Vermont Yankee to close. Why is Oyster Creek still open?

by: lfurman

Sun Feb 28, 2010 at 02:30:42 PM EST

An Entergy Executive responsible for Vermont Yankee testified under oath to two state panels that there were no buried pipes at Vermont Yankee that could leak tritium.  This testimony is now known to be false. The Entergy executive, who perjured himself is believed to be Vice President Jay Thayer.

Vermont Senator Randolph Brock, a Republican from St. Albans, who in the past has supported Vermont Yankee, said "If the board of directors and management of Entergy were thoroughly infiltrated by antinuclear activists, I do not think they could have done a better job of destroying their own case."

Adler joins members of Congress asking for review of Nuclear Regulations

by: Jason Springer

Sat Jan 23, 2010 at 08:27:42 AM EST

U.S. Rep. John Adler joined two other congressmen seeking a federal review of nuclear regulations in response to discoveries last year of radioactive water leaking at the Oyster Creek Generating Station in Lacey Township.

Adler, D-3rd, joined Reps. Edward Markey, D-Mass., and John Hall,D-N.Y., in asking the U.S. Government Accountability Office to begin the review after the radioactive isotope tritium was found leaking from two buried pipes at Oyster Creek.

The congressmen cited similar underground pipe leaks found at six other nuclear sites. In 2006, tritium leaked into groundwater under the San Onofre nuclear plant in Southern California. At New York's Indian Point, which is in Hall's district, pipe corrosion allowed thousands of gallons of nonradioactive water to leak from a cooling system last February.

The three congressmen who sought the GAO study all have nuclear plants in their districts, but it's Markey who is a heavy hitter in Congress on energy issues. He chairs the House Subcommitee on Energy and Environment as well as the House Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.

NRC launches special probe to investigate Oyster Creek

by: Jason Springer

Sat Jul 18, 2009 at 05:59:39 PM EDT

Samuel J. Collins, a regional administrator with the NRC, said in a statement the performance of humans and machines during the outage need to be looked into more closely.

"While the plant was safely removed from service during the event, several equipment issues arose during the shutdown that we believe bear closer examination," he said. "Through this special inspection, we intend to gain a better understanding of these issues, including the actions taken by plant operators in response."

Among those was an electrical component failing; an emergency diesel generator taking longer than expected to start; and problems involving an isolation condenser, a component used to help cool down the reactor during shutdowns.

David Benson, a plant spokesman, said the backup generator did not perform as expected.

"We are not satisfied with the performance of one of the two diesel generators," he said. "Our expectation is for the generator to start up in seven seconds; this generator took 80 seconds."

Shortly after it won the new license, the plant discovered some underground pipes had been leaking tritium, a weak, radioactive form of hydrogen. The pipes were dug up and replaced, and the plant says no tritium has left the site.

The NRC plans to issue a report on its findings within 45 days of the completion of the special inspection.

Fire shuts down Oyster Creek transformer

by: Jason Springer

Mon Feb 02, 2009 at 06:58:54 AM EST

Exelon Nuclear says the fire was in one of the Oyster Creek nuclear plant's two main transformers.

The company says the unit automatically shut down and there was no threat to the public. No one was injured.

Plant operators declared an unusual event at 10:11 p.m. Sunday. The company says the fire was extinguished 16 minutes later and the event ended at 11:37 p.m.

Oyster Creek still shut down

by: Jason Springer

Mon Dec 01, 2008 at 05:44:21 PM EST

The Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station remains shut down following a weekend problem with one of its two main electrical transformers.

Just after 9 p.m. Friday, an electrical fault occurred in one of the transformers that converts Oyster Creek's output for use on the grid that serves the region.

That caused the plant to shut down automatically.

Oyster Creek is the oldest nuclear reactor in the country having opened in 1969.  It's license expires in April of 2009 and Excelon has been trying to renew their license with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for another twenty years since 2005.

