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Feds extends Shippingport nuke licenses 20 years - News National & World, News Watch - Vindy.com, The Vindicator
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has extended the operating license for two nuclear reactors in western Pennsylvania by 20 years each.
The NRC extended the licenses Thursday after a series of reviews an inspections at FirstEnergy Corp.’s Beaver Valley Unit 1 and Unit 2 reactors in Shippingport, about 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.
The original 40-year operating license for Unit 1 expires in January 2016 while Unit 2’s license runs until May 2027. Those licenses now run until 2036 and 2047, respectively.
The Unit 1 reactor went online in 1976 and Unit 2 in 1987.
NRC's decision on B&W incident could take 4-6 weeks | Lynchburg News Advance
It could take more than a month for federal regulators to decide whether to take action against Babcock & Wilcox for possible violations, officials said Friday.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission held a conference with B&W officials to discuss four “apparent violations” in the company’s performance in ensuring safety and reporting emergencies. The issues relate to an event in July when uranium was found in a location without safety checks at B&W’s Mt. Athos site in Campbell County.
NRC officials voiced several concerns and B&W explained what happened in July, and how they have adjusted their procedures since then.
NRC chairman says Vogtle design needs safety changes | ajc.com
Thirty years after the nation's worst nuclear power plant accident, the partial meltdown at Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island, nuclear is back in the news.
Polls show increased public support, and advocates tout its relatively clean, homegrown power potential. Georgia is at the forefront of the industry's hopes, with Southern Co.'s Plant Vogtle near Augusta scheduled to put the first of two planned new reactors into service in 2016.
NRC checks unplanned shutdown at Indian Point 2 | LoHud.com | The Journal News
Federal investigators are examining what caused an electrical fault that shut down a nuclear power reactor at Indian Point 2 Monday night.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Neil Sheehan said the plant went to "hot shutdown" at 10:42 p.m. Monday, which means the reactor coolant system remains heated and pressurized, allowing the plant to be returned to service quickly.
"There's no danger posed to the public or the workers due to the shutdown," Sheehan said Tuesday. "The operators followed the appropriate procedures and shut it down, but there's still work to be done as far as what caused the shutdown and the complications that occurred."
NRC investigators visited the site late Monday night.
MOX inspection finds some minor violations, report says 110309 - The Augusta Chronicle
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s most recent round of inspections at the U.S. Energy Department’s mixed oxide fuel facility yielded four notices of violation for mostly minor infractions, according to a copy of the report made public today.
Inspectors who conducted extensive reviews at the construction site from July 1 to Sept. 30 also noted that many programs—including the placement of concrete and steel—were adequate and in complete compliance.
The $4.8 million MOX facility, scheduled to open at Savannah River Site in 2016, is designed to dispose of 34 metric tons of surplus, weapons-grade plutonium by using small amounts to make fuel for commercial reactors.
The inspections involved evaluation of construction of principle structures and included quality assurance activities related to design verification and documentation control; problem identification, resolution, and corrective actions; structural steel and support activities; structural concrete activities; and geotechnical foundation activities, the report said.
NRC- NRC Cites Wal-Mart for Violations in Handling Tritium Exit Signs
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has cited Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., with four violations concerning improper disposal and transfer of tritium exit signs at its stores throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.
The violations, issued Oct. 28, concerned the improper transfer or disposal of 2,462 signs from Wal-Mart stores in states under NRC jurisdiction between 2000 and 2008, and the improper transfer of an additional 517 signs between various Wal-Mart facilities. The company also failed to appoint an official responsible for complying with regulatory requirements and failed to report broken or damaged signs as required.
Exit signs containing tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, pose little threat to public health and safety and do not constitute a security risk. However, the NRC requires proper recordkeeping and disposal of the signs because a damaged or broken sign could cause minor radioactive contamination of the immediate vicinity, requiring environmental clean up.
The improper transfer or disposal of the 2,979 signs and failure to appoint a responsible official were determined to be a Severity Level III problem under NRC’s enforcement policy, and the failure to report damaged signs is a Severity Level IV violation, the lowest on the NRC’s enforcement scale.
