Environmental and Safety Cover-up Controversy for the Nuclear Industry

It seems like nuclear companies care more about profits than people’s safety and the environment.  Case in point:  the latest radioactive waste water spills reported last week from Exelon Corp’s nuclear power plants in Illinois.  The tritium leaks have shown to date back as far back as 1996, and neighbors now worry about the quality of their drinking water and incidents of cancer. 

The residents have cause for worry.  According to a 2003 Union of Concerned Scientists report, the odds that one of the nation’s 103 nuclear power reactors will have a serious accident in the next three years is about 1 in 3. This clear and present danger is virtually being ignored by the federal agency, NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) who is empowered to protect the public. According to the report, the NRC focuses its attention on improving the financial performance of the nuclear industry.

Although the nuclear industry insists its plants do not present a public safety threat, the U.S. government continues to shelter the industry by putting a cap on its liability in the event of a catastrophic accident. The Price-Anderson Act, which Congress reauthorized in 2002, protects nuclear power plant owners from the full cost of accidents and limits the protection offered to the public by the federal government in the event of a large accident.

This unique form of federal intervention distorts competition in the wholesale electricity market in favor of nuclear power and underscores the inherent uncertainty about the safety and potential magnitude of accidents at nuclear power plants.

U.S. Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., calls President Bush’s statement that nuclear power is safe and clean as "oxymoronic". 

Taking a look at the list below that snap shots just a few fines, violations, and cover ups in the in Nuclear Industry, I tend to agree:

$10 Million -- Northeast Utilities -- September 1999
Northeast Utilities, New England's biggest electric utility, pleaded guilty in federal court to violating regulations governing its nuclear facilities and agreed to pay $10 million in fines and contributions.

$871, 500 – Zion Nuclear Plant Permanently Closed after 17 violations – January 1998
ComEd Announces Permanent Shutdown of Zion Station; Unicom to Take $515 Million Write-off

$205,250 -- Fluor Hanford Inc., contractor at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation – December 2005
Hanford contractor violated nuclear safety requirements deemed as "long-standing criticality safety deficiencies".

by
Erin Swanson
ESwanson@enviance.com