Friday, March 22, 2013
Anti-nuclear advocates see NRC's order as a "half measure," issue petition to revoke Oyster Creek's license
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has directed its technical staff to improve venting pressure during potential accidents at 31 U.S. reactors, including Oyster Creek Generating Station. The Commission’s decision comes two years after the Fukushima meltdown in Japan and requires hardened venting systems at boiling-water reactors with Mark I and Mark II containments. “In reaching this decision, the Commission engaged in thoughtful deliberation with each other as we each considered these important issues in our post-Fukushima accident review process,” said NRC Chairman Allison Macfarlane. Since Fukushima, local advocates have petitioned to shut down U.S. nuclear plants with the same type of reactor as the Japanese plant. In 1972, several …
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Exelon Corporation will be installing new sirens with battery back-up capability for Oyster Creek Generating Station by June 1
Exelon Corporation will be installing new sirens with battery back-up capability for Oyster Creek Generating Station by June 1, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) response to Sen. Robert Menendez’s concerns raised following Superstorm Sandy. In January, Menendez questioned the integrity of the plant, following a special inspection report released by the NRC. The report indicated several areas in need of improvement, including heightened awareness of emergency declaration thresholds, clearer documentation in control room records and ensuring reliable back-up power for the plant’s emergency operations facility, he said. “This report raised some important issues, even if there were no cited violations,” Menendez said. “In …
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
A petition has been filed to the NRC to address Hurricane Sandy-related concerns prior to permitting Oyster Creek Generating Station to return to service
Anti-nuclear advocates have filed emergency legal proceedings with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and have made an appeal to Gov. Chris Christie to intervene and ensure that "major flaws" at Oyster Creek Generating Station are addressed prior to the nuclear power plant returning online. “We’ve just been through a heart wrenching catastrophe with Sandy,” said Janet Tauro, chair of the Board of Directors of the NJ Environmental Federation (NJEF) and founder of Grandmothers, Mothers and More for Energy Safety (GRAMMES). “So many have lost their homes, been displaced, been made physically ill by the aftermath of the devastation that to add the greater risk of a Fukushima radioactive event to the mix would simply be inhuman.” The …
Monday, August 6, 2012
The public can listen to the meeting via webcast on the NRC's website at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 7
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is holding a meeting at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 7 about its efforts to implement lessons learned from the Fukushima Dai-ichi accident. The meeting will be held at NRC headquarters in Rockville, Md., but will be open to the public via webcast. NRC staff and other stakeholders will brief the public on lessons learned and actions taken post Fukushima. The webcast will be made available at www.nrc.gov. The meeting is expected to last three hours. The slides for the various presenters for the meeting can be found by clicking this link. The agenda is as follows: Speaker: James Scaroloa, Executive Director, U.S. Industry Fukushima Response Topic: Industry actions taken in response to the Fukushima accident Duration…
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Fukushima is a "low probability event," NRC says
Oyster Creek critics expressed a sense of urgency at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s second public meeting on the oversight of the Forked River based nuclear plant. Just more than a year after the Fukushima disaster, citizens continue to show concern over the NRC’s lack of immediate action to improve the safety of nuclear plants in the United States. In March, the federal agency issued its first orders following the nuclear disaster but plant’s have until 2016 to comply. “Why is this urgency that we’re now all supposed to be feeling after Fukushima is not reflected in the work of the NRC,” said New Jersey Environmental Federation’s (NJEF) Peggi Sturmfels, who considers the post Fukushima requirements “patchwork.” “We need to get this …
Thursday, March 22, 2012
NRC issues its first orders for U.S. power plants post Fukushima
Advocates are concerned that Oyster Creek Generating Station may find a way around the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) first orders post Fukushima as the plant won’t have to comply until 2016, two years before its operating license expires. “They agreed to an early shutdown,” said, Gregory Auriemma, local attorney and president of the Ocean County chapter of the Sierra Club. “But the question is, will (upgrades) be cost effective?” On March 12, the NRC issued three immediately effective orders for power reactors licensees, including Oyster Creek, to do the following: The NRC cites “public health” as the primary reason for the new orders. “The NRC believes that continued operation under existing regulations does not pose an imminent …
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Forked River nuclear plant installed new equipment, reassessed emergency procedures and more since the disaster occurred in Japan on March 11, 2011
One year after the nuclear disaster at Japan's Fukushima, Exelon Nuclear has performed extensive reviews of equipment, structures and procedures at Oyster Creek Generating Station. “Integrating lessons and continuous improvement is a cornerstone of our operations at Oyster Creek,” said Oyster Creek Site Vice President Michael J. Massaro. “Along with the rest of the world, we watched and waited as events unfolded last March. And then, as nuclear professionals, we used the information and experiences coming from Japan to assure that our nuclear facility remained at the pinnacle of safety.” Since the tsunami and earthquake in Japan, which occurred on March 11, 2011, Oyster Creek has purchased additional backup emergency equipment, updated …
Monday, February 27, 2012
First discussion will be held in Lakewood on Friday, March 2; walk begins in Waretown on Saturday, March 3
As part of the “No More Fukushimas Peace Walk,” which includes a stop at Oyster Creek Generating Station, Jersey Shore Nuclear Watch will be presenting six evening discussions on the nuclear disaster and its implications for the people of New Jersey. “Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant, the oldest nuclear plant in the country, has the same design as the Fukushima Nuclear Plant whose disaster caused the permanent displacement of 160,000 Japanese people,” Edith Gbur of Jersey Shore Nuclear Watch said. The walk, which will call attention to the implications of the Fukushima accident for nuclear power safety in the U.S., will begin at the Forked River-based plant and continue to the Indian Point power plant in Buchanan, N.Y., and finish at …
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Petition calls for a 50-mile emergency evacuation zone surrounding U.S. nuclear reactors, including Oyster Creek Generating Station
Jersey Shore advocates joined thirty-seven clean energy groups in submitting a formal petition for rulemaking to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) seeking the adoption of new regulations to expand emergency evacuation zones and improve emergency response planning around U.S. nuclear reactors, including Oyster Creek Generating Station. “Pretending that radiation from an accident at Oyster Creek would not go beyond the 10-mile evacuation zone is a fantasy placing millions of people at risk,” said Janet Tauro, a member of Grandmothers, Mothers and More for Energy Safety (GRAMMES), a grassroots organization who fought the relicensing of Oyster Creek and signed the petition. The petition calls for: Currently utilities do not have to prove…
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Report recommends a battery backup for the emergency sirens, additional emergency diesel pumps, and more.
Oyster Creek Generating Station is operating safely and has effective response plans to deal with potential emergency situations, the final report of Gov. Chris Christie’s Nuclear Review Task Force found. "Based on information provided by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and licensed operators of New Jersey's nuclear plants, Task Force members have a high level of confidence that New Jersey's nuclear power plants are operating safely and have effective action plans to address the lessons learned from the Fukushima incident,'' said Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin, who chairs the Task Force. The Task Force examined lessons learned from the nuclear emergency that occurred in Japan last year and found that…
butch cassidy
3:29 pm on Saturday, March 23, 2013
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