Upgraded TMI Emergency Warning Sirens to Be Tested

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Ralph DeSantis Exelon Nuclear — Three Mile Island

717-948-8930

Upgraded TMI Emergency Warning Sirens to Be Tested

Exelon continues to invest in state-of-the-art emergency preparedness equipment

LONDONDERRY TWP., PA. (Jan 27. 2012) – Exelon Nuclear will begin testing the new sirens that are being installed in the area around the Three Mile Island Generating Station on Monday, Jan. 30. The new sirens use state- of-the-art technology and are part of a comprehensive emergency preparedness program designed to protect the health and safety of the public during all types of events. .

The tests will be conducted on individual sirens over the next three months. Exelon Nuclear is replacing all 96 emergency sirens in the 10 miles around TMI with sirens that include a redundant back-up power supply (batteries) to ensure they can operate even during a blackout condition. Personnel began installing the new sirens in October, 2011.

This $2.8 million investment around Three Mile Island is part of Exelon Nuclear’s commitment to replace and upgrade the emergency sirens at all of the sites in the mid-Atlantic including Limerick Generating Station, Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, and Oyster Creek Generating Station. This project will involve a total investment of more than $9 million and the replacement of 400 sirens.

The typical duration of the siren testing around TMI will be between 30 and 60 seconds and could occur several times in a row at each siren. The siren acoustics will be similar to those of the current emergency sirens.

The testing is being coordinated with county emergency management officials. Residents may contact the counties at the following numbers if they have questions during the testing:

Cumberland County: (717) 238-9676 Dauphin County: (717) 558-6900 Lancaster County: (800) -808-5236 Lebanon County: (717) 272-7621 York County: (800) 427-8347

The new and existing sirens will operate concurrently for a period of time to ensure the new system is operating properly. Completion of the project and removal of the existing sirens is scheduled for 2013.

The upgraded warning sirens are one of several methods used by county emergency management authorities to provide notification of emergencies. The sounding of the sirens is not a signal to evacuate, but to tune to the local Emergency Alert Broadcast Station.

Three Mile Island nuclear plant finds unexpected flaws in new steam generators

From the Patriot News:

After just one operating cycle, inspectors at Three Mile Island nuclear facility have detected unexpected flaws in the facility’s new steam generators.

There’s no indication radiation was released.

Officials say the flaws are well below regulatory thresholds, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission held a meeting Thursday morning to get more information.

The two 70-foot, 510-ton “once-through” generators sit on either side of the nuclear core, and were installed at TMI in 2009.

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Exelon: Branch Chief Reassignment

EXELON GENERATION COMPANY, LLC - BRANCH CHIEF REASSIGNMENT IN THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION

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Federal judge: Vermont nuclear plant can remain open

From the Boston Herald:

Vermont’s only nuclear plant can remain open beyond its originally scheduled shutdown date this year, despite the state’s efforts to close the 40-year-old reactor, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge J. Garvan Murtha in Brattleboro is a win for the Vermont Yankee plant’s owner, New Orleans-based Entergy Corp., which had argued during a three-day trial in September that the state’s efforts to close the plant were pre-empted by federal law.

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Panel Challenges Japan’s Account of Nuclear Disaster

From the New York Times:

A powerful and independent panel of specialists appointed by Japan’s Parliament is challenging the government’s account of the accident at a Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and will start its own investigation into the disaster — including an inquiry into how much the March earthquake may have damaged the plant’s reactors even before the tsunami. The bipartisan panel with powers of subpoena is part of Japan’s efforts to investigate the nuclear calamity, which has displaced more than 100,000 people, rendered wide swaths of land unusable for decades and spurred public criticism that the government has been more interested in protecting vested industry interests than in discovering how three reactors were allowed to melt down and release huge amounts of radiation. Several investigations — including inquiries by the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power, and the government — have blamed the scale of the tsunami that struck Japan’s northeastern coast in March, knocking out vital cooling systems at the plant. But critics in Japan and overseas have called for a fuller accounting of whether Tokyo Electric Power, or Tepco, sufficiently considered historically documented tsunami risks, and whether it could have done more to minimize the damage once waves hit the plant.

