/america-abandoning-bravest-heroes-yet/

April 22, 2014 Posted by | Legal, USA | Leave a comment

America’s loyalty to the nuclear industry, rather than to sick, irradiated navymen

Is America Abandoning its Bravest Heroes Yet Again?, WhoWhatWhy  By  on Apr 21, 2014Reason for Navy Cover-up?“………..Because U.S. military personnel are prevented from suing the government, their only recourse is to go after TEPCO. But given the interests involved, the outcome for the Operation Tomodachi victims remains very much in doubt. Robert Alvarez, the nuclear investigator and former DOE deputy assistant secretary, points out that about a quarter of a million U.S. soldiers were subjected to open air nuclear weapons testing in the 1940s, 50s and 60s.

“If you use the treatment of atomic veterans who were involved in atmospheric testing as a benchmark, the government did everything it could to downplay the hazards, because from the military perspective, the mission is all important,” he says.

“Right now, the United States government and Japan are closing ranks because of their nuclear-related relationships,” he says. Although Japan’s 54 power-generating nuclear reactors are currently offline, the country still has the third largest number of nuclear reactors in the world.

But more important, Alvarez says, is the “extraordinary co-dependence” with Japan on nuclear-energy-related matters. “Because the U.S. has lost much of its capability in designing and building reactors, we have to depend on the Japanese and the French if we’re going to build any reactors or fabricate fuel or do anything to service the existing reactor fleet,” he explained. “We’re dependent on companies that are now owned by Japan and France.”

The case of the ill Operation Tomodachi veterans shines a spotlight on the intersection of competing interests between victims of radiation exposure, the nuclear power industry, and the U.S. government and its unwavering commitment to nuclear technology for both military and civilian use. So far, by denying the harm from the radiation U.S. military personnel were exposed to as they helped Japan clean up after the devastating earthquake and tsunami in March 2011—a position that supports the Japanese government and nuclear industry—the U.S. government is doing what it has almost always done: protect nuclear interests rather than its victims.

As the number of ill Operation Tomodachi veterans climbs, it remains to be seen whether their sacrifice will be acknowledged or if they, like so many others, will be left to fend for themselves.  http://whowhatwhy.com/2014/04/21/america-abandoning-bravest-heroes-yet/#sthash.YiyEeRT1.dpuf

April 22, 2014 Posted by | Legal, politics, Reference, USA | Leave a comment

The exposure of US sailors to radiation, near Fukushima

text ionisingNavy Sailors: Frozen Fukushima steam blanketed ship; Crew suffered massive radiation doses, dozens have cancer — Calls for it to be sunk… still too radioactive; Navy: There’s some contamination, but it’s ok — Tepco: No way US officials would rely on information we were telling to public http://enenews.com/navy-sailors-frozen-fukushima-steam-blanketed-uss-reagan-crew-suffered-massive-radiation-doses-dozens-now-have-cancer-report-calls-for-ship-to-be-sunk-still-too-radioactive-navy-says-contam

AP, Apr 7, 2014: Nearly 80 U.S. sailors are […] alleging [Tepco] lied about the high level of radiation in the area [and] repeatedly said there was no danger to the crew when they were actually being blanketed with radiation that has since led to dozens of cancer cases and a child being born with birth defects [Tepco] said that there was no way the commanders of the aircraft carrier would have relied on the utility […] “It’s wholly implausible… military commanders in charge of thousands of personnel and armed with some of the world’s most sophisticated equipment, relied instead only on the press releases and public statements of a foreign electric utility co.”

Orange County Register, Apr. 6, 2014: Sailors on the flight deck said they felt a warm gust of air, followed by a sudden snow storm: radioactive steam. Freezing in the cold Pacific air. Blanketing their ship. And there they remained for two days, until […] aircrews returning [from] near Sendai identified levels of radioactivity [and] the Navy ordered the carrier to reposition much farther away […] the lawsuit contends, the crew had already suffered massive doses of radiation. […] dozens have developed cancers, at least one has borne a child with birth defects [Their lawsuit is] raising very strange and disturbing questions: Could the Reagan – one of the most advanced nuclear aircraft carriers in the U.S. fleet – really not know that it was being showered with massive doses of radiation? […] Some critics on the ecological front say the Reagan, now stationed in San Diego, is still so radioactive that it needs to be sunk. It floated around the Pacific for many weeks after the Fukushima humanitarian mission ended, as no Pacific Rim country would give it permission to dock. [It’s] slated to move to a new home port this year. In Japan.

Navy spokesman Lt. Greg D. Raelson:  “Low levels of radioactive contamination did enter ventilation systems, which have numerous inaccessible areas difficult to perform radiological surveys and decontamination […] there is no indication that any remaining minimal levels of radiation pose any adverse health concern. Radiological controls are in place to survey, control and remove remaining contamination”

U.S. sailors’ lawsuit: “[Those exposed to radioactive releases from Fukushima Daiichi] must now endure a lifetime of radiation poisoning and suffering which could have and should have been avoided” [TEPCO] lied through its teeth, knowing all along the plant was in full-scale meltdown […] “rendered the plaintiffs infirm and poisoned their bodies.”

