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Last week, PSEG Nuclear officially asked federal regulators to extend the licenses of the three nuclear reactors at the Salem/Hope Creek site for 20 more years. The reactors, which are just 15 miles from downtown Wilmington, are aging, and their original licenses will soon expire. Advertisement Regulators will take several years to make an official decision. But in reality, they have already made up their minds to approve it. In this decade, the government has granted 52 of 52 requests for license extension -- half of the 104 nuclear reactors in the U.S. -- with more likely to follow. Companies like PSEG Nuclear claim that nuclear reactors produce "safe, reliable, economic, and green energy." But for years, there have been major concerns about the health threat posed by nuclear reactors.

Last week, PSEG Nuclear officially asked federal regulators to extend the licenses of the three nuclear reactors at the Salem/Hope Creek site for 20 more years. The reactors, which are just 15 miles from downtown Wilmington, are aging, and their original licenses will soon expire. Advertisement Regulators will take several years to make an official decision. But in reality, they have already made up their minds to approve it. In this decade, the government has granted 52 of 52 requests for license extension -- half of the 104 nuclear reactors in the U.S. -- with more likely to follow. Companies like PSEG Nuclear claim that nuclear reactors produce "safe, reliable, economic, and green energy." But for years, there have been major concerns about the health threat posed by nuclear reactors.

A Pittsburgh-based energy advocacy group wants the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to delay a final decision on the licensing renewal process for Beaver Valley nuclear reactor Units 1 and 2, concerned about corrosion in a reactor containment liner. "We're not optimistic, frankly," David Hughes, executive director of Citizen Power, said Thursday. "Not because we don't believe our concerns don't have merit, but we're not confident with the NRC." A final decision had been expected Monday. But Neil Sheehan, an NRC spokesman, said Friday that timetable has been pushed back, as the NRC plans to release another report on the liner issue. A final decision could now come in early November, Sheehan said. History is on the side of Akron-based FirstEnergy, owner of the reactors, and against Citizen Power. According to NRC records, a license renewal request has never been refused, with more than half of the 104 reactors across the country seeking license renewals in the last decade. And the process cleared a big hurdle last week, with the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards recommending the license renewal. Licensing renewal

A Pittsburgh-based energy advocacy group wants the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to delay a final decision on the licensing renewal process for Beaver Valley nuclear reactor Units 1 and 2, concerned about corrosion in a reactor containment liner. "We're not optimistic, frankly," David Hughes, executive director of Citizen Power, said Thursday. "Not because we don't believe our concerns don't have merit, but we're not confident with the NRC." A final decision had been expected Monday. But Neil Sheehan, an NRC spokesman, said Friday that timetable has been pushed back, as the NRC plans to release another report on the liner issue. A final decision could now come in early November, Sheehan said. History is on the side of Akron-based FirstEnergy, owner of the reactors, and against Citizen Power. According to NRC records, a license renewal request has never been refused, with more than half of the 104 reactors across the country seeking license renewals in the last decade. And the process cleared a big hurdle last week, with the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards recommending the license renewal. Licensing renewal

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has made available to the public the combined license (COL) application for a new reactor at the River Bend site near Baton Rouge, La. The applicant, Entergy, submitted the application and associated information Sept. 25. The application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/river-bend.html. The Entergy application seeks approval to build and operate an Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR) at the site, approximately 24 miles northwest of Baton Rouge. The ESBWR is a General Electric-designed, 1,500 MWe natural-circulation boiling water reactor that incorporates passive safety systems. The NRC is currently reviewing the design for possible certification. More information on this design is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/design-cert/esbwr.html.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has made available to the public the combined license (COL) application for a new reactor at the Bell Bend site near Berwick, Pa. The applicant, PPL Bell Bend, submitted the application and associated information Oct. 13. The application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/bell-bend.html. The PPL application seeks approval to build and operate an Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) at the site, about seven miles southeast of Berwick. The EPR is an Areva-designed pressurized water reactor, with a nominal output of approximately 1,600 megawatts of electricity. Areva filed its application to certify the design on Dec. 11, 2007. A version of the EPR is currently under construction at the Olkiluoto site in Finland and at Flamanville, France. The EPR application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/design-cert/epr.html.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has made available to the public the combined license (COL) application for two new reactors at the Comanche Peak site near Glen Rose, Texas. The applicant, Luminant Generation, submitted the application and associated information Sept. 19. The application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/comanche-peak.html. The Luminant application seeks approval to build and operate two U.S. Advanced Pressurized Water Reactors (US-APWR) at the site, about four miles north of Glen Rose. The US-APWR is a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries-designed 1,700 MWe pressurized-water reactor the NRC is currently reviewing for possible certification. More information regarding the review is available on the NRC's Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/design-cert/apwr/dcd.html.

