As
energy companies file for twenty-year license extensions for the
country’s oldest nuclear power plants, this Sunday’s episode of the
popular drama “West Wing” highlights the growing threat of a nuclear
disaster in communities across the nation. The show depicts a major
accident at a nuclear facility in Southern California.
Over
the course of the episode, it is made clear that faulty components,
poor emergency planning and evacuation routes, unclear warning
mechanisms and inadequate, industry supplied radiation limits pose
extreme dangers to millions of people.
“The
oldest operating nuclear power plant in the country--Oyster Creek--is
right on the Jersey Shore,” said Suzanne Leta, Advocate for New
Jersey’s Public Interest Research Group. “Similar to the plant in the
West Wing episode, Oyster Creek has a major design flaw. In a case of
an accident, the plant can’t withstand pressure build-up and there is a
90 percent chance that radioactive steam will be released directly into
the environment. Nonetheless, Exelon Corp. decided to put profits ahead
of public safety and applied to extend the plant’s license for another
two decades. We’re working to make sure that the plant closes on
schedule.”
Nuclear
reactors all over the country are showing signs of age. In 2002, at the
Davis-Besse Plant in Toledo, a six inch deep hole was found in the
containment around the core itself. This hole left only one quarter
inch of corroding steel preventing a major nuclear disaster.
“The upsetting thing about this show is that it’s not just a piece of
fiction,” said Evan Feinman, Energy Associate for Massachusetts Public
Interest Research Group. “Every single danger and complication
mentioned in this episode is a real threat to communities all over the
country. We’ve got the antique Pilgrim Nuclear Plant here in Plymouth,
Massachusetts and if something goes seriously wrong there won’t be any
way out for the citizens of every community near the plant. We’re
calling on all of our representatives to oppose Pilgrim’s re-licensing.”
Debates
and hearings are being held across the country on whether or not to
extend the licenses of forty year-old nuclear reactors for an
additional twenty years. So far, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has
rubberstamped every single application for license extension. Public
interest advocates are concerned about the transparency of the NRC
process, including the fact that there are no formal public hearings on
safety-related issues.
“There
is too much white-washing of the safety issues by the nuclear industry
and their allies in government,” said Rob Sargent, Senior Energy Policy
Analyst with the National Association of State PIRGs. “Local
governments, state legislatures, Governors, and our congressional
delegations all need to take action to make sure that these threats to
our communities are reduced and eventually eliminated.”
