Friday, March 22, 2013
Anti-nuclear advocates see NRC's order as a "half measure," issue petition to revoke Oyster Creek's license
The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission has directed its technical staff to improve venting pressure during potential accidents at 31 reactors, including the Oyster Creek Generating Station. The Commission’s decision comes two years after the Fukushima meltdown in Japan and requires hardened venting systems at boiling-water reactors with Mark I and Mark II containments. “In reaching this decision, the Commission engaged in thoughtful deliberation with each other as we each considered these important issues in our post-Fukushima accident review process,” said NRC Chairman Allison Macfarlane. Since Fukushima, local advocates have petitioned to shut down U.S. nuclear plants with the same type of reactor as the Japanese plant. In 1972, …
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Exelon Corporation will be installing new sirens with battery back-up capability for Oyster Creek Generating Station by June 1
Exelon Corporation will be installing new sirens with battery back-up capability for Oyster Creek Generating Station by June 1, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) response to Sen. Robert Menendez’s concerns raised following Superstorm Sandy. In January, Menendez questioned the integrity of the plant, following a special inspection report released by the NRC. The report indicated several areas in need of improvement, including heightened awareness of emergency declaration thresholds, clearer documentation in control room records and ensuring reliable back-up power for the plant’s emergency operations facility, he said. “This report raised some important issues, even if there were no cited violations,” Menendez said. “In …
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Oyster Creek owner says plant acted 'in good faith'
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accused Exelon Corporation, the owner and operator of Oyster Creek Generating Station, of misreporting the status of funds utilized to prepare nuclear power plants for shut down. The investigation, initiated on Sept. 10, 2010, found that a senior Exelon executive and an Exelon manager appeared to have “deliberately” provided incomplete and inaccurate information in decommissioning funding status reports. The decommissioning fund is used to return a site back to pre-facility conditions once the power plant is shut down. “Our regulations require that the funds continue to grow at a rate to ensure there will eventually be sufficient monies to cover the costs of the radiological decommissioning of each …
Thursday, January 3, 2013
The NRC is 'failing to enforce its regulations,' anti-nuclear advocates said on a teleconference with the federal agency
Anti-nuclear advocates and concerned citizens participated in a teleconference Thursday with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission requesting the federal agency to revise regulations and take action against Oyster Creek Generating Station in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. “We’re here because we have serious concerns about the ongoing safety of the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant,” said attorney Richard Webster of Public Justice, who submitted a petition on behalf of Beyond Nuclear, the New Jersey Environmental Federation (NJEF) and Grandmothers, Mothers and More for Energy Safety (GRAMMES). “The NRC appears to be failing to enforce its regulations and that lack of enforcement is leading to a lack of adequate protection at the power plant…
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
The public can phone in to listen to the meeting on Thursday, Jan. 3
A public meeting will be held on Thursday, Jan. 3 on the recent petition submitted by anti-nuclear advocates on the impact of Hurricane Sandy to Oyster Creek Generating Station, Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Neil Sheehan said. The petition, filed in November, called on Gov. Chris Christie to intervene and ensure that “major flaws” at Oyster Creek Generating Station are addressed prior to the nuclear power plant returning online. Oyster Creek began a regular refueling and maintenance outage on Oct. 22 and returned to service on Dec. 4. The petition submitted by Grandmothers, Mothers and More for Energy Safety, the New Jersey Environmental Federation and Beyond Nuclear, sought to keep the nuclear plant offline until safety measures…
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
A pinhole leak found on a reactor vessel head cooling system at the nuclear power plant will be repaired before Oyster Creek returns online
A pinhole leak has been found on a reactor vessel head cooling system at Oyster Creek Generating Station, according to Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) spokesman Neil Sheehan. The leak was discovered on Tuesday during a refueling and maintenance outage that began at the nuclear power plant on Oct. 22. The system is utilized to cool the reactor vessel head during shutdown, he said. The pinhole leak was found through an earlier weld and was weeping approximately two to three drops per minute, he said. “Exelon will need to develop a repair plan that is consistent with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Code (ASME),” Sheehan said. “NRC metallurgical specialists will continue to engage Exelon on the leak, including a review of the …
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Oyster Creek terminates alert status, resumes operations
Power has been restored to Oyster Creek Generating Station after a loss due to Hurricane Sandy. Once electrical service was lost, the nuclear power plant utilized backup generators to power water pumps that cool the fuel stored in the nuclear reactor, a statement from the state Department of Environmental Protection said. Oyster Creek Generating Station terminated its “alert” status early this morning after the intake water level returned to normal. The “alert” was terminated at 3:53 a.m. today and normal operations resumed less than 36 hours after Hurricane Sandy pummeled the Jersey Shore, a statement from Oyster Creek said. On Monday night, the plant suffered power outages, declared an “alert’’ due to rising water levels and lost a …
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
The plant declared an "alert" as water levels rose at its canal, experienced a power outage and lost a portion of its warning alarm system
The Department of Environmental Protection and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are monitoring the impacts of Hurricane Sandy on operations at Oyster Creek Generating Station, a news release from the Gov. Chris Christie’s office said. The nuclear power plant suffered power outages and declared an “alert” on Monday night due to the rising water levels as a result of high tides, wind direction and storm surge. The plant also lost a portion of its warning alarm system. An NRC statement noted that Oyster Creek remains in “safe condition” and the federal agency anticipates that water levels will abate within several hours. The plant experienced a power disruption in the station’s switchyard. The station’s two backup diesel generators …
Monday, September 10, 2012
Only two findings marked as "green"and fell under a cross cutting aspect in the area of human performance and decision making
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has moved forward in conducting the next set of inspections at Oyster Creek Generating Station after it was determined that the power plant had performed within the nominal and expected range for its mid-cycle performance review. The mid-cycle performance review was completed on Aug. 16. The NRC reviewed the most recent quarterly performance indicators as well as inspection results and actions from July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012. The only findings noted in the most recent quarterly report were green, or minor. “Both were green findings, which are very low safety significance. We have NRC inspectors here on site and their job is to look at everything we do and make sure we’re doing everything right to a…
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Fukushima is a "low probability event," NRC says
Oyster Creek critics expressed a sense of urgency at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s second public meeting on the oversight of the Forked River based nuclear plant. Just more than a year after the Fukushima disaster, citizens continue to show concern over the NRC’s lack of immediate action to improve the safety of nuclear plants in the United States. In March, the federal agency issued its first orders following the nuclear disaster but plant’s have until 2016 to comply. “Why is this urgency that we’re now all supposed to be feeling after Fukushima is not reflected in the work of the NRC,” said New Jersey Environmental Federation’s (NJEF) Peggi Sturmfels, who considers the post Fukushima requirements “patchwork.” “We need to get this …
foggyworld
11:30 am on Sunday, March 24, 2013
The NRC is the pr agent for the companies involved. What a profound waste of taxpayers' money. more ›