Deadline For Filing Fast Approaching

Just in from FUSE USA...

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Deadline For Filing Contentions Fast Approaching

Contrary to the reports in the newspaper, citizens still have five days left to Intervene in the License Renewal process for Indian Point. It is promising to be quite the party, as the State Attorney General weighed in on Monday strongly supporting the closure of the plant. Most of the key players have weighed in, so it is doubtful that there will be any major surprises, as everyone knows PHASE (Susan Shapiro's new organization) will coming running into the fray at the very last minute, basically filing a rehash of everything that FUSE USA has already filed.

Meanwhile, we have Entergy and the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board doing everything in their power to keep FUSE USA, and more specifically Sherwood Martinelli from having a seat at the table. The latest from their bag of tricks, is to threaten to toss both FUSE USA and Sherwood Martinelli out of the process because he had the audacity to call the board a bunch of Pro-Industry Pricks...forget the fact the charge as leveled is true. They feel such a statement is disrespectful to them as JUDGES...well EXCUSE ME. If FUSE USA has their contentions tossed, it might work out best...would give us an instant ACCESS into the courts for a review, and that in turn could mean the court gets to decide which of our contentions has merit, instead of the NRC making the decision.

The late breaking news today...Buchanan, home town of Entergy's Indian Point was denied status as an intervenor. Saw that one coming, as they did not make a claim that fell within Scope. The same decision should rightfully be handed down on both NY AREA, and the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

Huge WIN For Mothball Millstone

CONNECTICUT COALITION AGAINST MILLSTONE
www.MothballMillstone.org

CONNECTICUT SUPREME COURT
TAKES ON MILLSTONE NUKE WASTE APPEAL

For Immediate Release October 16, 2007

Contact:
Nancy Burton
203-938-3952

Whether the Siting Council acted illegally in allowing Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc. to build an above-ground onsite storage facility for Millstone high-level nuclear waste will be decided by the Connecticut Supreme Court, the Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone announced today.

An appeal of the decision, taken by Coalition director Nancy Burton and her husband, William H. Honan, who owns property in Mystic 10 miles downwind of Millstone, was filed with the Appellate Court earlier this year.

However, in a notice issued on October 10, 2007, the Supreme Court announced it had transferred the appeal to itself for argument later this fall, Burton said.

“The Supreme Court acted on its own motion,” said Burton.

“We are pleased that the Supreme Court has apparently determined that the issues raised in this appeal are important and are of statewide significance,” Burton said.

Among the issues on appeal are whether the Siting Council acted properly in refusing to consider the environmental consequences of a terrorist attack on the facility, which is designed to contain millions of curies of radiation.

Other issues are whether Superior Court Judge George Levine correctly excluded evidence that Dominion deliberately disabled its perimeter security system as a cost-saving measure, while it represented to the Siting Council that the site was protected by a state-of-the-art security system.

Another issue is whether Edward C. Wilds, radiation director for the Department of Environmental Protection, who served as a designee on the Siting Council, should have disclosed that he was taken on a Dominion junket to a Virginia nuclear installation where above-ground nuclear waste storage had already occurred.

“The Siting Council rubber-stamped Dominion’s application,” Burton said. “The public interest was not served.”

Green Nuclear Butterfly, Spanning the Globe

In four short days, Green Nuclear Butterfly will have been open for business for ten full months. In that time, we have seen a lot happen. It's been a wild ride and we are just getting started. As we race towards our one year anniversary on December 26th of this year, thought we'd share the fact that this little Anti Nuclear Blog is literally spanning the globe! In ten months, we have had visitors from some very exotic places. Below is a partial list of country visits.

United States-all 50 states.

United Kingdom

Canada

Germany

Australia

India

France

Japan

Italy

Netherlands

Spain

Turkey

Sweden

Brazil

Switzerland

Poland

Belgium

South Korea

Mexico

Austria

Portugal

Indonesia

South Africa

Finland

Romania

Malyasia

Russian Federation

Money We Paid For Off Site Radioactive Waste Storage Being Given Back To Utilities

Each month we as electric consumers PAY A FEE to have spent fuel stored OFF SITE at a yet to be built repository...that money should be held in trust, and drawing interest. Instead, it is being used up defending lawsuit, and paying Nuclear Licensees DAMAGES! Why are companies like Entergy being allowed to sue DOE, and be awarded OUR MONEY? Simple, they are now being PAID to store the wastes ON SITE until a repository is built.

