Arnie Gundersen at TMIA 40th Anniversary

DARK CIRCLE: "Completely riveting" (Roger Ebert)

In this new era of sabre rattling, our "classic" film is being screened at the Roxie Cinema as part of the San Francisco Green Film Festival. Raye Fleming (second from left in photo above) will join me and co-producer Ruth Landy for the Q&A. Hope to see you! April 23rd, 12:30 pm. Tickets & info here.

PEACH BOTTOM ATOMIC POWER STATION - DESIGN BASES ASSURANCE INSPECTION REPORT

PEACH BOTTOM ATOMIC POWER STATION – DESIGN BASES ASSURANCE INSPECTION REPORT 05000277/2017007 AND 05000278/2017007

Download  ML17082A043

Request for Withholding Information from Public Disclosure for Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station

Request for Withholding Information from Public Disclosure for Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and 3 (CAC Nos. MF9289 and MF9290)

 

Download ML17066A064

April 5 NIRS Telebriefing: Arnie Gundersen, Nuclear Spring TMI, CHERNOBYL and FUKUSHIMA

Dear friend,

Please join us for a telebriefing on Wednesday, April 5, 8pm-9:30pm (EDT)/7:00pm (CDT).

Arnie Gundersen of  Fairewinds Energy Education will present Spring: The Season of Nuclear Disaster--Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, Fukushima. 

This will be an opportunity to learn more about three of the most disastrous nuclear accidents and their global impact: Three Mile Island (March 1979), Chernobyl (April 1986) and Fukushima (March 2011). These dates mark the beginning of catastrophic events that will impact humanity for milinea to come.    

As we move through the season that commemorates these events, join us as Arnie leads our discussion on their far-reaching effects.  

This national conversation is appropriate for newcomers unfamiliar with this history and seasoned activists alike! We will reserve plenty of time for your questions and short comments at the end of Arnie's presentation.

The telebriefing is free, but registration is required. Your confirmation email will include the dial-in number. 

We will begin promptly at 8:00pm (EDT)/7:00pm (CDT). We hope you will join in!

If you cannot attend, but would like to receive the link to the recorded telebriefing, please register. We will send a link to the telelbriefing recording to all registered participants. 

Please forward this invitation widely; there are tons of younger people who may have never heard of one or more of these nuclear disasters who have a right to know.  We need them to hear about these events, and to join the commitment to SHUT DOWN BEFORE MELTDOWN! 

Thanks for all you do!

Mary Olson

Director, NIRS Southeast Office

NRC Extends Public Involvement Opportunities for Waste Control Specialists’ Spent Fuel Storage Application

Nuclear Regulatory Commission - Press Release

No: 17-013 March 16, 2017

CONTACT: Maureen Conley 301-415-8200

NRC Extends Public Involvement Opportunities

for Waste Control Specialists’ Spent Fuel Storage Application

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is providing additional opportunities for the public to comment on Waste Control Specialists’ application for an interim spent nuclear fuel storage facility proposed for Andrews County, Texas.

WCS is seeking to store spent fuel received from commercial nuclear power reactors across the United States. The NRC is reviewing the WCS application along two parallel tracks – one on safety issues, the other on environmental issues. Both the safety and environmental reviews must be completed before the NRC makes a final licensing decision on the application.

The NRC will now take comments on the scope of its Environmental Impact Statement on the proposed facility through April 28. The staff will host an additional public meeting April 6 at NRC headquarters so members of the public can ask questions of NRC staff and present oral comments. The meeting will be webcast. The meeting will be held from 7-10 p.m., in the Commissioners’ Conference Room, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. Details on the webinar, including the call in number, are being finalized. This information will be posted on the NRCpublic meeting schedule.

Written comments on the EIS scope should refer to Docket ID NRC-2016-0231. Comments will be made publicly available and should not include identifying or personal information you do not wish to be disclosed. Comments can be filed via the federal rulemaking website; by email toWCS_CISF_EIS@nrc.gov; or by mail to Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration, Mail Stop: OWFN-12 H08, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

 

NRC To Begin Full Certification Review of NuScale Small Modular Reactor

No: 17-012
March 15, 2017
CONTACT: Scott Burnell 301-415-8200

NRC To Begin Full Certification Review of NuScale Small Modular Reactor

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has docketed for review NuScale Power LLC’s application to certify the company’s small modular reactor design for use in the United States.
The company submitted its application Jan. 12 for the design, in which the reactor building holds 12 co-located pressurized-water reactor modules for a total output of 600 MWe. NuScale is the first company to submit a small modular reactor design for certification. SMR designs seek to meet NRC safety requirements through smaller reactor cores and passive safety features. The NRC, after completing its acceptance review, has concluded NuScale’s application is complete enough for a full design certification review. The staff soon will provide a review schedule.
The NRC’s certification process determines whether a reactor design meets U.S. safety requirements. Companies can then reference a certified design when applying for a Combined License to build and operate a reactor in the United States. The NRC’s Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards provides input on design certification reviews. If issued, certifications are valid for 15 years. The NRC has most recently certified Westinghouse’s AP1000 and GE-Hitachi’s Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor designs. 