Fired up and Ready to Go Nuclear?

by: kwilkinson

Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 10:54:10 PM EST

The episode ...began on Dec. 1, 2005, when Exelon issued a news release saying it had discovered tritium, a radioactive byproduct of nuclear power, in monitoring wells at its Braidwood plant, about 60 miles southwest of Chicago. A few days later, tritium was detected in a drinking water well at a home near the plant, although the levels did not exceed federal safety standards... Exelon believed the tritium came from millions of gallons of water that had leaked from the plant years earlier but went unreported at the time. Under nuclear commission rules, plants are required to tell state and local authorities only about radioactive discharges that rise to the level of an emergency.

On March 1, Mr. Obama introduced a bill known as the Nuclear Release Notice Act of 2006. It stated flatly that nuclear plants "shall immediately" notify federal, state and local officials of any accidental release of radioactive material that exceeded "allowable limits for normal operation."...

But eventually, Mr. Obama agreed to rewrite the bill... In interviews over the past two weeks, Obama aides insisted that the revisions did not substantively alter the bill. In fact, it was left drastically different... The revised bill was never taken up in the full Senate ... Last October, Mr. Obama reintroduced the bill, in its rewritten form.  ...turning the whole matter over to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, as Mr. Obama's revised bill would have done, played into the hands of the nuclear power industry, which they say has little to fear from the regulators. Mr. Obama seemed to share those concerns when he told a New Hampshire newspaper last year that the commission "is a moribund agency that needs to be revamped and has become a captive of the industry it regulates."...

Even more troubling is the pattern of contributions:

Since 2003, executives and employees of Exelon, which is based in Illinois, have contributed at least $227,000 to Mr. Obama's campaigns for the United States Senate and for president. Two top Exelon officials, Frank M. Clark, executive vice president, and John W. Rogers Jr., a director, are among his largest fund-raisers.
Another Obama donor, John W. Rowe, chairman of Exelon, is also chairman of the Nuclear Energy Institute, the nuclear power industry's lobbying group, based in Washington. Exelon's support for Mr. Obama far exceeds its support for any other presidential candidate. In addition, Mr. Obama's chief political strategist, David Axelrod, has worked as a consultant to Exelon.

New Jerseyans will remember Exelon's failed attempted takeover of PSEG and the application for renewal of one of the oldest nuclear power plants in the country, Oyster Creek.  From the Star Ledger 1/26:

Critics, including some neighbors and environmentalists, say Oyster Creek's reactor design is obsolete, its community evacuation plan is flawed, and numerous safety issues remain unanswered, including the reliability of a steel containment shell around the core reactor. In the next few weeks, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is expected to decide whether to grant a 20-year license extension to the nation's oldest commercial nuclear station, a step even the plant's most ardent foes expect to happen. After all, the commission has approved 48 of 48 license renewal applications that have come before it.

The NRC's action will cap a process that began in July 2005, when the plant's owner, Exelon Corp., submitted a 2,400-page application to renew its license. The public hearings and legal maneuvering that followed marked what has been one of the most heated nuclear relicensing cases the federal government has heard.  The fight has focused on the reactor's containment shell, which protects workers from radiation, and whether corrosion has thinned it to the point where it might buckle if the plant were allowed to operate for another 20 years after the current license expires in 2009. Opponents' arguments about the safety of the containment shell were persuasive enough to win the first-ever public hearing by the agency's licensing board, which in the end signed off on the safety of the plant.  "I fully expect them to relicense the plant. We've always suspected the NRC was a rubber stamp for the industry," said Janet Tauro, a mother of two teenagers in Brick Township who is a co-founder of one of the groups trying to shut the plant, Grandmothers, Mothers and More for Energy Safety

To be fair, there is no daylight between the candidates on the new licenses that will be issued to nuclear power industry.  Both Hillary and Obama do not oppose nuclear power, and I can't imagine McCain or Romney do.  Mother Jones reported on Edwards rhetoric opposing it, but when he was in the Senate, he didn't vote against it either (Dec issue I think?).

Still, I have to wonder about the Exelon exec's giving so much to Obama.   Don't have time to research if they also gave to Hillary and McCain...