Lets say we buy into that general argument. If companies in the nuclear industry are now effectively being rewarded finacially for spent fuel to remain AT THE NUCLEAR REACTOR SITE, should not that storage of wastes be held to the SAME STANDARDS as would be required at say YUCCA Mountain? Time to demand some answers.

Another Utility Wins Damages Over Yucca's Failure to Open

10/15/2007

A federal court has awarded a Minneapolis power company $116.5 million in damages for the U.S. Energy Department's (DoE) failure to open a permanent radioactive waste repository for the nation's commercial spent nuclear fuel, as the federal government promised to do long ago.

Xcel Energy Inc. subsidiary Northern States Power Co.'s victory in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims puts the company on a growing list of nuclear utilities that have won legal redress for the costs of having to store spent fuel at their reactor sites as they await the opening of the nuclear waste dump being built in Nevada's desert.

Northern States sued DoE, arguing that the federal government just like a company or individual is obligated to follow through on its contract obligations.

Green Nuclear Butterfly's Attendance at Clearwater Festival Elicits Anonymous Death Threat on Blog This Morning

The same person, or groups of persons who have lobbed up onto the internet various and assorted meanspirited hate filled blogs against Green Nuclear Butterfly and its publisher seem to have esculated their campaign of intimidation against us. As many of our readers know, Sherwood Martinelli (that would be me) of Green Nuclear Butterfly was at the Clearwater Festival this past weekend collecting signatures on a very crucial Petition for Rulemaking that will be sent out to the NRC this week.

This morning, checking my email I was at first pleased to see someone had left a comment on our blog...I was far from pleased to open said comment, and find therein a death threat. If Entergy, Indian Point their employees and supporters do not like our anti nuclear positions, they should step forward from out of the shadows and debate us on the issue. Stooping to threats, intimidation, outing of personal information, and now death threats is not positive discourse.

I write about this, as I see a troubling escalation in these threats and intimidation that I recognize from my previous activists activities regarding another NRC licensee and their unionized work force. I've been run off the road returning home from a meeting, and trust me it is not an experince any one should have to endure. I share this incident with our readers for one reason...even though we have good reason to believe that these threats are coming from a nuclear insider, the NRC could care less. Even though they are charged with protecting human health and safety in a stakeholder community, they have no mechanisms to investigate when the Pro-Nuclear side (possibly even licensee employees) decides to use threats of bodily harm and intimidation against stakeholders who oppose the continued operation of a failing nuclear facility.

At the Annual Assessment meeting in April, when union workers associated with Indian Point were brought in by the droves to all but block the entrance to the meeting, intimidate members of the public by the shear force of their numbers, the NRC did nothing to clear them away from the entrance to the building. You can bet, that if 1000 anti nuclear stakeholders all showed up in similiar numbers something would have been done to disperse us. Even more disturbing...these people who showed up, who voiced quiet threats, who deliberately took up positions on the steps leading into the building were ordered to be there, were paid for their presense at the meeting.

These same Union Members had no problems in wanting/demanding cans of the free Energy Drink (Radioactive Energy) that Green Nuclear Butterfly was handing out at the meeting, but when they realized one of our members had snapped pictures of them for publication in our blog, they not so subtly let us know we had not best publish them, as they would find us. Unfortunately, their threats and intimidation worked, as the person who snapped the pictures, worried about personal safety decided not to put them up on our blog, or anywhere else. Oh well, lesson learned, next time I'll bring my own camera.

Speaking of cameras...anyone from the Anti Nuclear movement want to volunteer to film next Week's NRC meeting on relicensing? As we know, the NRC deliberately does not record or document these meetings, so that anything they say or admit cannot be used against them...IE, in the last public meeting, Sam Collins of the NRC stated very clearly that in the case of a fast moving incident at Indian Point, evacuation will not work...we should have had video footage of that comment upon on YouTube hours after the meeting.

Thoughts After A Full Day at Clearwater Festival

It's 10:21 PM, Saturday June 16th, 2007 and I have just spent the entire day at the Clearwater Festival over in Croton on The Hudson as a volunteer. We accomplished, it is hoped, some wonderful things. Not sure for how long, but planning on being back there again tomorrow beating the pavement for more signatures.