See also: Navy Officers on TV: “My body is falling apart” after Japan rescue mission, his right side “just didn’t work” — Another “can no longer use his legs” and unable to urinate — If 300 times normal radiation is OK, I don’t know what to tell you

April 11, 2014 Posted by | health, Legal, radiation, USA | 2 Comments

France’s prosecutor examining AREVA’s finances

French prosecutor probes Areva buy of Canadian miner  https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/french-prosecutor-probes-areva-buy-084747257.html France’s financial prosecutor has opened a preliminary probe into state-controlled nuclear giant Areva’s controversial 2007 purchase of a Canadian uranium miner, a judicial source said Thursday.

The probe focuses on the $2.5 billion (1.8 billion euro) purchase by Areva of UraMin at a height of demand for enriched uranium.

Areva was later forced to revalue its UraMin uranium mines to only 410 million euros.

Canadian media reports have suggested the sale was preceded by suspicious stock trades.

French newspaper Le Monde said France’s Cour des Comptes, which oversees state accounts, had referred the case to prosecutors. It said the Cour des Comptes is to release a report into Areva’s 2006-2012 finances later this month.

Areva’s chief from that period, Anne Lauvergeon, said in a statement Thursday that the deal was “strategic at the time”, noting that it was “submitted and approved by the group’s decision-making bodies”.

April 11, 2014 Posted by | France, Legal | Leave a comment

Danger of Fukushima radiation kept secret, as US navymen were exposed

justiceUS service members claim they were misled about Fukushima radiation dangers RT, 9 April 14, US service members who took part in cleanup efforts after the Fukushima nuclear disaster have since been diagnosed with ailments like cancer. Now, in a class action lawsuit, they allege they were misled about radiation risks, RT’s Ameera David reports.

Dozens of US sailors and marines who provided humanitarian assistance following the meltdown of three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan in March 2011 have been diagnosed with illnesses such as leukemia, testicular cancer, and thyroid disease.
The service members – many of whom were aboard the aircraft carrier USS Reagan – are now part of a class action lawsuit against the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). They allege TEPCO provided false information to the US Navy about the extent of radioactive contamination in the surrounding air and water.

While TEPCO is the main focus of suspicions, the service members are also pressing the US Navy to reveal whether or not it knew about the radiation, particularly considering the kind of equipment aboard the USS Reagan, a nuclear-powered ship.

There are “lots of radiation detectors both fixed in position to monitor the radioactivity from the reactor itself and also lots of Geiger counters,” said Paul Gunter, Director of the Reactor Oversight Project with Beyond Nuclear, an anti-nuclear advocacy organization.

“So we’re quite sure that the Navy was aware of the radioactivity but that was not being communicated to the sailors that were in harm’s way.”

The Navy denies the allegations, saying that the Pentagon and an independent group analyzed available radioactive data of that period.

“The worst-case radiation exposure for a crew member on [the] USS Ronald Reagan is less than 25 percent of the annual radiation exposure to a member of the US public from natural sources of background radiation, such as the sun, rocks, and soil,” a spokesperson for the Navy told RT.

But the Navy’s claims do not make sense, says Michael Sebourn, a former US Navy officer who was part of the Fukushima cleanup. In fact, he was responsible for measuring radiation exposure to equipment and US personnel.

“That was my job,” Sebourn told RT. “So to say that it is normal day-to-day radiation is 100-percent bogus……http://rt.com/usa/navy-fukushima-nuclear-radiation-504/

April 10, 2014 Posted by | Legal, USA | 1 Comment

New lawsuit against TEPCO by US sailors exposed to radiation

justiceUS sailors sue Japanese utility over radiation http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/04/07/5718177/us-sailors-sue-japanese-utility.html, Apr. 07, 2014 SAN DIEGO — Nearly 80 U.S. sailors are seeking $1 billion from the Tokyo utility that operates the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, alleging the company lied about the high level of radiation in the area where they were carrying out a humanitarian mission after a tsunami that touched off a nuclear crisis three years ago.

Flag-USAA lawsuit filed in federal court in San Diego contends that Tokyo Electric Power Co. repeatedly said there was no danger to the crew when they were actually being blanketed with radiation that has since led to dozens of cancer cases and a child being born with birth defects, the Orange County Register reported Monday (http://bit.ly/PGRNQm ). The Japanese company says its “wholly implausible” military commanders would rely on safety information from the utility.

This is the second time the sailors have targeted the utility, the newspaper reported. Their 2012 suit was dismissed because it named the Japanese government, which owns the utility, and a judge said that put it beyond the reach of a U.S. court. An amended suit names only the utility, which runs the plant where three reactors went into meltdown and exploded in March 2011, sending radiation into the air.

The 79 sailors served on the San Diego-based aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, which was ferrying food and water to the city of Sendai in the wake of a massive earthquake that triggered the tsunami.

In a motion to dismiss the new lawsuit, the Tokyo utility said that there was no way the commanders of the aircraft carrier would have relied on the utility to determine the safety of its sailors. It’s wholly implausible,” the company says in its response, “that military commanders in charge of thousands of personnel and armed with some of the world’s most sophisticated equipment, relied instead only on the press releases and public statements of a foreign electric utility company.”