Not sure what to do.  This is the most conflicted I've been about a vote since I had to pick an alternative to Arnold for CA governor in 2003.

the great Zannoni

by: John C

Fri May 25, 2007 at 05:48:42 PM EDT

For the past 15 years Dennis Zannoni has been the top nuclear engineer at the NJDEP.  Now he has been reassigned to a cubicle without a phone or internet access.  It seems Zannoni questioned the expertise and objectivity of a panel assembled by the NRC to advise on the re-licensing application for the troubled Oyster Creek nuclear power plant.  During a break in the panel meeting, Zannoni remarked that half of the reviewers are nuclear industry executives.  A verbal complaint by an unnamed NRC staffer landed Zannoni in this internal exile...

While I'm not commenting on the Oyster Creek issue, this little anecdote seems to have two villains.  First, it's no surprise that the federal NRC defers to the regulated industry during Bushtime.  This brand of odious behavior has become "normal" during the past six years.  What is surprising, however, is NJDEP's treatment of Zannoni.  I expected something better under the leadership of Gov. Corzine and DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson.

News Round-up and Open Thread for Thursday, May 24, 2007

by: Sharon GR

Thu May 24, 2007 at 08:54:16 AM EDT

• A NJ Policy Perspective report shows that the state has lost money by limiting enrollment in the FamilyCare insurance plan, designed for low-income families. According to the study, increasing enrollment and fully funding the program would reduce charity care & emergency room visits and increase federal funds available, which would all lower costs while providing better care.
• Think no one would want to lease- sorry, monetize- Our Fair State's toll roads? Would higher tolls sweeten the deal?
• Speaking of toll roads, the Turnpike Authority is claiming copyright violations in the Internet distribution of a fatal crash video and is suing YouTube and others to stop showing the clip. GS Parkway officials are limiting access to the video surveillance system, which Kris Kolluri insisted is solely for"operational, law-enforcement reasons, not for entertainment value.?
• The State Supreme Court has been under increased protection since some whackjob radio host made their home addresses public last fall. The ranter, who has said "violence solves everything," has yet to be charged.
• NJ has subpoenaed MySpace's records for information on convicted sex offenders. Info on unconvicted sex offenders, unregistered offenders or those using the site anonymously will not be obtained.
• The Oyster Creek nuclear plant will continue to operate despite several low-level safety violations, and has been warned of increased scrutiny this year by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. A decision on renewing the plant's operations licence for another 20 years is expected around January 2008.
  
• Joe Cryan and Tom Wilson are having a shouting match over financial issues and private email between the Gov and Carla Katz, with Wilson threatening to sue to release the correspondence and Cryan criticizing Wilson's tirade: "Mr Wilson is doing nothing better than engaging in political voyeurism." Sorry- maybe I should have put this in the same category with American Idol that I dismissed earlier; let's call it "Gossipy non-news."
• One more casualty of global warming: our State Flower, the blue meadow violet, may disappear by the end of the century. Many wild flowers will be endangered; 17 other state flowers are threatened, according to a report by the National Wildlife Federation.