Our Petition for Rule Making which will be filed with the NRC next week now has over 50 signatures on it...a good start, though had hoped for far more. Our location could have been a lot better, and in the lessons learned department, I should have opted for my own booth as the Green Nuclear Butterfly. We also had around 70 people who have an interest in being interveners sign up to attend and as yet to be announced informational meeting on what that will entail on their part. Being honest, I am afraid being and intervener is more work, and requires a lot more dedication and time than most can, or are willing to muster.

Met some delightfully wonderful people manning the table, including a very interesting person by the name of Paul, but more on that conversation in a later post as I am bushed. Congressman John Hall stopped by the booth to say hello...I was for the most part polite, but unless the air is cleared, I have some very serious reservations at this point where he is concerned. Think he means well, but he's not really a fighter, and we are not going to win this fight being mush balls. We need some testosterone in this movement if we are going to close Indian Point, need LOTS of people who are not afraid of some serious old school civil disobedience. Had two different people associated with Clearwater today tell me that my research abilities and passion for the fight are admired, but that quite a few people consider me a loose cannon...well, maybe we need a few more loose cannons.

One thing is really bothering me...waging a intervenor war with Entergy and the NRC, win, lose or draw is going to take money, and quite a bit of it. Unless you can back up your claims and allegations with experts, you, simply stated, are DEAD IN THE WATER. We have 21 Million people that live within 50 miles of Indian Point...if even 10 percent of them donated just ONE DOLLAR each, we would have a magnificent chance of giving the other side a serious run for their money...I have suggested a $1.00 donation campaign for the IPSEC committee working on a comprehensive Petition to Intervene, and I am also sharing that idea here, but with my own organizations name on the idea. If you are reading this, surely you can afford one dollar towards the legal and expert testimony costs involved in this fight? Surely you have friends that would toss in one dollar? Is one dollar to much to ask for, to much to give towards a battle that is our only hope to see Entergy's Indian Point reactors decommissioned? Riverkeeper sent out a letter to its faithful asking for a donation of $500 dollars...great if they can get the money, and use it effectively. Personally, I believe it is the average work-a-day citizens that can win this fight, our one dollar donations that can build a legal machine capable of taking on Goliath and winning the war...so how about it, if you are reading this, can you spare one dollar? Can you post this message to your groups, email it out to your friends?

INDIAN POINT BATTLE IS ON
AND WE NEED YOUR HELP!!
HELP CLOSE INDIAN POINT FOR $1

Background: Indian Point Nuclear Plant is located just 24-miles from New York City, 3 miles from West Point. It is the only nuclear plant in the country surrounded by 21 million people. There is no possible evacuation plan for the area. Indian Point is aging, corroding and leaking radioactive waste into the groundwater and the Hudson River.

Indian Point is also recognized to be one of the most attractive terrorist targets in the nation. (American flight 11 soared right by it minutes before smashing into the World Trade Center.)

Entergy, the owner/operator of Indian Point, now wants to squeeze every dollar of profit out of this aging plant and has filed an application to keep it operating 20 years beyond its expiration in 2013 for Indian Point 2 and 2015 for Indian Point 3. Instead of protecting the public health and safety, the NRC protects the profits of the nuclear industry.

CURRENT SITUATION: Green Nuclear Butterfly is a grassroots alliance that is working on legal grounds which could prevent the granting of new licenses for Indian Point’s two deteriorating and dangerous nuclear reactors. We need your help because we only have a small window to challenge the license application and we need to be able to pay for, office expenses, expert witnesses and legal fees.

PLEASE JUST DONATE $1 (or whatever you can give) to help us win this battle. Please memo your check "LEGAL FUND" and send it to Green Nuclear Butterfly c/o Sherwood Martinelli, 351 Dyckman Street, Peekskill, New York 10566.

Share this letter with/article with your friends and family, help us activate the populace. If every man, woman and child were to send us just one dollar, we have a real shot at successfully halting the relicensing of this facility.

Shared Post, Updating The Week

There is a WHOLE LOT going on, and I do apologize for the lack of new material that has gone up this week. To save time, sharing a post just put up over on our Indian Point Nuclear Dead Baby World Tour blog to save time and energy.

Friday, June 15, 2007

Dead Baby Tour Friday Night Update...

