Multiple Troubled Nuclear Plants

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Multiple Troubled Nuclear Plants

May 17, 2013

What You Need to Know

There are lots of new problems at nuclear facilities around the country this week. Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant, Wake County, NC The Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant, located 25 miles SW of Raleigh, NC, has been shut down after a crack and corrosion was found in the reactor vessel, though the NRC says the quarter inch crack "was not all the way through the reactor wall". NRC spokesman Roger Hannah says they will attempt to repair the crack by scraping out corroded material and welding the area. As the repair will take place in a highly radioactive area, the repair work will be undertaken using robots. Local news station WRAL is reporting that Shearon Harris was taken offline last year for refueling, during which ultrasonic tests of the reactor were performed. It was only when a secondary review of the tests took place this week that the metal failures were discovered. Between 1999 and 2003, there were twelve major problems requiring the shutdown of the plant. The reactor achieved criticality in January 1987. In 2008 the NRC granted a renewal and extension of the plant's operating license from 40 to 60 years. Catawba Nuclear Station, York County, SC The Catawba Nuclear Station, located about 12 miles SW of Charlotte, NC, is reported to have leaked more than 100 gallons of water containing tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, from a discharge pipe. According to the NRC. the tritium has the potential to reach groundwater. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, drinking water with tritium contamination can increase the risk of developing cancer. Not surprisingly, the plant operator, Duke Energy, has not given any clarification of exactly how much contaminated water has been released, aside from the general statement of more than 100 gallons. The reactor achieved criticality in January, 1985 and has a planned operational life of 58 years. Palisades Nuclear Plant, Covert Township, MI As a follow up to a story we reported on two weeks ago, Palisades Nuclear Plant in Covert Township, Michigan is now offline and will remain so for the foreseeable future as an investigation continues into a leak from a safety injection refueling water tank. As reported, the tank leaked radioactive water that eventually ended up in Lake Michigan. This facility has been plagued by operational and design problems for years. In 2012 the plant was moved into what is referred to as the 3rd regulatory column and deemed one of the four worst performing reactors in the country by the NRC. In March of this year a report from the Union of Concerned Scientists named the plant as one of three in the U.S. with significant safety events in the last three years. Landfill Fire Burns Near Nuclear Waste Storage Site, St. Louis County, MO An underground fire in a North St. Louis County landfill is burning out of control near 8,700 tons of nuclear weapons waste, raising serious health and safety concerns for the region. While the fire itself is pretty much invisible to area residents, noxious fumes currently blanket the area. Researchers are raising justifiable concerns that if the underground fire reaches the stored radioactive waste only 1200 feet to the North, radioactive material could be widely dispersed in the air. .