News Round-up and Open Thread for Tuesday, February 27, 2007

by: Sharon GR

Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 10:08:01 AM EST

• The Assembly Transportation committee held a hearing yesterday to restrict ideas to lease or sell the toll roads in Our Fair State, but Treasurer Bradley Abelow and Transportation Commissioner Kris Kolluri refused to appear; they feel that there are some legislators who want to turn the public against the plan before it's even proposed. Committee chairman John Wisniewski protested, saying they have a right to ask questions. (A discussion of the two sides of the asset monetization arguement are found here and here.)
• School aid should increase at least 3% for most districts under the proposed budget; some may see as high as 18%. Meanwhile, Education Commissioner Lucille Davy has promised to cut wasteful spending and change fiscal policies that result in "questionable practices."
• The Governor has worked out a deal with the NJEA so retired teachers do not have to pay for their medical benefits. As there is no increase in benefits, Corzine said he did not "give anything away."
• In the wake of subpoenas delivered by the FBI recently, Senate President Codey proposed new rules yesterday which would end- or at least make transparent- "Christmas Tree" grants, those last-minute budget requests which get little or no public input and can tack millions onto the budget.
• At the National Governors Association winter meeting, Gov. Corzine threatened to go to court to prevent Homeland Security rules from replacing Our Fair State's stricter chemical plant safety laws. He also voiced criticisms of the federal Dept. of Health's plans for children's health insurance for low-income families, as well as questioned the narrow focus on Iraq to the exclusion of Afghanistan.
• The child welfare system in Our Fair State is improving, according to a report by the Center for the Study of Social Policy. Better case tracking, staff training and increased adoptions all contributed to the improvement. The agency warned that even though in some measures the system has exceeded expectations, the system is still in need of work.
• Smoking in casinos is still in the news: While the Senate health committee advanced the bill to close the loophole allowing smoking in casinos, the casinos are attempting to find ways to work within the system, such as unstaffed non-gaming smoking lounges.
• The Nuclear Regulatory Commission rejected the state DEP's assertion that the commission should consider the consequences of a terrorist attack on the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant when considering the station's license renewal. The DEP is considering whether or not to appeal.
• The Assembly Environment Committee advanced a bill to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses by 20 percent by 2020. Some business groups are griping that it will increase energy prices.

News Round-up and Open Thread for Tuesday, January 30, 2007

by: Sharon GR

Tue Jan 30, 2007 at 09:39:18 AM EST

• The Assembly passed the 20% reduction in property taxes, the 4% cap, the state comptroller, the pension forfeiture for public officials who become convicted criminals, and the commission to look into mergers for school districts & towns. The teeth has been taken out of a lot of it to get it to pass. Gov. Corzine promised a "line-by-line" review before signing.
• The Motor Vehicle Commission is bragging about their lower wait times and improved security after updating systems, restructuring, and regaining control of 45 agencies. They also state in some cases better service has brought in more revenue.
• Little Egg Harbor is holding a meeting tonight on the proposed plan to widen the Parkway for 50 miles, from Toms River to Somers Point. Critics of the plan say old studies are being used to determine usage, other congestion relief tactics are being underutilized and there will be significant environmental impact. The widening project will include stretches in 12 towns in three counties.
• The DEP will not allow aerial spraying of Dimilin to curb gypsy moth infestation. The Dept. of Agriculture had proposed the spraying, but the DEP declined due to possible health effects. Your Department of Environmental Protection at work!
• The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said yesterday that operators of nuclear power plants aren't responsible for protecting plants from certain terrorist attacks and an environmental-impact statement for relicensing does not need to consider it; the state Attorney General office disagrees. Oyster Creek is pursuing relicensing for 2009.
• Laborer's Local 394 in Elizabeth has been put under trusteeship because a hearing officer determined that it is used as a front for organized crime activities, using no-show jobs and corruption as examples. This is news not only because of the change in leadership of the local, but also because the article didn't once mention the Sopranos, as mostly every article about mob-type activities in Our Fair State does. Thanks for leaving it out.

Open Thread: What say you today, Blue Jersey?