First, for those who have been visiting looking for NEW STUFF, we thank you for stopping by, and do apologize, but this has been a very busy week for both the Indian Point Dead Baby World Tour, and our sister site, the Green Nuclear Butterfly. First, some important news on our forward progress on this environmental direct action campaign:

1. Cathy Garger's doll arrived (very early in the AM), and she is absolutely BEAUTIFUL, so a very special thanks to her. The porcelain face is almost regal, and think once we stain the outfit with a good soak in tea leaves to her a bit of an aged look, she's ready to go. The doll is so elegant, that it is going to be the doll shipped over to Elena in the Ukraine with the hope that she will agree to take it with her on her next motorcycle trip through Chernobyl's fallout zone.

2. Yesterday morning, Remy Chevalier of Rock The Reactors, Susan from Rockland Fuse and myself representing GNB had a very intense meeting with the NRC...more will be written on that Sunday in our GNB Blog. Afterward, Remy and I stopped by our favorite bookstore, The Bruised Apple and after explaining the goals of this site, they were beyond generous in donating a slew of delightfully worn and weary dolls.

3. Buried three dolls in the mulch in my backyard gardens in the hopes of giving them a bit of a different soiled look, and took some incredible photographs that I hope to load onto my hard drive, again on Sunday.

4. Our sub-committee working on a petition to intervene in the Entergy Relicensing process met last night, and things are progressing nicely on that front.

5. Tomorrow will be GONE all day, as we'll be collecting signatures at the Clearwater Festival on a Petition For Rule making that will be filed next week with the NRC.

So again, do apologize for the lack of new content this week, but as you can see, we have been very busy, and things are moving forward on numerous fronts. With any luck, can do some serious article posting on these two blogs on Sunday, and am working on one dealing with one of the important issues of the friendly atom cycle, spent uranium, a deplorable byproduct of the uranium fuel process, which is used in the making of armor piercing ammunition.

Even Small Terrorist Nuclear Explosion Would Be BIG Success States Homeland Security Scientist

So, which of these buttons causes a scram?

Despite the false assurances of the NRC, our federal government is serious concerned about the real possibility of a successful terrorist explosion of even a TINY nuclear device within America's border. A Homeland Security scientist has stated that even a small explosion of such a device would be a HUGE SUCCESS within the terrorist community. The scientist is thinking something along the lines of a 100 ton explosion would be monumental, though a much smaller explosion that the nuclear bombs unleashed at Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.

Even more disturbing in the article is Clyde Layne's contention that terrorist could easily figure out how to explode the weapon if they can get their hands on the materials...as in radioactive materials. A 100 ton bomb would be equal too, or greater than some of the largest traditional bombs ever exploded, and the knowledge to explode one is EASILY found on the internet.

So, with Homeland Security flat out admitting this reality, why is the NRC trying to mitigate the risks posed by poorly guarded and defended commercial reactor sites such as Entergy's failing Indian Point? Could it be MONEY? Even more puzzling...why hasn't any one discussed what would happen if one of these NUCLEAR DEVICES were to be exploded in front of the gates of Indian Point, or on the dock abot 300 yards from the reactors?

Even Tiny Nuclear Explosion Could Be Terrorist “Success,” Homeland Security Scientist Says


By Jon Fox
Global Security Newswire

http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2007_6_12.html#4D3D67E9

MIAMI — A nuclear device assembled by terrorists is likely to have a “relatively low yield,” much smaller than the 10-kiloton weapon dropped on Hiroshima at the end of World War II, the chief nuclear scientist with the U.S. Homeland Security Department said yesterday (see GSN, May 11)

Nevertheless, even a small nuclear explosion would probably be viewed as a “success” by any nonstate actor, Clyde Layne said during the first day of a weeklong nuclear terrorism conference here.

“I would have to think that a 100-ton nuclear explosion would be a real success for al-Qaeda or whoever chose to attack us that way,” he said.

Such a blast would be on the order of some of the largest conventional explosions ever set off and might not even bear the huge, tell-tale mushroom cloud. It would nevertheless release the radiation associated with fission, said Layne, who works with the DHS intelligence office (see GSN, Feb. 23).

Producing fissile material, either the plutonium or highly enriched uranium that would fuel any improvised nuclear device, remains out of the reach of even a sophisticated terrorist group, he said. “Essentially the nonstate actors will need to buy or steal that material, and that is the main focus of our activities to combat nuclear terrorism.”

