(516.5072) CMEP - The study by Public Citizen, Amnesty Irrational, found that between October 1996 and May 1999, 102 of the country's 111 reactors were operated outside the safety parameters established in their licenses. When a nuclear reactor is operated outside these safety parameters it is called operating "outside design basis." During the three years analyzed, utilities operated their nuclear reactors "outside design basis" more than 500 times, the study found.
Utilities have failed to follow rules pertaining to such key safety systems as the emergency
core cooling system and the electrical cables that control the nuclear reactor, the records
revealed. Additionally, in some instances, a single event could have prevented the functioning of
safety systems needed to do such things such as shutting down the reactor, cooling the radioactive
fuel in the reactor's core and preventing the release of radiation into the environment. "Safety
has been compromised at nuclear reactors across the United States," said James Riccio, staff
attorney for Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy Project. "In some cases, safety margins were
significantly reduced, if not eliminated."
When a nuclear utility operates its reactor "outside design basis," it is impossible for the NRC
or the utility to determine whether the reactor poses an undue risk to public health and safety.
The more often a nuclear reactor is operated "outside design basis," the less certain that the
reactor and its safety systems will operate as designed.
The NRC has long known that design basis problems were undermining the safety of nuclear
reactors it was supposed to regulate. However, due to the potential financial impact on the nuclear
industry, the NRC has obfuscated the issue and delayed taking action, the report says. "The NRC has
ignored these important safety issues for decades," said Wenonah Hauter, director of Public
Citizen's Critical Mass Energy Project. "If these nuclear reactors don't meet safety requirements,
they should be shut down until they do."
Design basis issues already have contributed to the closure of three nuclear reactors: Haddam
Neck, and Millstone Unit 1 in Connecticut, and Maine Yankee in Maine. However, the design basis
issues that resulted in these shutdowns were not identified by the utilities. These problems came
to light only because of events or whistleblower allegations that prompted NRC inspections.
Furthermore, Public Citizen has found that the same design basis problems that resulted in these
shut-downs exist at other reactors throughout the US.
"The NRC's amnesty program is an irrational move by an ineffective regulator and will not address
the significant design basis issues that still exist at nuclear reactors across the United States,"
Riccio said.
Source: Press release CMEP, 10 August 1999
Contact: Wyona Hauter, Public Citizens Critical Mass Energy Project,
215 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Washington DC 20003, USA.
Tel: +1-202-546 4996;
Fax: +1-202-547 7392
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