Part 3 of 4 Parts (Please read Parts 1 and 2 first)
Beyond Nuclear captured and saved a copy of the original PNNL report for the NRC on extending licensing for nuclear power plants. Here is the revised version of the report now on the NRC websites.
Gunther points out that the omissions from the revised report start with the Abstract section of the orginal report which states: “As U.S. nuclear power plants look to subsequent license renewal (SLR) to operate for a 20-year period beyond 60 years, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the industry will be addressing technical issues around the capability of long-lived passive components to meet their functionality objectives. A key challenge will be to better understand likely materials degradation mechanisms in these components and their impacts on component functionality and safety margins. Research addressing many of the remaining technical gaps in these areas for SLR may greatly benefit from materials sampled from plants (decommissioned or operating). Because of the cost and inefficiency of piecemeal sampling, there is a need for a strategic and systematic approach to sampling materials from structures, systems and components in both operating and decommissioned plants.” In the revised version of the report, this abstract is missing.
The removal of the report from the websites and the appearance of the revised report missing important information highlights a major problem with the NRC. Too often, the NRC is a victim of regulatory capture which means that they are too strongly influenced by the industry they are charged with regulating. The NRC is too lenient with respect to failures of nuclear power plant operators to follow the regulations. The NRC has been caught working with nuclear power plant operators to loosen regulations in order for power plant operators to stay in compliance and save money. Unfortunately, the current Trump administration has been too ready to abolish or alter regulations that companies say are too costly to implement.
Gunther says that, with respect to current decommissioning practices for nuclear power plants, the U.S. nuclear industry “knocks these plants down and buries them as quickly as they can” and “ignores having critical post-mortem autopsies.” Components at the plants are not studied to determine the extent of wear including “how radiation affects concrete and impacts on what had been inaccessible areas of the plants.” No analyses of the impacts of embrittlement of metals, especially on the reactor pressure vessel caused by radiation exposure as well as the extreme temperatures and vibrations. The industry resists carrying out such analyses because of the cost involve, says Gunther. In addition, there are about six hundred miles of electrical cables in a typical nuclear power plant which energize control monitors and other components. The insulation and jacketing of electrical cabling are also not being inspected but just buried with the plant. Ultimately, the real-world effects or aging are not being studied. The original PNNL report would have required that this be done.
The first nuclear power plant to be granted an extension on its operating license to eighty years was the Florida Power & Light’s Turkey Point near Homestead, Florida, 25 miles south of Miami.
Please read Part 4 next