The cost of Pebble Bed Modular Reactor's (PBMR's) demonstration plant and pilot fuel plant had almost doubled to R31-billion as a result of inflation and higher materials costs, company chief executive Jaco Kriek said last week. Kriek said the demonstration reactor, which would generate 200 megawatts of heat and 80MW of electricity, was now expected to be commissioned by 2018 - four years later than previously expected. The plant has yet to receive environmental clearance.

The cost of Pebble Bed Modular Reactor's (PBMR's) demonstration plant and pilot fuel plant had almost doubled to R31-billion as a result of inflation and higher materials costs, company chief executive Jaco Kriek said last week. Kriek said the demonstration reactor, which would generate 200 megawatts of heat and 80MW of electricity, was now expected to be commissioned by 2018 - four years later than previously expected. The plant has yet to receive environmental clearance.

The cost of Pebble Bed Modular Reactor's (PBMR's) demonstration plant and pilot fuel plant had almost doubled to R31-billion as a result of inflation and higher materials costs, company chief executive Jaco Kriek said last week. Kriek said the demonstration reactor, which would generate 200 megawatts of heat and 80MW of electricity, was now expected to be commissioned by 2018 - four years later than previously expected. The plant has yet to receive environmental clearance.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has made available the public version of a combined license (COL) application for two new reactors at the Turkey Point site near Miami. The applicant, Florida Power & Light (FP&L), submitted the application and associated information June 30. The application, minus proprietary and security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/turkey-point.html. FP&L's COL application seeks approval to build and operate two AP1000 reactors at the site, approximately 25 miles south of Miami. The AP1000 is a Westinghouse 1,100 MWe pressurized-water reactor design the NRC certified in 2006. Westinghouse submitted an application in May 2007 to amend the certified design. The design certification amendment application (minus proprietary and security-related details) is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/design-cert/amended-ap1000.html.

The likely cost of electricity for a new generation of nuclear reactors would be 12-20 cents per kilowatt hour (KWh), considerably more expensive than the average cost of increased use of energy efficiency and renewable energies at 6 cents per kilowatt hour, according to a major new study by economist Dr. Mark Cooper, a senior fellow for economic analysis at the Institute for Energy and the Environment at Vermont Law School. The report finds that it would cost $1.9 trillion to $4.1 trillion more over the life of 100 new nuclear reactors than it would to generate the same electricity from a combination of more energy efficiency and renewables. Titled "The Economics of Nuclear Reactors," Cooper's analysis of over three dozen cost estimates for proposed new nuclear reactors shows that the projected price tags for the plants have quadrupled since the start of the industry's so-called "nuclear renaissance" at the beginning of this decade -- a striking parallel to the eventually seven-fold increase in reactor costs estimates that doomed the "Great Bandwagon Market" of the 1960s and 1970s, when half of planned reactors had to be abandoned or cancelled due to massive cost overruns.

