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"The Nuclear Regulatory Commission was criticized for being a watchdog with no bark - and less bite - Monday when it comes to nuclear reactors leaking radioactive tritium. The NRC was in Brattleboro to discuss the radioactive leak at the nearby Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor with the community, first in an afternoon open house and later with a three-hour public meeting. Residents and local officials told the NRC during the evening session that the NRC was ineffective because there were few - if any - regulations to hold nuclear companies accountable. Paul Blanch of West Hartford, Conn., a nuclear consultant and former industry whistleblower, said nuclear companies were taking advantage of the situation. "Regulations are nonexistent or never enforced," said Blanch, who said that Vermont Yankee could have discharged "10,000 times" the tritium that it did and still not violate any NRC regulations."

"As the crow flies, the Indian Point nuclear power plant is just 30 miles south of Vassar. Opposition to nuclear power plants runs deep-images of Chernobyl and memories of Three Mile Island are tritely commonplace. Is opposition to Indian Point driven by "not in my backyard" arguments? The plant should be decommissioned for many reasons: With the Nuclear Regulatory Commission currently reviewing Indian Point for a 20-year license renewal, compelling evidence is emerging that the plant is a threat to both human populations and the environment. Nuclear power is important to the future of energy, but Indian Point is not a safe and effective example of this promising power source. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) thinks so, too-on April 3, The New York Times reported that the DEC found Indian Point in violation of the federal Clean Water Act. This is a major setback for Indian Point's operator, Entergy Corporation, as the DEC's approval is a vital step in the relicensing process. The DEC found that Indian Point's "once-through" cooling system, which draws billions of gallons of Hudson River water daily to cool the reactors, kills billions of fish every year. This is due to the fact that the system discharges heated water from the plant, which increases the temperature of the Hudson's fragile estuarine environment. This increase in temperature reduces the amount of oxygen that can dissolve in the water, which causes aquatic life to suffocate."

"Vice Speaker B.J. Cruz submitted several comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommending that no dredging of Apra Harbor take place and that no dumping of material dredged from Apra Harbor be allowed until adequate radiation testing of the harbor takes place. The Vice Speaker issued his comments in response to the Environmental Impact Statement for the Ocean Dredged Materials Disposal Site Offshore of Guam. In his comments to Mr. Allan Ota of the U.S. EPA, the Vice Speaker recommended No Action be taken on the proposed disposal site. "It is common knowledge," Vice Speaker Cruz wrote in a comment dated April 21, "that the U.S. Navy discharged radioactive material into Apra Harbor on more than one occasion. It is imperative, then, that no dredging of the harbor take place until adequate radiation testing independent from that reported by the U.S. Navy has been conducted on proposed dredge sites.""

"If Exelon, the owner of the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant, thought it could let one of the largest discharges of tritium in U.S. commercial nuclear plant history slip by, the state Department of Environmental Protection has proved it wrong. Thanks in part to the reporting of Asbury Park Press Staff Writer Todd Bates, whose story in Sunday's Press pointed out that Oyster Creek still hadn't developed a cleanup plan more than a year after at least 180,000 gallons of cancer-causing radioactive tritium entered groundwater, the DEP has come down hard on Exelon. On Friday, DEP Commissioner Bob Martin issued a Spill Act directive, compelling Exelon to install deeper groundwater monitoring wells and to prevent the tritium from ever reaching the region's drinking water supplies. The DEP said it has initiated a "new and through investigation" into the leaks, and will force Oyster Creek's co-operation."

"Progress Energy wants approval to construct a new "cooling tower" at the Crystal River nuclear plant to help lower temperatures of discharge from the facility. The company needs the tower to help it comply with regulations about thermal output, as it works to upgrade the plant. The construction of the cooling tower and its operations would affect more than 1.3 acres of wetlands and 3.1 acres of surface waters. The impact on the wetlands "may affect" the West Indian manatee. It is unlikely that other wildlife will be affected, according to the utility's application. The company powered down the nuclear plant in September for a major maintenance project that was expected to be done by the end of December. But shortly after the job began, workers discovered that part of the containment wall had separated into two layers. "

"The situation seems to have stabilized somewhat at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant after four months of fears and uncertainties--and an early spewing of radioactive materials that spread to 12 prefectures. But Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the plant, and government officials still face a host of problems. Early damage to the plant continues to present a risk of further radioactive leaks. And questions remain over the actual extent of damage to human health and the environment from the estimated 770,000 terabecquerels of radioactive materials released into the air so far from the damaged reactors. The amount from the Fukushima plant is more than 10 percent of the 5.2 million terabecquerels discharged during the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. "

"Study: Fukushima storage pool was vulnerable to aftershocks Previous ArticleResponse overwhelming for Fukushima decontamination workshops Next ArticleIAEA: Cleanup of low contaminated areas will be ineffectual October 15, 2011 By TATSUYUKI KOBORI / Staff Writer Aftershocks of the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake could have significantly worsened the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in the weeks after the disaster, according to a government simulation. The storage pool in the No. 4 reactor, which had its building's roof blown off after a hydrogen explosion on March 15, was vulnerable to an aftershock and might have started leaking radioactivity within three hours of a hypothetical aftershock, the study found. Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the plant, initially said the pool was sturdy enough to withstand aftershocks, but Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization analysis completed at the end of June but only released on Oct. 14 says radioactive substances could have been discharged 2.3 hours after a temblor knocked out the pool's cooling system. "