A terrorist group with enough plutonium or uranium for a weapon could acquire the scientific and mechanical know-how to build the bomb, Layne said.

“It is something that’s doable with reasonable machine shops and casting facilities,” Layne said. “It’s not trivial but, as the intelligence community has said, it’s not an insurmountable task.”

There is enough information on the Internet to piece together a workable nuclear weapon design, Layne said, describing the posted designs as “all over the map.”

“Some of them are ridiculous. Some of them have some things right,” he said.

Given the technical difficulties involved, however, a device crafted in a machine shop without the testing available to nuclear weapon states is likely to produce a much smaller detonation than even the first atomic weapons.

“A successful terrorist nuclear device might be relatively low yield. There’s no way to speculate what that yield would be,” Layne said. “There could even be instances where first responders are aware there’s been a very large explosion, but they didn’t see the whole mushroom cloud and devastation that you’d expect from a 10-kiloton device.”

Arriving at the scene, emergency personal would encounter radiation, but it is possible they would be unable to immediately determine if it was a nuclear explosion or a very large “dirty bomb” radiological dispersal device.

A number of terrorist groups have the capabilities to produce a crude radiological weapon, which would combine conventional explosives with radioactive material, Layne said. Given the relative ease of creating a dirty bomb, the fact that one has never been set off is slightly puzzling, he said.

“The RDD seems to be fairly simple, so why haven’t we seen some of these?” Layne said.

Support The Vermont Yankee Seven on June 19th

For those of you who do not know the Vermont Yankee Seven, better known the Raging Grannies, as a quick introduction...they are a small dedicated group of women who had the courage to stand up against Entergy, who chained themselves together, thus successfully blocking the entrance to Entergy's ailing and failing Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor up in Vermont. They carried a banner reading, "No MoreTax Subsidies For Vermont Yankee." For their troubles, they are facing charges of trespass and disorderly conduct...if you asked me, they should be issued medals of honor, and a key to the city. They are scheduled for trial on June 19th, and can use all the public support they can get. Any chance we could get a group of us from Indian Point to head up, seeing as both communities are being raped by the same corporate monster in Entergy?

Our thanks to Hattie, and the folks at Nukebusters for this important update on this issue.

Seven Women in Court for Vermont Yankee Action

Marcia Gagliardi
haley.antique@verizon.net

June 19th in Windham County Court, Brattleboro, Vermont, is the court date for seven women in the SHUT IT DOWN affinity group who were each charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct for their April 25 chaining action at Vermont Yankee in Vernon, Vermont. They carried a banner reading No More Tax Subsidies For Vermont Yankee.

We would love as many people as possible to join us in court. We will meet in the court parking lot at 7:30 AM and be in the courtroom by 8:00 AM. The women are: Julia Bonafine of Shrewsbury, Vermont, Frances Crowe, Paki Wieland, and Ellen Graves of Northampton;Dorthee of Wendell; Hattie Nestel and Marcia Gagliardi of Athol.

If questions, contact
Hattie at Hattieshalom@verizon.net or telephone
978-249-6224 or
Marcia At haleyantique@verizon.net or telephone
978-249-9400.

News Story On Protest...notice Entergy's hostility even towards the PRESS who were warned to vacate the property or be arrested...those TURDS!

Seven arrested in anti-nuke protest at Vermont Yankee
http://burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/articleAID=/20070426/NEWS/70426013/0/NEWS05

Published: Thursday, April 26, 2007
The Associated Press

VERNON — Seven anti-nuclear activists were arrested after chaining themselves to a fence at Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant during a protest in which police also threatened to arrest members of the media.

The protesters, who call themselves the Raging Grannies, want the plant shut down and have engaged in dozens of similar actions since December 2005.

In those incidents, reporters and photographers were allowed to speak to the women and take pictures during their arrests.

But on Wednesday, Police Chief Kevin Turnely told members of the media they would be arrested if they didn’t immediately leave the property, which is owned by Entergy. Entergy spokesman Rob Williams said the order wasn’t given by the plant’s owners, but that in such protests, journalists must abide by trespassing laws just as protesters do.

