As the new home of MASSPIRG's environmental work, Environment Massachusetts can be contacted regarding this news release.
As
Entergy Corp files for twenty-year license extensions for one of the
country’s oldest nuclear power plants, Pilgrim Nuclear Station, this
Sunday’s episode of the popular drama “West Wing” highlights the
growing threat of a nuclear disaster in communities across the nation.
The show depicts a major accident at a nuclear facility in Southern
California.
Over
the course of the episode, it is made clear that faulty components,
poor emergency planning and evacuation routes, unclear warning
mechanisms and inadequate, industry supplied radiation limits pose
extreme dangers to millions of people.
“The
upsetting thing about this show is that it’s not just a piece of
fiction,” said Evan Feinman, Energy Associate for Massachusetts Public
Interest Research Group (MASSPIRG). “Every single danger and
complication mentioned in this episode is a real threat to communities
all over the country. We’ve got the antique Pilgrim Nuclear Plant here
in Plymouth, Massachusetts and if something goes seriously wrong there
won’t be any way out for the citizens of every community near the
plant. We’re calling on all of our representatives to oppose Pilgrim’s
re-licensing.”
Nuclear
reactors all over the country are showing signs of age. In 2002, at the
Davis-Besse Plant in Toledo, a six inch deep hole was found in the
containment around the core itself. This hole left only one quarter
inch of corroding steel preventing a major nuclear disaster.
“The
oldest operating nuclear power plant in the country--Oyster Creek--is
right on the Jersey Shore,” said Suzanne Leta, Advocate for New
Jersey’s Public Interest Research Group (NJ Pirg). “Similar to the
plant in the West Wing episode, Oyster Creek has a major design flaw.
In a case of an accident, the plant can’t withstand pressure build-up
and there is a 90 percent chance that radioactive steam will be
released directly into the environment. Nonetheless, Exelon Corp.
decided to put profits ahead of public safety and applied to extend the
plant’s license for another two decades. We’re working to make sure
that the plant closes on schedule.”
Debates
and hearings are being held across the country on whether or not to
extend the licenses of forty year-old nuclear reactors for an
additional twenty years. So far, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has
rubberstamped every single application for license extension. Public
interest advocates are concerned about the transparency of the NRC
process, including the fact that there are no formal public hearings on
safety-related issues.
“There
is too much white-washing of the safety issues by the nuclear industry
and their allies in government,” said Rob Sargent, Senior Energy Policy
Analyst with the National Association of State PIRGs. “Local
governments, state legislatures, Governor Romney, and the entire
Massachusetts congressional delegation all need to take action to make
sure that these threats to our communities are reduced and eventually
eliminated.”