Eleven years after its last nuclear reactor was shut down, the University may be making strides to reinstate a new one on campus. The Illinois Student Senate approved a resolution April 8 to create a new integral fast reactor for use by the nuclear engineering department. "The integral fast reactor is a research reactor," said David Wall, freshman in LAS. "It takes spent fuel from your normal reactor and uses it as more energy." Spent fuel, or fuel that has already been used, is a problem in energy consumption and conservation, said Wall, who served in the U.S. Navy as an electrical and nuclear operator. The new reactor would enable engineers to use this energy instead of leaving it in the form of waste. Wall said this is the equivalent of taking a tissue box full of used or spent fuel and creating a shot glass-sized amount of waste out of it.

"The Swedish government Thursday presented a draft bill that would quadruple the sum owners of nuclear reactors should pay in damages in case of an accident. "The reactor owners should take full responsibility for the security and insurance at nuclear plants," Environment Minister Andreas Carlgren said. At present reactor owners are obliged to cover costs of up to 3 billion kronor (415 million dollars), but the sum should be hiked to 12 billion kronor, according to the government's proposal. The government said reactor owners should sign up to a mutual insurance system, noting that this is in place in other countries. Other options included that the company has to show it has sufficient securities. These would be reviewed by the National Debt Office, Carlgren told reporters. Further, the proposal states that "all assets in a company" could be used to cover the damages, he said. The bill also scraps a previous ban against building new nuclear power reactors, revoking a 1980 referendum decision to phase out nuclear power, Carlgren said but "at most 10 reactors are allowed". "

An expert panel is recommending that the federal government build a new nuclear reactor to produce medical isotopes and guarantee an adequate supply for the country. The Expert Review Panel On Medical Isotope Production says the best way to keep isotopes stocked is to build a new research reactor to replace the downed unit at Chalk River, Ont. It makes the recommendation in a report to Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt, which the government received Monday and released Thursday. "We recommend that the government expeditiously engage in the replacement of the (National Research Universal) reactor as we believe a multipurpose research reactor represents the best primary option to create a sustainable source of (the isotope molybdenum 99), recognizing that the reactor's other missions would also play a role in justifying the costs," the report says.

An expert panel is recommending that the federal government build a new nuclear reactor to produce medical isotopes and guarantee an adequate supply for the country. The Expert Review Panel On Medical Isotope Production says the best way to keep isotopes stocked is to build a new research reactor to replace the downed unit at Chalk River, Ont. It makes the recommendation in a report to Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt, which the government received Monday and released Thursday. "We recommend that the government expeditiously engage in the replacement of the (National Research Universal) reactor as we believe a multipurpose research reactor represents the best primary option to create a sustainable source of (the isotope molybdenum 99), recognizing that the reactor's other missions would also play a role in justifying the costs," the report says.

"Having failed to accurately grasp the extent of actual damage to nuclear reactors and the amount of water contaminated with radioactive substances, Tokyo Electric Power Co. has been forced to revise its timetable for resolving the nuclear crisis at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. The plant operator released Tuesday an updated version of its road map to end the crisis, making some changes to critical aspects of the plan, especially in regards to cooling the reactors. It has been more than two months since the crisis began following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. TEPCO had to review its strategy on cooling the reactors as it learned about an apparent leakage of a huge amount of contaminated water from a damaged containment vessel. The company said an estimated 87,500 tons of contaminated water has accumulated in the turbine buildings of the Nos. 1 to 4 reactors and elsewhere at the site. On Saturday, about 3,000 tons of contaminated water, which likely leaked from the containment vessel of the No. 1 reactor, was discovered in underground areas of the reactor building. Water had been pumped in to attempt to fill the containment vessel of the reactor and cool the fuel inside."

Critics of TVA's Watts Bar Nuclear Plant told regulators today that finishing another reactor is too risky and expensive. "The dangers are real and consequential," said Dr. Ross McCluney, a Chattanooga physicist and a member of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. "I think TVA is a little off its rocker, proposing a 30-year-old nuclear power plant design with known safety problems." The Tennessee Valley Authority, which suspended construction of the Watts Bar Unit 2 reactor in 1985, is the midst of a $2.5 billion program to finish the unit by 2012. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is conducting a hearing today on the environmental impact of finishing the Unit 2 reactor. TVA obtained a construction permit for Watts Bar in 1973, but the utility still must obtain an operating license once the reactor is finished. Today's hearing is part of the NRC's assessment of the plant.

