Public speaks out against nuke plant's relicensing

HAMPTON – Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials heard concerns from members of the public Monday night, many calling for the NRC to deny Seabrook Station nuclear power plant a license extension.

The gathering held at the Best Western Plus inn on Route 1 was for the NRC’s annual public information meeting, drawing several dozen people including a representative from U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s office and Massachusetts state Sen. Kathleen O’Connor Ives. Seven people spoke, many from the Newburyport-based C-10 Research & Education Foundation, which believes Seabrook Station should be shut down because of concrete degradation found in its structures in the last seven years.

“We know how quickly (the concrete degradation) has evolved. We know what a problem it is,” said
Debbie Grinnell of C-10. “Offering an extension is something you really cannot do. We are requiring you to deny it.”

The degradation, known as alkali-silica reaction, is a chemical reaction that causes concrete to form micro-cracks. The phenomena is commonly found in structures like bridges and dams, but Seabrook Station is the first nuclear plant in the United States to be identified as having the reaction. NextEra Energy, which owns the plant, is in the process of extending its license from ending in 2030 to 2050. NRC officials say whether NextEra can demonstrate its ability to control the ASR down the road is key to its renewal.

O’Connor Ives, whose constituency includes Newburyport, Mass., and Amesbury, Mass., joined the members of C-10 in calling for the plant to be denied its license renewal, saying there is too little information available about ASR to allow Seabrook Station to operate for an additional 20 years.

“There is also no information regarding what any possible solution might be,” said O’Connor Ives at the podium. “The standard of degraded but operable is not good enough to expose the public to potential radiological emergency.”

Before public comment and in response to questions, NRC officials explained their commission’s monitoring of Seabrook Station in the past year and the license renewal process. They explained that the NRC is expecting NextEra to demonstrate ASR will not be a safety problem if the renewal is granted and has not decided whether to grant the renewal.

Raymond Lorson, director of NRC Region I’s Division of Reactor Safety, told attendees the NRC has been tough on industry members in the past. Peach Bottom Nuclear Generating Station, he said, was once given a shut-down order by the NRC because its management was not taking safety seriously enough.

Still, skeptics left the meeting without being swayed to believe the NRC has the best intentions. After the meeting, C-10 president
Patricia Skibbee said she believes the NRC is protecting the nuclear industry rather than the public.

Tom Maclachlan of Amesbury, who has followed the issue for years, said “it’s very clear” the NRC is putting the nuclear industry above the people’s safety.

Meeting attendee
Glenn Richards of Newburyport said it makes sense people would be skeptical of the NRC. He noted one member of C-10 told NRC officials during Tuesday’s meeting she received a response just last week to a petition she sent in 2008. The officials responded by saying they would look into the status of that and other petitions she had filed.

“It’s naturally like, ‘Oh, geez, are these guys paying attention?” Richards said.

On the other side of the issue, NextEra spokesperson
Alan Griffith said not all critics of Seabrook Station have been open to dialogue about the plant’s existence. He said O’Connor Ives has been invited to take a tour of the plant but has not taken up the offer.

Mel Gray, a regional branch chief, said he understands not all members of the public will be convinced that the plant is safe or that the NRC is looking out for the public’s best interest. That is not the goal of the meetings, he said. Rather, it is to make sure NRC officials are transparent about the process and give people the chance to speak and interact with them.

“We might not persuade or change minds in these meetings, but that’s not the measure of success,” Gray said after the meeting. “The measure of success is having them and making sure people are heard.”

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