A post from Oregon and Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility says more about this catastrophe waiting to happen and references the anonymous letter, which was also sent to them.
On April 26, 2016, a story about a second anonymous letter that was sent to Entergy Northwest was published in the Tri-City Herald. "The letter said that as of December, the plant ranked 88 out of 99 plants. Radiation exposure was the third worst among boiling water reactors and equipment reliability put it at 97 out of 99 plants."
Diablo Canyon Power Plant, California - Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
"'I'm frightened that they're making almost the exact same mistake we saw at Fukushima,' said Daniel Hirsch, a lecturer in nuclear policy at UC Santa Cruz. The 2011 meltdown of three reactors at Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant happened after an earthquake triggered a tsunami that swamped the plant, knocked out its power systems and led to a loss of coolant. The crippled plant still leaks radiation into the sea. 'There was a too-cozy relationship between the nuclear industry and regulators in Japan, and that led to the fiction that it was very unlikely that you'd have an earthquake and a tsunami and a loss-of-coolant accident at the same time,' said Hirsch, who also serves as president of Committee to Bridge the Gap, a grassroots nuclear safety group."
Senator Barbara Boxer "On the continued operation of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant operation despite a senior NRC inspector's recommendation that it be shut down until seismic upgrades can be made: 'It's not in dispute that PG&E is not in compliance with their license....Why didn't you listen to your own inspector?'"
From The Tribune, April 23, 2016, "The dismantling of Diablo will cost an estimated $3.8 billion, making it one of the most expensive and complex projects in San Luis Obispo County history. To put that figure in perspective, it cost $5.7 billion to build the plant in the 1970s. Nothing about Diablo's dismantling -- as detailed in a report by PG&E consultant TLG Services -- will be routine. One example: While it was once anticipated that most waste could be disposed of locally, that's no longer the case, in part because of an executive order signed by Gov. Gray Davis in 2002 that prohibits disposal of low-level radioactive waste from California Class III landfills. Now, the plan is to send scrap metal to Nevada. Low-level radioactive waste will go to Utah or Texas. Concrete rubble will be packed into bags and shipped to an out-of-state disposal site. Spent fuel rods -- classified as high-level nuclear waste -- will be stored on site until they're picked up by the Department of Energy." Radioactive waste lasts for millions of years. Meanwhile, lets ship it out of our backyards.
The Nuclear Power Industry, Money, Lobbyists, Congress, President Obama
"Since January 1, 2013, the top five U.S. nuclear power operating companies and the Nuclear Energy Institute have spent a combined $60.4 million on lobbying Congress and federal agencies." This report is posted on February 2015 by MapLight - Money and Politics: Illuminating the Connection.
On January 28, 2016, the Senate, including three progressive Democrat Senators - Elizabeth Warren, Al Franken, and Sherrod Brown - shockingly and disgracefully voted overwhelmingly to pass "Amendment Number: S.Amdt. 3021 to S.Amdt. 2953 to S. 2012(Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015) Statement of Purpose: To enable civilian research and development of advanced nuclear energy technologies by private and public institutions, to expand theoretical and practical knowledge of nuclear physics, chemistry, and materials science. Vote Counts: YEAs 87 NAYs 4 Not Voting 9". The nays: three Democrat senators - Edward Markey, Mazie Hiron, Jeff Merkley and Republican Mike Lee.
What could the Senate be thinking of? Here is the text of bill S.2461- Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act. Here is what Beyond Nuclear says about it: "The bi-partisan Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act that passed last week as an amendment to the still under discussion Senate Energy Policy Modernization Act, would risk squandering tax dollars 'to accelerate research and development of advanced fission reactor systems, nuclear fusion systems, and reactor systems for space exploration.' It would also put these projects on a dangerous four-year licensing fast track that risks cutting safety corners to lower costs to the industry and would undercut public due process. Ironically, goals also include 'Ensuring public safety,' and 'Reducing the environmental impact of nuclear energy,' which could be far better achieved by closing nuclear plants and focusing on expanding renewable energy."
Most recently, April 2016, there is a new very heinous, bill in the Senate that is trying to make it so that there will be no mandatory licensing hearings for so-called advanced small modular nuclear reactors. There is a partial transcript of the hearing and a CSPAN video in the link. Responding to Dr. Lyman, who he is questioning, Senator Edward Markey says, "'And, I agree with you. There are mandatory hearings if you want to build a new house next door to someone else's house. There's a public hearing down at town hall. And, here we are building a nuclear power plant and mandatory hearings for a construction permit, for an operating permit would no longer be mandatory? That just makes no sense whatsoever. That's an inherently dangerous technology that needs all kinds of tough questions to be asked about it.'"
There is a "'New Nuclear' lobby working to weaken powers of USA's Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)-- "The legislation would also eliminate language that requires NRC's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel to hold a hearing on new applications"At the Obama administration's request, NRC earmarked $5 million for work on advancing small modular reactor (SMR) licensing practices in its fiscal 2017 budget proposal. Both House and Senate proposed spending bills include language to address this issue"One thing senators and the nuclear industry agree on is that the commission's current licensing process, with a design and certification that can cost billions of dollars and stretch for up to a decade, is one of the biggest obstacles for SMRs [small modular reactors] and advanced reactor designs that use coolants other than water""'Fewer resources are not good for the agency in protecting against a terrorist attack," said an animated Markey, demanding any of the witnesses to refute his claim."
The bill is S2795 and we must very carefully watch this and act to stop it.
In 2012 The "Obama Administration Announces $450 Million to Design and Commercialize U.S. Small Modular Nuclear Reactors"..Manufacturing these reactors domestically will offer the United States important export opportunities and will advance our competitive edge in the global clean energy race."". Today's announcement builds on the Obama Administration's efforts to help jumpstart America's nuclear energy industry that include""
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