Critics of TVA's Watts Bar Nuclear Plant told regulators today that finishing another reactor is too risky and expensive. "The dangers are real and consequential," said Dr. Ross McCluney, a Chattanooga physicist and a member of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. "I think TVA is a little off its rocker, proposing a 30-year-old nuclear power plant design with known safety problems." The Tennessee Valley Authority, which suspended construction of the Watts Bar Unit 2 reactor in 1985, is the midst of a $2.5 billion program to finish the unit by 2012. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is conducting a hearing today on the environmental impact of finishing the Unit 2 reactor. TVA obtained a construction permit for Watts Bar in 1973, but the utility still must obtain an operating license once the reactor is finished. Today's hearing is part of the NRC's assessment of the plant.

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.

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.

Model for new UK reactors reveals damaging disagreements between Finland and French contractors From the outside, there is nothing unusual about the warehouse by the offices on Finland's Olkiluoto island, site of what should have been the world's first modern nuclear reactor. But inside, stacked on five kilometres of shelving, are 160,000 documents. "If a valve for the reactor is changed, it comes in a small box and a van full of documents," complains Jouni Silvennoinen, project director for Teollisuuden Voima (TVO), the Finnish utility that ordered the plant from the Franco-German consortium Areva-Siemens. The paper mountain helps explain why the reactor, which should have cost €3bn (£2.72bn) and been working this year, will now miss its revised completion date of mid-2012 and will cost at least €5.3bn. In the latest delay, Finland's nuclear safety regulator halted welding on the reactor last week and criticised poor oversight by the sub-contractor, supplier and TVO.

Model for new UK reactors reveals damaging disagreements between Finland and French contractors From the outside, there is nothing unusual about the warehouse by the offices on Finland's Olkiluoto island, site of what should have been the world's first modern nuclear reactor. But inside, stacked on five kilometres of shelving, are 160,000 documents. "If a valve for the reactor is changed, it comes in a small box and a van full of documents," complains Jouni Silvennoinen, project director for Teollisuuden Voima (TVO), the Finnish utility that ordered the plant from the Franco-German consortium Areva-Siemens. The paper mountain helps explain why the reactor, which should have cost €3bn (£2.72bn) and been working this year, will now miss its revised completion date of mid-2012 and will cost at least €5.3bn. In the latest delay, Finland's nuclear safety regulator halted welding on the reactor last week and criticised poor oversight by the sub-contractor, supplier and TVO.

In the race to provide energy for the nation's future, two multinational companies have led the way with designs for reactors that promised clean, green electricity with unprecedented safety. But detailed reviews by the Health and Safety Executive highlight a series of shortcomings in security and safety systems in both reactors that must be fixed or redesigned before the power plants can be approved for construction. Safety officials reviewed plans from the European companies, Areva and EDF, which make the EPR reactor, and similar documents for the AP1000 reactor built by the American multinational power company, Westinghouse, and ruled that both need to improve the safety of their power plants before they can be approved for construction.

In the race to provide energy for the nation's future, two multinational companies have led the way with designs for reactors that promised clean, green electricity with unprecedented safety. But detailed reviews by the Health and Safety Executive highlight a series of shortcomings in security and safety systems in both reactors that must be fixed or redesigned before the power plants can be approved for construction. Safety officials reviewed plans from the European companies, Areva and EDF, which make the EPR reactor, and similar documents for the AP1000 reactor built by the American multinational power company, Westinghouse, and ruled that both need to improve the safety of their power plants before they can be approved for construction.

