SC Green Party Press Release: Catawba Plutonium Experiment Puts Families at Risk"The fact of the matter is, Duke is being paid by the federal government to experiment with plutonium MOX fuel. The citizens of the two Carolinas, who help pay for the plutonium MOX fuel subsidies with their tax dollars, are the guinea pigs."Tuesday, May 30th, 2006 Catawba Plutonium Experiment Puts Families at Risk Greens ask nuclear regulators to delay restart of Catawba reactors until investigation is completed. Scientists and citizens call for review after shut down Greens call for conservation during shut down at reactor Evacuation plans to be reviewed In the wake of an unexpected shutdown at the Catawba Nuclear Station on Lake Wylie, local Green Party leaders are calling on regulators to delay restart until a full investigation is complete. Greens say the use of experimental plutonium fuel at Catawba has them calling on Duke Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to leave the reactors offline. "The fact of the matter is, Duke is being paid by the federal government to experiment with plutonium MOX fuel. The citizens of the two Carolinas, who help pay for the plutonium MOX fuel subsidies with their tax dollars, are the guinea pigs." said Kathryn Kuppers of the Charlotte Area Green Party. "The Nuclear Regulatory Commission should never have approved the use of untried plutonium fuel in these nuclear reactors." On May 20th, circuit breakers opened in a switchyard and two reactors at the Catawba site near Clover began an unexpected shut down. Now spokesman Ken Clark of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission says a team of inspectors is asking questions, and so are local activists. According to Nuclear News Flashes the five-member inspection team was expected to be at the site for several days. While they welcome the involvement of industry and government inspectors, Greens have asked that independent and reputable scientists to be allowed unfettered access to review and confirm all industry and government data. "This was a very serious and troubling event, and calls into question whether Duke is capable of safely handling and using dangerous materials like plutonium MOX fuel." said Dr. Ed Lyman, Senior Staff Scientist for the Union of Concerned Scientists in Washington DC. According to Lyman, the Catawba reactors have weak ice-condenser containments that render them vulnerable to failure in the event of a hydrogen explosion. A station blackout - in which both off-site and on-site power is lost -would lead to loss of the hydrogen ignition systems that are needed to prevent hydrogen explosions in ice condenser plants. If the emergency diesel generators had failed to start, there would have been a high probability of a core melt and early containment failure from hydrogen combustion. And the presence of the plutonium MOX fuel assemblies in the core of Catawba Unit 1 might have increased the severity of a station blackout if a loss-of-coolant accident had occurred due the failure of the pump seals. Lyman testified in 2004 that the plutonium MOX assemblies might be more vulnerable to fuel damage than conventional uranium fuel during loss-of-coolant accidents. Gregg Jocoy of the York County (SC) Greens said "There are a lot of people and valuable real estate close to the reactors. It doesn't make sense to continue this experiment. We have written to Duke and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission asking them to keep the reactors off-line until scientists can determine if the experiment is working as designed." The Greens are contacting the various towns, cities and counties in the area surrounding the Catawba reactors and requested copies of their emergency evacuation plans. The plans will be posted at the party websites. They requested that a copy be sent to nearby libraries and local media outlets. The local groups plan to use the Freedom of Information Act to get details of the results of recent simulated nuclear emergency preparedness tests held in Gaffney. In a letter faxed today to state and federal utility regulators, both chapters ask for time to present the case for electricity conservation while the power plants are shut down and the experimental fuel rods are removed and inspected. The unplanned shut down occurred just as demand was expected to rise with summer temperatures. This is not a new issue for local party activists. They have testified before government regulators. They have even seen others testify that this sort of potential accident makes Catawba particularly unsuited to using plutonium fuel. The system did shut down properly this time they believe. A catastrophic release is unlikely they admit. But they say they don't want to continue taking these risks. Last week the House of Representatives eliminated funding for the plutonium MOX project and directed the Department of Energy to stop pursuing the plutonium fuel option. To the Greens, this looks like it should be the end of the project. Both groups are considering what alternatives they may be able to use in their effort to keep the experiment from starting back up again. The local chapters plan to use their contacts in the environmental movement to help guide their next steps. "We have friends and allies out there who can hold our hand while we develop a position." said Dr. Judy Aulette, one of several Greens who have testified locally. "The plutonium fuel is a potential terrorist target, so on every front, we would be better off if Duke and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission suspended this program. We need to be sure that there are full and public hearings on these questions, not just in Washington, but here in our community." Contacts: Kathryn Kuppers, Charlotte Area Green Party, 704-490-7904, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Gregg Jocoy, York County (SC) Greens, 803-984-5414, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Ed Lyman, PhD, Senior Staff Scientist Union of Concerned Scientists 202-841-0181, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Charlotte Area Green Party www.CharlotteGreens.org York County (SC) Greens www.YorkGreens.org |
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