News Round-up and Open Thread for Tuesday, August 22

by: Sharon GR

Tue Aug 22, 2006 at 08:26:36 AM EDT

• A web site will be ready this fall comparing pharmacies' prices on the 150 most commonly prescribed drugs. A toll-free number will be available for folks without internet access. Pharmacies must report their prices weekly to the state under the new law, signed yesterday by Gov. Corzine. Prices will be posted in English and Spanish. (Sorry, Lonegan.)
• Corzine also signed into law a bill making it illegal to protest at a funeral. Protesters must stay back at least 500 feet.
• Officials are investigating whether there is a second day care center which was operated on contaminated land in Franklin Twp. (Gloucester.) The second location is a former petroleum company, where Through The Years was located until last spring.
• Federal and State investigations have begun into Sharpe James's use of city-owned credit cards while he was mayor of Newark. The two credit cards, one for city expenses and one for police expenses for James's bodyguards, had charges of over $150,000 in 2 1/2 years.
• The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has reported that Oyster Creed is safe to run for the next 20 years. AmerGen Energy Co. is trying to renew the aging nuclear plant's license.
• Two people snuck under a fence into a secure area of Newark Liberty International Airport, and were there for about a day and a half before being found. The pair are homeless and wanted in Georgia for parole violations. Apparently, the broken section of fence has been fixed. Don'tcha feel safer now?
• The original estimate of $68 million to improve the Rt. 1 corridor through W. Windsor/Princeton has soared to $400 million. Rising land values, increases in the costs of concrete, labor, and fuel, and a sharp dose of reality all contributed to the revision.
• Prizes given out by libraries across the state as part of the summer children's reading program "Paws, Claws, Scales & Tales" are being recalled due to high lead levels. If your child received a bendable cat or dog figurine from the library this summer, check with your library about disposal and replacement.
• State and US flags will fly at half-staff tomorrow in honor of U.S. Army Specialist Hai Ming Hsia. Hsia died in Rimadi, Iraq, on Aug. 1. His widow lives in Newark.

Exelon Running on Empty

by: Media In Trouble

Fri Aug 04, 2006 at 02:02:46 PM EDT

Exelon Corp.'s 619-megawatt Oyster Creek nuclear power station in New Jersey dipped to 53 percent of capacity by early Friday, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in a report.

On Thursday, the unit was operating at 98 percent.

The Oyster Creek station, which entered service in 1969, is one of the oldest reactors in the nation. It is located in Forked River in Ocean County, about 60 miles east of Philadelphia.

One MW powers about 800 homes.

HMMM... My calculations makes that 262,456 homes without power (if your home was one of them please let us know in the comments).

So... if Exelon can't operate Oyster Creek when it is most needed, why should they be able to operate the entire PSE&G Energy grid (of which I am a customer)?

There was another recent moment in time when a huge power company failed to supply a large area with Power for (ahem) 10 days or so.

Good folks at the BPU, if Exelon keeps bullying you around just remember Exelon = ConEd. If you ask me, allowing this takeover to take place would just increase your workload with future hearings about entire grids blacking out, and businesses shutting down, and rotten food in refrigerators.

Atomic Balm

by: denniscmcgrath

Sat Jul 22, 2006 at 03:20:33 PM EDT

Click here

The Process is Flawed!

by: TamarSherer

Wed Jul 12, 2006 at 01:25:26 PM EDT

There are several issues. First, comments and questions are directed toward the architects of the plan, not to independent parties. The creators of the plan are not the proper forum because of their investment in the project. We need someone who can listen objectively to public dissent and concede that there may be flaws.

Second, various aspects of the Oyster Creek operation are regulated by different agencies. As a result, responsibilities are fragmented. Several questions posed at the hearing were directed toward DEP, but fall under NRC jurisdiction. If there is a process to forward questions to the right party, it isn’t obvious to the public.

Finally, unanswered questions need to be addressed. The Board of Chosen Freeholders is not addressing these issues with the appropriate authorities. Some of the issues were raised at last year’s hearing, and the one before that, but are still on the table without resolution.

In sum, residents, employees, businesses and visitors deserve a workable evacuation plan that properly accounts for our existing infrastructure, for human behavior, and for the many variables that are impossible to predict. Tens of thousand of lives are counting on it.

It's time for a change in Ocean County. With your support, we will win in November!
VoteSherer

