February 17, 2006

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Oyster Creek Liner a Near Catastrophe, Group Says
By Pete McAleer
Press of Atlantic City, NJ
February 10, 2006

A coalition formed to fight the renewal of the Oyster Creek Generating Station's license claims that portions of a steel liner designed to prevent radioactivity from contaminating the community have nearly eroded through.

The group, made up of environmental activists and Ocean County homeowners, cited a Jan. 31 conference call during which technical experts at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission named Oyster Creek, in Lacey Township, as one of four nuclear reactors in the country with corrosion problems that need to be examined through ultrasonic testing. The Stop the Renewal of Oyster Creek Coalition also retained its own expert who determined that erosion of the containment liner has left the 90-foot tall nuclear reactor in danger of collapsing.

They held a Statehouse news conference Thursday to announce their findings, call for a hearing and lobby the support of Gov. Jon Corzine.

“I've come to the governor's house to ask the governor to help us,” said Janet Tauro, a Brick Township resident who joined the coalition after she submitted the baby teeth of her two children for testing and high levels of radiation were found.

“These ultra-sonic tests need to be done immediately,” Tauro said. “We need to know if this thing is going to collapse. Period.”

Oyster Creek has not undergone ultra-sonic testing since 1994. The tests use sound waves to determine the thickness of the containment liner. Exelon, the company that owns the Oyster Creek plant, has told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or NRC, it will conduct one ultrasonic test before its license is up for renewal in 2009. Exelon is seeking a 20-year renewal for Oyster Creek, the oldest nuclear power plant currently operating in the United States.

Past tests showed the containment liner of the Oyster Creek reactor had eroded to within an inch of safety standards. Coalition members said the problem has gotten worse and that some parts of the liner are now a fraction of an inch away from failing safety standards with no plan to stop the erosion over the next two decades.

“Exelon would like for us to be assured that a sixteenth of an inch of steel is protecting the safety of a half-million people in Monmouth and Ocean County,” Sierra Club Conservation Coordinator Kelly McNicholas said. “We don't think that's acceptable.”

The coalition filed an amendment Thursday to its petition for a public hearing that would aim to determine the source of the water leak that has caused the corrosion and the extent of the damage.

Corzine spokesman Anthony Coley said the governor encourages the NRC to hold public hearings “as part of an open and transparent dialogue between stakeholders and the NRC.”

The state Department of Environmental Protection also filed a petition requesting a hearing. Newly sworn in DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson wrote the NRC earlier this month and expressed disappointment that the staff of the regulatory body had recommended against holding hearings to examine issues raised by those who oppose Oyster Creek's renewal.

“I hope that the (NRC) will conduct an open, public process, with the full participation of the people who live near the plant and in consultation with the state and local governments that have direct knowledge of the plant and the surrounding community,” Jackson wrote.

Diane Screnci, northeast region spokeswoman for the NRC, said a ruling on whether a hearing is warranted would be made by the end of the month. She said the information provided by NRC technical experts at the Jan. 31 conference call is still under review.

A spokeswoman for the Oyster Creek Power Plant, Rachelle Benson, declined to answer when asked about the coalition's petition and its call for ultrasonic testing of the reactor.

“We have a copy of the filing,” Benson said. “We'll provide a response to the NRC in a timely manner.”

Rudolf Hausler, the corrosion expert hired by the coalition that wants to close Oyster Creek, said time is crucial and that ultrasonic tests need to be conducted soon. He said the concrete liner could potentially buckle and cause either a collapse or the release of dangerous gases.

“Clearly such inspection requires the most sophisticated tool and is a challenge to the industry,” Hausler said. “However, the challenge arising from a collapse of the liner will be an order of greater magnitude.”