Arrested and cited for trespassing and disorderly conduct were:
--Julia Bonafine, 38, of Shrewsbury.
--Frances Crowe, 88, of Northampton, Mass.
--Paki Wieland, 63, of Northampton, Mass.
--Ellen Graves, 66, of West Springfield, Mass.
--Hattie Nestel, 68, of Athol, Mass.
—Marcia Gagliardi, 59, of Athol, Mass.
—a 78-year-old Wendell, Mass., woman who goes by the name Dorthee.

Since 2005, members of the group have protested regularly at Entergy’s corporate offices and at the gate of the power plant in Vernon. State’s Attorney Dan Davis has balked at prosecuting them, saying he doesn’t want them using the justice system as a platform for attention.

Sirens By August 24th...Who Cares, By The Time They Sound, It Will Be Too Late For Us

Entergy has informed the NRC that their new emergency siren system will be up and running properly no later than August 24th...over four months past the deadline is unacceptable, and the $130,000 fine inadequate as well. However, let's be honest with ourselves. If there is a nuclear incident or terrorist attack at Indian Point, by the time those alarms start sending out their warning, it will already be far to late for many of us.

Entergy can march Paul Newman through the plant, they can pay Patrick Moore big bucks to act as their corporate shill, and even bring in Christine Todd Whitman to lie to us about the glory of nuclear, and in the end it will not matter if the site is attacked, or a fast moving event strikes the facility known as Indian Point. Folks like myself can jump up and down, try to warn the general population about the risks, and that too does not matter if no one is paying us heed. There is never any joy in saying, " I told you so." We live in a time of apathy, three monkeys seeing, hearing and speaking no evils...where is and Indian Point employee stepping forth to speak the truth to the world? Where is a rightious man or woman on the inside ready to do what's right for humanity?

Wake up people, the siren system is nothing more than a placebo, and like the evacuation plan, like sheltering in place, it too shall fail us in our time of need.

Indian Point nuke plant owner pledges new siren system by Aug. 24

May 23, 2007, 5:56 PM EDT

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) _ When the owner of the Indian Point nuclear power plant decided it couldn't meet an April 15 deadline for installing a new emergency siren system, it asked for an extension to Aug. 31.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission refused, fined Entergy Nuclear $130,000 and demanded that it come up with a new plan.

On Wednesday, Entergy said its new plan was to have the sirens up and running by Aug. 24, a week earlier than its original request.

The 150 sirens are meant to alert residents within 10 miles to any emergency at the two-reactor installation in Buchanan on the Hudson River, 35 miles north of midtown Manhattan. Despite extensive testing by Entergy and a 2 1/2-month extension granted by the NRC in January, many sirens failed to respond to a radio activation signal during their final test before the deadline.

An older system remains in place and can be used in emergencies.

Entergy submitted its new plan in a letter to the NRC, saying it anticipates being ready by July 18 but might need more time to deal with "potential schedule uncertainties."

"Therefore Entergy is committing to August 24, 2007, as the latest date anticipated for declaring the new siren system operable," the letter said.

NRC spokeswoman Diane Screnci said the commission would examine the plan "to make sure it's acceptable" and would have no immediate comment on it.

Copyright 2007 Newsday Inc.

Yet Another Indian Point Alarm FAILURE

As we all know, yesterday saw a typical May thunderstorm whisk through the area with high gusting winds, and sheets of rain. Like the spring rains, another typical Entergy event unfolded yesterday as well. In their usual inept fashion, 26 of the 156 sirens FAILED to go off, requiring Indian Point to notify the NRC...think about it folks, if this had been a real emergency, 1 in 6 of us would not have heard these non-working failed sirens. In a fast moving event at the failing Indian Point Nuclear Reactors, time is everything, and every second, every non working siren is LIFE LOST...it could be yours, or it could be your child, but someone will die. We need to pull the plug on Indian Point.

LOSS OF 26 EMERGENCY SIRENS DUE TO SEVERE WEATHER

"Due to severe weather storms in the area surrounding Indian Point Energy Center, 26 of the 156 emergency sirens have been out of service as of 1655 hours on 5/16/07 due to either loss of local AC power (24 sirens) or communications problem (2 sirens). 15 of the 26 sirens are in Rockland County; the remaining 11 sirens are in Westchester County. Sirens in Orange and Putnam counties were unaffected. Rockland and Westchester Counties have been notified and route alerting is available as an alternate means of public notification. Additionally, a high speed telephone notification system is available for public notification by the counties. Contact of the local utilities has been initiated to request power restoration to the areas associated with the 24 effected sirens; the communication problems with the remaining 2 sirens are under investigation."