News Round-up for Wednesday, March 1

by: Sharon GR

Wed Mar 01, 2006 at 09:59:21 AM EST

• U.S. District Judge Jose Linares is scheduled to hear New Jersey's lawsuit requesting an investigation of the deal to allow United Arab Emirates-based Dubai World Ports to take over of some U.S. port operations, including operations at Port Newark. Gov. Jon S. Corzine is also seeking permission to inspect documents given to a federal committee reviewing the deal. Of course, Bush's mind is made up and says his position isn't changing.
• The citizens' group Stop Renewal Of Oyster Creek will get the public hearing they wanted on the safety of the of a metal liner that helps keep radiation in the reactor core. The nuclear power plant is licenced through 2009 and seeking to renew its licence until 2029.
• Yesterday the Democratic State Committee agreed to pay a record $255,000 fine, levied by the State Election Law Enforcement Commission, for being late in reporting of contributions during the end of the 2001 election year. Assemblyman Joseph Cryan (D- Union) said the mistakes were caused largely by an overwhelmed computer system; the Democrats raised a record $28 million during that election year.
• Assemblyfolk Bill Baroni, Jennifer Beck and Linda Stender urged Rutgers University to retain Douglass College as a separate institution and not to combine it with the University's other colleges. Assemblywoman Stender has drafted a resolution to that effect, AR131. The companion bill, SR26, is scheduled for a committee vote on Thursday, while Douglass grads and students plan a rally at the statehouse.
• The NJ Supreme Court unanimously upheld the state's standards for water clean-up at sites polluted by industry. Federal Pacific Electric Co. had challenged the standards in court, saying they violated the 1997 Brownfield Act, but were shot down. Score one for the environment!
• The National Alliance on Mental Illness gave Our Fair State a C for its services to the mentally ill. They noted former Gov. Codey's improvements to the system during his time as governor, but said they are simply good starting points. The nation as a whole recieved a grade of D.
• The child-care industry in N.J. had a direct economic impact of $2.55 billion in 2005, according to a report released yesterday by the New Jersey Child Care Economic Impact Council. The impact is more than the revenues of the agriculture, scientific research and development, and hotel industries in New Jersey, and employ more people than many industries such as telecommunications, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and transportation.
• There was one winner in last night's $267 million Mega Millions drawing, and the ticket was sold in... Ohio. Better luck next time, NJ lottery fans.

News Round-up

by: Sharon GR

Wed Feb 22, 2006 at 10:51:55 AM EST

• The State Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee started picking through the Medicaid budget yesterday in search of savings. The Committee proposed a new office of oversight for Medicaid spending, which is currently split between the Department of Health and Senior Services and the Department of Human Services.


• Governor Corzine stated yesterday that he wouldn't consider privatizing the Turnpike to assist the failing Transportation Trust Fund. He stated his current choice will be to (sigh) borrow more money and refinance the existing debtload instead. The Governor said that this would not be the only facet of his plan but nothing else has been stated yet.
• Controversey is swirling around Governor Corzine's pick for state treasurer. Bradley Abelow has been accused by businessmen who say they were victims of a short-selling scheme by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp., where Abelow was a board trustee. Abelow has stated that "lawsuits against DTCC "have been largely dismissed or withdrawn and have nothing to do with me personally or my service on the corporation board.""
• Lawyers are arguing that Our Fair State's new rules for pay-to-play restrictions are confusing. At a hearing yesterday for the Election Law Enforcement Commission, Dover Twp. (Ocean) attorney Garry Mundy testified about ill-defined terms, questionable timeframes for permissable donations, and whether local ordanances supersede or enhance the state's ban, among other issues.
• Acting Environmental Commissioner Lisa Jackson is requesting public hearings on safety of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission. There are concerns with corrosion of liners at the site, vulnerablity to aircraft attacks, and monotoring and management of aging equipment. Excelon submitted an application for renewal of the power plant's licence last summer; if renewed in 2009, the plant will remain licenced until 2029.
• U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings makes her first visit to Our Fair State today. She will be speaking at Fairleigh Dickinson University then visiting the acclaimed Robert Treat Academy Charter School in Newark. She is not expected to visit any public schools where Children have been Left Behind.
• NJ Transit is reviewing just how many people will use a proposed Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex rail line. Let's hope they have better luck predicting ridership there than they did on the RiverLine.
• The Star-Ledger editorial weighs in on the port deal with UAE-owned Dubai Ports World. Bush's defense of his position on this deal? "Trust us."
• Have you heard the Sen. Menendez podcast interview? You can subscribe to BlueJersey's podcast so you never miss one!