Three Mile Island nears license renewal

The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant passed its last milestone on its way to a 20-year license renewal Thursday following a meeting with the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, an advisory group to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Neil Sheehan, spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said it is likely a final decision will be made in November. All 54 nuclear plants that have asked for license renewals so far have received them, he said. That is because the plants must address any problems before the license application can move forward, so that some renewals have taken almost four years. Three Mile Island, which is owned by Exelon Nuclear, submitted its application in January 2008.

Eric Epstein, president of the watchdog group Three Mile Island Alert, said his organization did not attempt to stop the license renewal because it would be futile. He said his complaints about nuclear plants remain the same -- where to put the radioactive waste, where the water for cooling will come from, and why Wall Street has not embraced the technology.

The Patriot News