HR-515: Low level waste testimony before nrc
PDF file: Testimony on HR 515
Nuclear regulator broke rules, says inspector general - washingtonpost.com
Ex-official said to have sought jobs from firms while on panel
A former member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission violated government ethics rules by directly contacting potential employers with business before the NRC before the end of his term in mid-2007, according to a report by the commission's inspector general.
Jeffrey S. Merrifield twice cast votes on matters involving companies he had contacted about job prospects, the report says. The firms -- the Shaw Group, Toshiba's Westinghouse Electric and General Electric -- "could potentially have benefited financially from his votes . . . during the specific timeframes in which Merrifield was negotiating with the three companies," the report concludes.
Feds Looking Into Safety Goof At Nuke Plant - Central Coast News Story - KSBW The Central Coast
Federal regulators are investigating a mistake at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant that could have hampered safety measures during an emergency.
A spokeswoman for the Central Coast plant says two switches that allow operators to remotely open cooling water valves were improperly set. If the plant lost its water during an earthquake or terrorist attack, operators would have had to manually open the valves to restore it.
Spokeswoman Emily Christensen Archer said the mistake was discovered late last week during a maintenance shutdown of the reactor, and the switches were reset.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is investigating.
North Anna nuke reactor shut down by 'unusual event' | Richmond Times-Dispatch
Dominion Virginia Power shut down one of its two nuclear reactors at its North Anna power station Friday because of what the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission later deemed "an unusual event."
Unit 1 remained shut down this morning. Unit 2 at North Anna, about 45 miles northwest of Richmond along Lake Anna in Louisa County, continued to operate at full power today.
The Richmond-based utility notified the NRC one hour after the incident occurred Friday and later told the federal agency it had also notified the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. There was no indication whether local authorities in Louisa or any other surrounding counties had been notified by the utility.
Pentagon Dirty Bombers: Depleted Uranium in the USA | The Public Record
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold hearings tomorrow and Wednesday in Hawaii on an application by the US Army for a permit to have depleted uranium at its Pohakuloa Training Area, a vast stretch of flat land in what’s called the “saddle” between the sacred mountains of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea on Hawaii’s Big Island, and at the Schofield Barracks on the island of Oahu.
In fact, what the Army is asking for is a permit to leave in place the DU left over from years of test firing of M101 mortar “spotting rounds,” that each contained close to half a pound of depleted uranium (DU). The Army, which originally denied that any DU weapons had been used at either location, now says that as many as 2000 rounds of M101 DU mortars might have been fired at Pohakuloa alone.
20 years after public vote, Rancho Seco is decommissioned by U.S. - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee
Sacramento's Rancho Seco nuclear power plant has been formally decommissioned by the federal government, the first action of its kind in response to a public vote.
The 20-year decommissioning process cost Sacramento Municipal Utility District ratepayers $500 million.
District voters decided in June 1989 that such a costly endeavor was justified to eliminate the risks posed by nuclear power.
The vote followed a long series of accidents and costly unplanned shutdowns at Rancho Seco, which began operating in 1975.
Washington Business Journal: Nuke Commission signs huge lease
Usually, p.r. people wait until the close of business to release bad news. For some reason, LCOR waited until 5:37 p.m. today to announce the largest suburban Maryland lease of the year. This is what happens when the federal government is involved.
The General Services Administration, acting on behalf of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, has signed a 15-year lease with developer LCOR to build a 14-story 362,000-square-foot office building adjacent to the NRC’s two current Rockville Pike headquarters office buildings.
The site — North Bethesda Center, a 32-acre mixed-use development rising at the White Flint Metrorail station — is a joint venture between LCOR and USAA Real Estate Co.
North Bethesda Center ultimately is expected to generate almost 6,500 additional daily trips to and from the White Flint Metro station.
Greentech Media: Experts: Energy Department Should ‘Immediately Halt’ Plans to Issue Taxpayer-Backed Loan Guarantees
Not only does the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) objection last week to major problems in the AP1000 reactor design call into serious question the future of over half of proposed new reactors in the United States (14 of 25), it also means that it would be “grossly imprudent” for the Department of Energy (DOE) to proceed with its plans for loan guarantees for new reactors that are not finalized and licensed.
