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posted by n1 on Sunday May 28 2017, @04:19AM   Printer-friendly
from the godzilla dept.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) relied on faulty analysis to justify its refusal to adopt a critical measure for protecting Americans from the occurrence of a catastrophic nuclear-waste fire at any one of dozens of reactor sites around the country, according to an article in the May 26 issue of Science magazine. Catastrophic consequences, which could be triggered by a large earthquake or a terrorist attack, could be largely avoided by regulatory measures that the NRC refuses to implement. Using a biased regulatory analysis, the agency excluded the possibility of an act of terrorism as well as the potential for damage from a fire beyond 50 miles of a plant.

[...] "The NRC has been pressured by the nuclear industry, directly and through Congress, to low-ball the potential consequences of a fire because of concerns that increased costs could result in shutting down more nuclear power plants," said paper co-author Frank von Hippel, a senior research physicist at Princeton's Program on Science and Global Security (SGS), based at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. "Unfortunately, if there is no public outcry about this dangerous situation, the NRC will continue to bend to the industry's wishes."

[...] The NRC analysis found that a fire in a spent-fuel pool at an average nuclear reactor site would cause $125 billion in damages. After correcting for errors and omissions, the researchers found that millions of residents in surrounding communities would have to relocate for years, resulting in total damages of $2 trillion—nearly 20 times the NRC's result. Considering the nuclear industry is only legally liable for $13.6 billion, thanks to the Price Anderson Act of 1957, U.S. taxpayers would have to cover the remaining costs.

[...] "In far too many instances, the NRC has used flawed analysis to justify inaction, leaving millions of Americans at risk of a radiological release that could contaminate their homes and destroy their livelihoods," said Lyman. "It is time for the NRC to employ sound science and common-sense policy judgments in its decision-making process."

Source: Phys.org

Nuclear safety regulation in the post-Fukushima era (Science 26 May 2017: Vol. 356, Issue 6340, pp. 808-809 DOI: 10.1126/science.aal4890)


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  • (Score: 2) by fritsd on Sunday May 28 2017, @10:49AM

    by fritsd (4586) on Sunday May 28 2017, @10:49AM (#516708) Journal

    Trump wants to cut $120 million for Hanford in budget proposal despite incidents [seattletimes.com]

    Republicans, eh? The rascals.

    When that contamination reaches the Pacific Ocean though, it will be a larger problem than just some internal American unsolved issue from the Cold War.

    I don't know who said: "the solution to pollution is dilution", but I'm sure he or she must have been of a similar kind of mind-set as the USA government.

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