Information from: The Orange County Register, http://www.ocregister.com


April 8, 2014 Posted by | Legal, USA | Leave a comment

Japanese municipality to sue central govt to stop new nuclear power plant

justiceflag-japanHakodate assembly OKs lawsuit against nuclear plant http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/03/26/national/hakodate-assembly-oks-lawsuit-against-nuclear-plant/#.UzQ9eqhdV9UKYODO HAKODATE, HOKKAIDO – The municipal assembly of Hakodate in Hokkaido on Wednesday approved a plan to sue the central government and an electric utility to stop construction of a nuclear power plant in neighboring Aomori Prefecture.

The assembly plans to file the lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court as early as April 3 in what will be the first nuclear power-related lawsuit against the central government by a local government.Located at the southern tip of Hokkaido, Hakodate is only 23 km across the Tsugaru Strait from the Oma plant, which Electric Power Development Co., better known as J-Power, started building in May 2008.

“In the event of an accident, Hakodate’s core industries of fishery and tourism would suffer devastating damage,” Mayor Toshiki Kudo said after the assembly unanimously approved the suit.Construction of the 1,383-megawatt plant was suspended in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011 but was resumed in October 2012.

J-Power plans to apply to the Nuclear Regulation Authority for safety assessment of the plant as early as this autumn. The plant will house an advanced boiling water reactor using plutonium-uranium mixed oxide fuel, which contains plutonium extracted from spent fuel.

March 28, 2014 Posted by | Japan, Legal | Leave a comment

Radiation effects on family of US Navy man

exclamation-Wife of Navy Sailor: Our 1-year-old has brain cancer and spinal cancer resulting from Fukushima exposure — Wheelchair-bound Navy Sailor: It’s now affecting my arms and my hands, everything is still progressing (AUDIO) http://enenews.com/wife-of-navy-sailor-our-1-year-old-has-brain-cancer-and-spinal-cancer-resulting-from-fukushima-exposure-wheelchair-bound-navy-sailor-its-affecting-my-arms-and-my-hands-everything-is-still-prog?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ENENews+%28Energy+News%29

Democracy Now, , Mar. 19, 2014:

Navy Lt. Steve Simmons, USS Ronald Reagan: Now the muscle weakness affects my legs, my arms, my hands — and now everything is still progressing. […]
Host: You’re sitting in a wheelchair right now?
Simmons: I am.

Charles Bonner, attorney:  This is a declaration from the wife of the sailor, who writes in here declaration to the court, “My husband was exposed to radiation particles while assigned to the 7th fleet on the USS Ronald Reagan assisting in Operation Tomadachi beginning in March of 2011. As a result of this exposure, our son who was born November 14th 2012, at 8 months was diagnosed with brain and spine cancer.”

Full broadcast available here

March 21, 2014 Posted by | Legal, USA | Leave a comment

Radiation exposure to US sailors far greater than Japan estimated

text-radiationUS sailors exposed to Fukushima radiation levels beyond Japan’s estimates Aljazeera 17 March 14, Crew members of the USS Ronald Reagan’s March 2011 Fukushima relief mission encountered radiation levels that far exceeded the Japanese government’s estimates, according to a report in the Asia-Pacific Journal.

The revelations contained in the report could have a bearing on the lawsuit against Tokyo Electric Power Company by more than 70 U.S. service members who say they suffer from long-term health effects from their participation in the U.S. navy’s response to the nuclear disaster.  Continue reading →

March 18, 2014 Posted by | Legal, USA | 1 Comment

GE Hitachi fined for concealing flaws in nuclear reactor design

judge-1Flag-USAU.S. fines GE Hitachi nuclear unit over flawed reactor design http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/23/usa-nuclear-ge-idUSL2N0KX2H820140123 WASHINGTON Thu Jan 23, 2014 (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday said that General Electric Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC has agreed to pay $2.7 million to resolve allegations that it made false claims to U.S. regulators about a nuclear reactor component.

GE Hitachi, headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina, is a subsidiary of the conglomerate General Electric Co and partially owned by Japan’s Hitachi Ltd.

The company allegedly made false statements to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy between 2007 and 2012 about the advanced nuclear Economic Simplified Boiling-Water Reactor (ESBWR), known as the steam dryer.

The settlement made no determination of liability on the company’s behalf. The NRC requires that applicants for nuclear reactor design certification show that vibrations caused by the steam dryer will not result in damage to a nuclear plant.

The government alleged that GE Hitachi concealed known flaws in its analysis of the steam dryer, falsely represented that it had properly analyzed the dryer, and had verified the accuracy of its modeling using reliable data.

“Transparency and honesty are absolutely critical when dealing with issues relating to the design of a nuclear reactor,” said Stuart Delery, assistant attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division.

The lawsuit is captioned United States ex rel. Dandy v. General Electric Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC, General Electric Company, 7:12-cv-009 (E.D.N.C.)

January 24, 2014 Posted by | Legal | 1 Comment

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