While two more nuclear reactors at Turkey Point would generate clean energy and create at least 800 permanent new jobs in the area, federal regulators Thursday night said the proposed facilities were not a done deal.
''If approved,'' stressed Stephanie Coffin, branch chief for the division of new reactor licensing at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ``This is not an automatic process.''
She and her colleagues from the Rockville, Md.-based federal agency, which regulates the construction and operation of nuclear reactors nationwide, spoke to more than 200 people at the Keys Gate Golf and Country Club, 2300 Southeast Palm Dr.
Florida Power & Light has proposed building two more nuclear reactors at its Turkey Point site within the next 12 years.
When Coleen Ware walked into Turkey Point, she was shocked to see that the indicators showing control rod positions looked like something out of an early '70s sci-fi movie.
On special assignment from the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations to teach managers of the South Dade plant about safety, she was surprised by the aged indicators, which show the position of the rods in the reactor core -- a central measure about how the core is functioning.
``There are the old gauges . . . where . . . a needle that goes around and around,'' Ware testified, saying they were ``not very reliable.'' When operators looked at the indicators daily, ``they'd be stuck.
When Coleen Ware walked into Turkey Point, she was shocked to see that the indicators showing control rod positions looked like something out of an early '70s sci-fi movie.
On special assignment from the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations to teach managers of the South Dade plant about safety, she was surprised by the aged indicators, which show the position of the rods in the reactor core -- a central measure about how the core is functioning.
``There are the old gauges . . . where . . . a needle that goes around and around,'' Ware testified, saying they were ``not very reliable.'' When operators looked at the indicators daily, ``they'd be stuck.
A Dec. 10 town-hall meeting will address the health effects of high-voltage lines, nuclear-reactor safety and the environmental impact of nuclear plants.
Over the past year, a chorus of concern about Florida Power & Light's push to expand its Turkey Point facility has steadily grown louder.
Several cities have voiced opposition to the high-voltage lines that would carry power from the larger plant along U.S. 1 to downtown Miami.
In response to the worries of those who could be affected, the newly incorporated activist group Citizens Allied for Safe Energy is inviting everyone interested in the matter to a town-hall meeting Dec. 10.
A group of speakers will address general issues on nuclear safety, the health effects of power-line magnetic fields, and environmental problems associated with nuclear plants.
`POSSIBLE CARCINOGEN'
A Dec. 10 town-hall meeting will address the health effects of high-voltage lines, nuclear-reactor safety and the environmental impact of nuclear plants.
Over the past year, a chorus of concern about Florida Power & Light's push to expand its Turkey Point facility has steadily grown louder.
Several cities have voiced opposition to the high-voltage lines that would carry power from the larger plant along U.S. 1 to downtown Miami.
In response to the worries of those who could be affected, the newly incorporated activist group Citizens Allied for Safe Energy is inviting everyone interested in the matter to a town-hall meeting Dec. 10.
A group of speakers will address general issues on nuclear safety, the health effects of power-line magnetic fields, and environmental problems associated with nuclear plants.
`POSSIBLE CARCINOGEN'
"The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has called a special meeting next week to discuss three apparent violations involving a spent fuel pool at Turkey Point - a critical issue as the long-held plans for storing waste in Nevada have completely collapsed.
Technically, the meeting in Atlanta on Wednesday involves the degradation of "a neutron-absorbing material called Boraflex in the Unit 3 spent fuel pool." Used nuclear fuel has been building up at Turkey Point for the 35 years of its operation. The degradation involves systems intended to cram more spent fuel into the pools, according to Lawrence King, a former NRC inspector.
More than two million pounds of waste now sit at the South Miami-Dade site in pools of water - although Florida Power & Light Co. spokesman Michael Waldron says it's more accurate to think of the spent rods as occupying a 16-foot cube if bunched together."
"he nuclear reactor design that Florida Power & Light picked for its expansion at Turkey Point has safety flaws that its manufacturers and federal regulators have overlooked, according to a technical analysis commissioned by environmental groups.
The report -- made public Wednesday -- contends that the reactor's steel-walled containment vessel, the protective barrier from radiation, is more vulnerable to developing rust and holes than older reactors. That, coupled with the design of its emergency cooling system, could multiply exposure risks in the event of an accident, the report concludes.
Arnold Gundersen, a nuclear engineer who produced the report for a dozen national and regional environmental groups, said during a teleconference that the AP 1000 design by the Westinghouse Electrical Co. was ``entirely different'' from older designs and also ``inherently less safe.'' "
"Levy to cost $17.2 billion to $22.5 billion
* First Levy unit to enter service in 2021
* Delay will postpone customer rate hikes
NEW YORK, May 6 (Reuters) - Progress Energy Inc (PGN.N) boosted the estimated cost of its proposed Levy nuclear power plant in Florida and delayed its start-up to 2021 due to a delay in licensing the reactors, a spokeswoman for the company said on Thursday.
The company estimates the project to build two 1,100 megawatts reactors at Levy about 130 miles (209 km) northwest of Orlando, would cost $17.2 billion to $22.5 billion -- up from its previous estimate of $17.2 billion."
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