The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector, New York State Public Service Commission, and Rockland, Westchester, Putnam and Orange counties.

Mother's Day Sunday Morning Document Sharing

The Choice Is Ours Only If We As A Community Unite For The Cause To Close Down Indian Point.

First, to all the Mothers out there, a Warm and Happy Mother's Day Wish to you. For those fortunate enough to have Mothers, enjoy the day with the most important woman in your life, your Mom. (Don't forget Grandma!) For those like my wife and I, who's Mom have passed...do your best to enjoy today, as our Mom's would have wanted it that way.

On to matters of Indian Point. If you want to defeat the enemy (license renewal application) you have to know the enemy, have to dig to find the dirt on them, and on their licensed reactors. As much as the NRC and the industry would like to pretend otherwise, problems, design flaws and aging issues in the history do not change,and the issues that existed then, still exist today. What changed today, is the regulatory environment...the NRC is no longer conservative where our health and safety is concerned, but instead has dampened down and weakened our rights to protect ourselves by diminishing our rights in the process, and making many of the documents THE PUBLIC NEEDS TO READ disappear.

However, if you dig, like an archaeologist uncovering and ancient tomb, everything is there. Indian Point, and all 104 of the aged and brittling reactors in America are not safe, and try as they might to state otherwise, the NRC,DOE,NEI and the entire nuclear industry know that and accident at one if not more than one of these ancient relics is not a question of if, but when. My gift to your Mothers, my gift to all the Mother's children of this area today is to bring some of those documents out from the catacombs so that you have the ability to gain the knowledge contained therein...if you are too busy to begin educating yourselves, to apathetic to join the fight to close down the Indian Point reactors, then it could be your Mom's and your own children's blood that is on your hands.

http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/5720088-bv3Eiz/native/

http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/116571-hvrpSO/webviewable/

http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/10106547-4yZV2M/webviewable/

Evacuation Study (EPA-1987)
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/10106547-4yZV2M/webviewable/

Effects on Ground Water From Nuclear Incident (study)
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/10114729-BttYsN/webviewable/

Evacuation
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/10165486-qa4x3K/

http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/10158833-D5rUQj/

DOE Fusion Safety Handbook
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/7275-ZL623V/webviewable/

Cost Benefit of AP1000
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/7275-ZL623V/webviewable/

http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/87312-iUckzW/webviewable/

http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/291007-7XzROO/webviewable/

These Next two are really good;
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/234706-0M8FhH/webviewable/

http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/231340-j8IQA6/webviewable/

http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/145540-RXqKWR/webviewable/

Clad Failure
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/539845-EuiDju/webviewable/

Legal opinion on use of risk assessment
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/474831-VbUoFR/webviewable/

Explains Evacuation Plan Requirements
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/464373-wp5Y24/webviewable/

In phase 2, mid-loop operation was selected as the plant configuration to be analyzed based on the results of the phase 1 study. The objective of the phase 2 study is to perform a detailed analysis of the potential accident scenarios that may occur during mid-loop operation, and compare the results with those of NUREG-1150.
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/10171925-CysxDC/native/

Health Effects Analysis From Nuclear Incident
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/10189279-hCaabh/native/

http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/10115122-bghwue/webviewable/

Selling the PUBLIC
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/10109100-jGeWQl/webviewable/

Reactor Computer Software
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/10108329-oSHOxS/native/

Severe Accident Management
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/10187578-tSYJaQ/native/

Understanding Industry High Risk Evaluation Software
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/10106403-XvH2yD/webviewable/

Fuel Melt
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/10187144-3hyPHf/native/

A Medical Teams Story
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/10117645-4nvHOA/webviewable/

Aging Issues Volume3
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/234705-90Y0V0/webviewable/

Aging Lessons Learned
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/434419-ERu1lD/webviewable/

Aging Volume 2
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/446364-tVzyec/webviewable/