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DEP Fines Veterinary Hospital, Dentist for X-Ray Violations

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA Dept. of Environmental Protection Commonwealth News Bureau Room 308, Main Capitol Building Harrisburg PA., 17120

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

02/8/2012

CONTACT:

Lisa Kasianowitz, Department of Environmental Protection South-central Regional Office

717-787-1323

DEP Fines Veterinary Hospital, Dentist for X-Ray Violations

HARRISBURG -- The Department of Environmental Protection has fined two companies, Avian & Feline Hospital of Camp Hill, Cumberland County, and Bowser Dentistry LLC of York, York County, for violations of the Radiation Protection Act.

“The Radiation Protection Act authorizes DEP to monitor X-ray equipment operation and ensure that correct procedures are followed,” DEP South-central Regional Director Rachel Diamond said. “These regulations exist to protect the safety of Pennsylvania’s residents. Fortunately, there is no indication that these particular violations caused any harm to human or animal health.”

DEP fined Avian & Feline Hospital $10,000 after two inspections revealed a multitude of violations. During a March 2011 inspection, DEP discovered the hospital was using tape to fix the controls that restrict the width of the X-ray beam on a portable unit, using the same settings on the X-ray machine for all small animals and had failed to register an X-ray machine. DEP issued a notice of violation that month. A second inspection last June showed the hospital had still not registered an X-ray machine, and the alignment and settings of the portable X-ray machine were still improperly set.

DEP also fined Bowser Dentistry $12,840 for failure to register X-ray machines that were used to evaluate dental patients from 1992 through 2010. DEP issued a notice of violation to the dentist in September 2011. By not registering the X-ray machines with DEP, the facility remained un-inspected during those eight years.

The hospital and dentist took action to correct the violations and both facilities are now in compliance with DEP regulations.

X-ray machines must be registered with DEP within 30 days of being acquired and the X-ray registration becomes valid upon the payment of a fee, which must be paid to the agency annually. For more information, visit www.dep.state.pa.us or call 717-705-4700.

DEP Fines Schuylkill Valley Engineering $10,000 for Radiation Protection Act Violations

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA Dept. of Environmental Protection Commonwealth News Bureau Room 308, Main Capitol Building Harrisburg PA., 17120

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

02/8/2012

CONTACT:

Lisa Kasianowitz, Department of Environmental Protection South-central Regional Office

717-787-1323

DEP Fines Schuylkill Valley Engineering $10,000 for Radiation Protection Act Violations

HARRISBURG -- The Department of Environmental Protection has received $10,000 from Schuylkill Valley Engineering in Reading, Berks County, as a result of a consent order and agreement for violations of the Radiation Protection Act.

“Companies that use radioactive material for their business practices should always follow DEP regulations and maintain proper records,” DEP South-central Regional Director Rachel Diamond said. “It is important that these procedures be followed for health and safety reasons.”

DEP fined Schuylkill Valley Engineering after three inspections turned up various violations. The first inspection in August 2008 revealed the company changed its radiation safety officer without notifying DEP, did not possess the proper records on site, failed to have current emergency procedures in place, failed to properly secure locks on its portable gauging device and did not maintain records of radiation doses to which workers were exposed. DEP issued a notice of violation in October 2008.

On the second and third inspections, in October 2009 and March 2011, DEP learned the company repeated these violations and was over the limit of how much radioactive material it could possess. It also did not have safety signs posted at the site. DEP issued notices of violation in November 2009 and April 2011.

As part of the consent order, Schuylkill Valley Engineering submitted corrective action plans to DEP after each inspection.

For more information, visit www.dep.state.pa.us or call 717-705-4700.