Community Corner
NRC to Hold Call-In Hearing on Fukushima-Style Power Plants
The operation of Oyster Creek Generating Station and other power plants throughout the country will be discussed
A public hearing regarding all U.S. nuclear plants with the same type of reactor as the plant in Fukushima, Japan – such as the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in Lacey Township – will be heard via webcast or telephone on Friday, Oct. 7 from 10 a.m. to noon.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission-run hearing will give the pubic the opportunity to comment on requested emergency enforcement actions to suspend operations at Fukushima-style nuclear reactors. The Fukushima Daiichi plant suffered major damage in the March earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan, leading to a radiation leak.
The public hearing was prompted by a , including the local group Grandmothers, Mothers and More for Energy Safety (GRAMMES), calling on the NRC to “freeze our Fukushimas.”
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The petition, headed by Beyond Nuclear, an anti-nuclear organization, calls for the immediate suspension of 17 nuclear facilities with General Electric (GE) Boiling Water Reactors Mark 1 units, the same type of reactors at Fukushima that experienced a meltdown following an earthquake and tsunami.
The advocates are also fighting for the 1989 approval of an experimental venting system to be revoked as well as for Mark 1 operators to install emergency backup power for the spent fuel cooling system, said Paul Gunter, Director of the Reactor Oversight Project for Beyond Nuclear.
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Speakers during the public hearing will include Paul Gunter and Kevin Kamps (Beyond Nuclear), Dale Bridenbaugh (former GE engineer), Arnie Gunderson (Fairewinds Associates), Deb Katz (Citizens Awareness Network), Lou Zeller (Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League), Randy Kehler (Safe & Green Campaign), Michael Mariotte (Nuclear Information and Resource Service), Bobbie Paul (Georgia WAND) and more.
To participate, call one of the following toll free phone numbers or visit the NRC’s website to view the webcast:
1-877-533-7601 (passcode 5087356)
1-866-741-7099 (passcode 3340595)
1-866-732-2413 (passcode 8181837)
Webcast at http://video.nrc.gov
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