Four experts delivered that stern warning during a news conference today urging the DOE to halt controversial plans to issue nuclear loan guarantees “soon,” according to Energy Secretary Chu. These guarantees are part of the DOE’s Title XVII Loan Guarantee Program. Two of the four new nuclear projects that the DOE is reported to be considering for taxpayer-backed loan guarantees are AP1000 designs proposed by the Southern Company at the Vogtle site in Georgia and the South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G) V.C. Summer site.
Boston Business Journal: Seabrook gets a violation
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a Severity Level IV violation to the owners of the Seabrook nuclear power plant because a contract employee deliberately failed to report an arrest to his employer, violating the plant's physical security plan requirements, according to the Daily News of Newburyport.
The NRC Enforcement Policy describes a Severity Level IV violation as one that involves noncompliance with NRC requirements that are not considered significant based on risk, according to the Daily News.
Three Mile Island renewed for another 20 years - The York Daily Record
Read the release that details how TMI will operate for an additional 20 years
* Record Tracker blog: More on TMI's renewal, including links to documents.
* York Town Square blog: Three Mile Island emergency indelibly written into memories.
Thirty years after Three Mile Island Unit 2 suffered a partial meltdown, a federal agency has approved its sister reactor to operate for an additional 20 years.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission renewed the operating license Thursday for TMI Unit 1 in Dauphin County. The new license will expire April 19, 2034.
The reactor's original 40-year license was
Read TMI's response to landing license renewal.
set to run out April 19, 2014.
NRC Safety Warning Jeopardizes Nuclear | nrc, reactors, jeopardizes - Local News - ChipleyPaper.com
EXPERTS TO WARN THAT BILLIONS IN TAXPAYER-BACKED LOAN GUARANTEES FOR NEW REACTORS ARE IMPRUDENT IN WAKE OF NRC’S MAJOR OBJECTIONS TO AP-1000 DESIGN
NRC Action Throws Into Question Future of 14 of 31 Proposed New U.S. Reactors; Forward Path Now Unclear for Proposed Reactors in NC, SC, GA, FL, AL – Including AP-1000 Reactors in GA and SC on DOE Loan Guarantee Short List.
POGO Opposes White House Nomination of Industry Cheerleader for Nuclear Regulatory Commission
The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) expressed its strong concern about President Obama’s choice of William Magwood to fill a vacant seat on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). In a letter sent to Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Chair Senator Barbara Boxer and Ranking Member James Inhofe yesterday, POGO questioned Mr. Magwood’s ability to effectively oversee and regulate the more than 120 licenses and renewal applications currently and soon to be before the Commission, and opposed his nomination.
“This nomination flies in the face of the spirit of President Obama’s commitment to high ethical standards for the Administration’s appointees,” said POGO Executive Director Danielle Brian. “We believe it should be examined in the full light of public and congressional scrutiny.”
Boos as Obama taps Yucca supporter - Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009 | 2 a.m. - Las Vegas Sun
Senators urged to reject choice for nuclear commission
Anti-nuclear groups are fighting the Obama administration’s nomination of a pro-Yucca Mountain nuclear industry insider to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
On Oct. 9, President Barack Obama nominated Bill Magwood to the commission, which is charged with regulating and licensing all civilian use of nuclear materials, including the stalled nuclear waste dump proposed for 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
Critics of the choice say Magwood has a history of nuclear boosterism that is incompatible with the role of a regulator. He also has repeatedly been quoted as saying Yucca Mountain is the best solution to the nation’s nuclear waste storage issues, most recently in May.
NRC - NRC Informs Westinghouse of Safety Issues with AP1000 Shield Building
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has informed Westinghouse that the company has not demonstrated that certain structural components of the revised AP1000 shield building can withstand design basis loads. An NRC letter to Westinghouse states that progress on the shield building review will require the company to provide modifications to the design, as well as testing that demonstrates the building will perform its intended safety function under design basis loads. The staff will continue its review of the remainder of the AP1000 design certification amendment application.
As the name implies, the AP1000 shield building would protect the reactor’s primary containment from severe weather and other events. The building’s other functions would include providing a radiation barrier during normal operation and supporting an emergency cooling water tank.
“We’ve been talking to Westinghouse regularly about the shield building since October 2008, and we’ve consistently laid out our questions to the company,” said Michael Johnson, director of the NRC’s Office of New Reactors. “This is a situation where fundamental engineering standards will have to be met before we can begin determining whether the shield building meets the agency’s requirements.”
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