"Breaks Under Kerry-Lieberman Wipe Out Risk for Utilities Already Benefiting From Massive Loan Guarantees Earth Track Analysis Finds That Just Two of the Subsidies Add Another $1.3 Billion to $3 Billion in Tax Breaks Per Reactor; May Make It More Likely Taxpayers Will Face Downside Risk. Washington, DC -- The nuclear industry could end up facing no risk under massive tax break subsidies in the Kerry-Lieberman climate bill, according to an important new analysis conducted for Friends of the Earth by the research organization Earth Track. These tax breaks totaling $9.7 billion to $57.3 billion (depending on the type and number of reactors) would come on top of the Kerry-Lieberman measure's lucrative $35.5 billion addition to the more than $22.5 billion in loan guarantees already slated for nuclear power. Friends of the Earth President Erich Pica said: "Doling out an additional $1.3-$3 billion in tax breaks per new reactor means the industry would be at the table playing almost entirely with taxpayer money. Industry will have little to lose when a reactor goes belly up. While taxpayers are bankrolling the industry's nuclear gamble they would share in none of the reactor's financial returns. In fact, all taxpayers will receive if the reactors are built is responsibility for disposing of the waste. By contrast, investors stand to make billions with no risk should their reactor gambit goes belly up and enter bankruptcy." "

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted for review the Combined License application for an Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) at the Nine Mile Point site near Oswego, N.Y. Unistar submitted the application and associated information Sept. 30. The application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/nine-mile-point.html. Unistar is seeking approval to build and operate an EPR at the site, approximately six miles northeast of Oswego. The EPR is an Areva-designed pressurized water reactor, with a nominal output of approximately 1,600 megawatts of electricity. Areva filed its application Dec. 11, 2007, to certify the design. A version of the EPR is currently under construction at the Olkiluoto site in Finland and at Flamanville, France. The EPR application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/design-cert/epr.html.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted for review the combined license (COL) application for an Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) at the Callaway site near Fulton, Mo. Ameren submitted the application and associated information July 28. The application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/callaway.html. Ameren is seeking approval to build and operate an EPR at the site, approximately 10 miles southeast of Fulton. The EPR is an Areva-designed pressurized water reactor, with a nominal output of approximately 1,600 megawatts of electricity. Areva filed its application Dec. 11, 2007, to certify the design. A version of the EPR is currently under construction at the Olkiluoto site in Finland and at Flamanville, France. The EPR application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/design-cert/epr.html.

Participating in nuclear power hearing can be a 'learn-as-you-go' process Joseph Wojcicki concedes his last name can twist tongues. "It's Voo-tess-kee," the West Columbia man says with a thick Polish accent. "But you can call me 'Joe the Intervenor.'" A retired Midlands Tech math teacher, Wojcicki took part as a citizen intervenor in the Public Service Commission's almost three-week-long hearing on SCE&G's $9.8 billion plan to add two reactor units to the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station at Jenkinsville. Intervenors, 12/22/08 Intervenors Pamela Greenlaw, bottom left, Meira Warshauer, center, and Joseph Wojcicki, right, listen to attorney Bob Guild, standing left, as he enters an objection to secret building cost amounts during the hearing before the commission. The intervenors sit at the table with lawyers for other groups challenging the nuclear plan. They represent the consumer. - Tim Dominick/tdominick@thestate. /The State Intervenors, 12/22/08 Lay-people known as "intervenors" question witnesses at the Public Service Commission hearing on SCE&G's plan to build two reactors at its plant in Jenkinsville. - Tim Dominick/tdominick@thestate. /The State Intervenors, 12/22/08 About a half-dozen lay-people known as "intervenors" are questioning witnesses at the Public Service Commission hearing on SCE&G's plan to build two reactors at its plant in Jenkinsville. - Tim Dominick/tdominick@thestate. /The State Intervenors, 12/22/08 Intervenors Pamela Greenlaw, bottom left, Meira Warshauer, center, and Joseph Wojcicki, right, listen to attorney Bob Guild, standing left, as he enters an objection to secret building cost amounts during the hearing before the commission. - Tim Dominick/tdominick@thestate. /The State Intervenors, 12/22/08 Intervenor Joseph Wojcicki looks through documents during the hearing before the commission. - Tim Dominick/tdominick@thestate. /The State Intervenors, 12/22/08 Citizen intervenor Meira Warshauer, left, asks a que