NRC Schedules Conference with FPL to Discuss Inspection Finding at St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant

No: II-17-009 March 10, 2017 CONTACT: Roger Hannah 404-997-4417
Joey Ledford 404-997-4416

NRC Schedules Conference with FPL to Discuss Inspection Finding at St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a regulatory conference with Florida Power & Light officials to discuss an NRC inspection finding related to changes made to electrical equipment that led to an August 2016 reactor trip, or unplanned shutdown, of the company’s St. Lucie Unit 1. The St. Lucie nuclear power plant is located near Jensen Beach, Fla., about 10 miles south of Fort Pierce.
The conference is scheduled for March 21 at 9:30 a.m., in the NRC’s Region II office, 245 Peachtree Center Ave. in Atlanta. It will be open to the public and the NRC staff will be available to answer any questions or provide additional information after the business portion of the conference.
The inspection finding involves a 2013 modification of electrical circuitry associated with the Unit 1 main generator. Because that modification led to the plant trip, NRC inspectors found that the workers who performed the modification had failed to properly plan and execute the work. The finding is documented in a Feb. 2 NRC inspection report.
The inspection finding has been preliminarily classified by the NRC as “white” (low-to- moderate safety significance), but no decision on the final safety significance or any possible additional NRC actions will be made at the regulatory conference. Those decisions will be made by NRC officials at a later time. 

       Nuclear Regulatory Commission - Press Release

         No: 17-010 March 10, 2017

Contact: David McIntyre, 301-415-8200

NRC Releases Draft Regulatory Basis for Decommissioning Rule

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is making publicly available a pre-publication draft regulatory basis for a future power reactor decommissioning rule.

A notice regarding the draft regulatory basis will be published in the Federal Register later this month, initiating a 90-day public comment period. The preliminary draft document is now publicly available on the NRC website to facilitate discussion during the agency’s annual Regulatory Information Conference, scheduled for March 14-16. The conference includes a March 15 technical session on power reactor decommissioning.

The NRC published an “advance notice of proposed rulemaking” on this matter in November 2015, seeking public comment on a number of areas to be considered during the rulemaking process. The rule would establish clear requirements for commercial power reactors transitioning to decommissioning. The draft regulatory basis draws upon comments submitted in response to the ANPR.

In the draft regulatory basis, the NRC staff concludes there is sufficient justification to proceed with rulemaking in the areas of emergency preparedness, physical security, decommissioning trust funds, offsite and onsite financial protection requirements and indemnity agreements, and application of the backfit rule. The staff suggests guidance, rather than rulemaking, should be used to address the role of state and local governments in the decommissioning process, the level of NRC review and approval of a licensee’s post-shutdown decommissioning activities report, and whether to revise the 60-year limit for power reactor decommissioning.

The NRC staff is seeking additional public input before making recommendations on cyber security, drug and alcohol testing, minimum staffing and training requirements for certified fuel handlers, aging management, and fatigue management. That additional input, as well as comments received on the draft document, will be considered as the staff develops the final regulatory basis, expected to be published in late 2017. That document will be used in developing a proposed rule to be provided to the Commission in the spring of 2018. The NRC staff expects to provide a draft final rule to the Commission in fall 2019.

NRC to Hold Mandatory Hearing on North Anna New Reactor Application

         Nuclear Regulatory Commission - Press Release

No: 17-011 March 9, 2017

CONTACT: Scott Burnell 301-415-8200

NRC to Hold Mandatory Hearing on North Anna New Reactor Application March 23 in Rockville, Md.‌

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will conduct a mandatory hearing March 23 on an application for a Combined License to build and operate a new reactor at the North Anna site in Virginia. This hearing marks the final step in the agency’s Part 52 reactor licensing process.

The Commission’s hearing will include testimony and exhibits from applicant Dominion Virginia Power, as well as NRC staff, on the question of whether the staff’s review adequately supports the findings necessary to issue the license. The Commission will vote later this year on whether that question has been properly answered.

The hearing will begin at 9 a.m. on March 23, in the Commission Hearing Room at NRC Headquarters, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md. The hearing will be open to public observation and will be webcast. A detailed agenda and presentation slides will be available in advance on the Commission’s meeting transcript page.

Dominion is applying for permission to build and operate an Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR) at North Anna, adjacent to the company’s two existing reactors. The company submitted its application on Nov. 26, 2007. The NRC certified the 1,600-megawatt ESBWR design following a Commission vote in September 2014. More information on the ESBWR certification process is available on the NRC website.

The NRC’s Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards independently reviewed aspects of the application that concern safety, as well as the staff’s final safety evaluation report. The committee provided the results of its review to the Commission on Nov. 15, 2016. The NRC completed itsenvironmental review and published the final impact statement for the proposed reactor in February 2010.

 

Supplemental Information Needed for Acceptance of Requested Licensing

Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Units 1 and 2 – Supplemental Information Needed for Acceptance of Requested Licensing Action Re: License Amendment Request to Revise Diesel Generator Surveillance Requirements with New Steady Stated Voltage and Frequency Limits

Download ML17059D214

Three Mile Island Unit 1 Triennial Fire Protection Inspection Report 2017-007

THREE MILE ISLAND NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION,

UNIT 1 – TRIENNIAL FIRE PROTECTION INSPECTION REPORT

 05000289/2017007

 

Download ML17065A013

Peach Bottom Annual Assessment Letter 2016-006

ANNUAL ASSESSMENT LETTER FOR PEACH BOTTOM ATOMIC POWER

STATION UNITS 2 AND 3 – REPORT NOS. 05000277/2016006 AND

05000278/2016006

 

Download ML17055B661

Three Mile Island Nuclear Station Unit 1 Annual Assessment Letter 2016-006

ANNUAL ASSESSMENT LETTER FOR THREE MILE ISLAND

NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT 1 (REPORT 05000289/2016006)

 

Download ML170058A346

SUSQUEHANNA Annual Assessment Letter Units 1 and 2 2016-006

ANNUAL ASSESSMENT LETTER FOR SUSQUEHANNA UNITS 1 AND 2

REPORT NOS. 05000387/2016006 AND 05000388/2016006

 

Download ML17055B944