This paper discusses a series of tests performed at the Institute of Fluid Flow Machines in Kaiserslautern, Germany. The tests were designed to investigate the effect of replacing one of the steam turbines in a power plant. The new turbine required more cooling water flow through the condenser, which called for new cooling water pumps. The model tests showed that reliable, long-term service would be impossible without modifying the equipment. The test model was built to use Froude's law to investigate the effects of the changes.
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/10171813-jWDQYu/native/

Aging-Heat Reactors
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/10163820-iB7o9i/native/

Some Good Stuff On Pipes
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/10188092-gZYWT6/native/

Leak Before Break
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/468617-96toEH/webviewable/

Managing Age
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/10121478-fe1Nl1/native/

Oldie But Goodie-Failure Data Handbook
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/4161614-r2W5JR/

Pump Degradation
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/95485-8rATZE/webviewable/

Precursors To Severe Core Damage
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/140428-xc1WjZ/webviewable/

Protection of Sheltering In Place-The 40 Percent Truth

My morning coffee was interrupted by the ringing of the phone...it turned out to be the reverse 911 system calling to let me know that Entergy's new siren close to my home will be sounding off today somewhere between 9-11:30 AM as Indian Point tries to get its new system to perform correctly. Happy, happy, joy, joy. Being in a generous mood this morning, lets assume that the system actually works. Now, lets assume there is a fast breaking event at the facility, and the alarms are going off in at least 94 percent (The NRC benchmark for pass/fail) of the affected area.

Assuming everyone is at home for this event, you grab your wife/husband, children, and Pedro the dog and rush into the house to begin implementation of the Emergency Evacuation Plan. As the children race through the house closing up windows, Pedro is barking incessantly, and you run to retrieve your handy roll of duct tape, your wife turns to channel 12 to listen for updates. In truth, there is a very real chance that your local news station is not going to have anything of much use for as long as a couple hours! Hey, it takes time to get everyone in place, ascertain the full scope of the emergency, then start feeding information and instructions out to the media, and from there out onto the now contaminated airwaves. Not to worry...the folks at Homeland Security and FEMA have made available to the media some pre-made (CANNED) messages to keep you calm during this potentially grave period of uncertainty.

STAY OR GO? Based on the above, the odds are, that you need to make this call sooner rather than later. Fact-if (as GNB suspects) it takes a couple of hours for the various agencies to get their act together and give the public its marching orders, full chaos will have already broken out. It is commonsense to believe this...if you hear the sirens, if it is an actual emergency, how long are you going to be sitting idly by waiting on Channel 12 to give you news you can use? If you follow the rules, the best advice on avoiding exposure is putting DISTANCE between you and the source, so EVACUATE.

Grabbing a few carefully chosen possessions, you scoop up Pedro the dog, and race the family down to the street and leap into the mini-van to make your escape. You put the car in gear, drive two blocks and run smack dab into a wall to wall, bumper to bumper traffic jam on Whelcher Street...WHOOPS, the doubters were right, evacuation will not work. With 27 cars now honking behind you, the realization hits...we have to shelter in place.Throwing the car in park, you, Pedro the dog,the wife and kids set off back to the house to shelter in place, abandoning the minivan where it sits.

Safe and secure back in your home,you begin implementation of plan B as the announcer tells you again for the forty third time to stay tuned for breaking news and instructions on this breaking nuclear event. As you are taping off the windows in the attic bedroom you glance towards Indian Point's Domes only to see that one of them is missing, and a large plumb/explosion has lifted up into the sky...breaking into a chilled sweat you scream at your family to move everything down into the basement.

Windows shut and taped over with plastic, the doors locked, you and your family sit huddled together in the basement that has no heat, the children whimpering as you wait for news and updates...so far, all you have gotten from Channel 12, is that you are expected to SHELTER IN PLACE. Do you really think the news that the core has been breached is going to be let out onto the airwaves sooner than later, risking mass hysteria in the New York city area, home to over 20 million people...sorry, no amount of security could control that situation, so they are going to clamp down on the news by throwing up and exclusion zone.

Enter the plain truth...according to the Center for Disease Control, if you shelter in your basement in a typical wood frame house, you, your wife/husband, your children and Pedro the dog are only protected from FORTY PERCENT of the radioactive contaminants in a BEST CASE SCENARIO. Houston, we have a problem! This gives you less than a 50/50 chance of coming out of a significant radiological event and/or terrorist attack unscathed if the NRC and your local officials order you sheltered in place.

Some 12-14 hours into this event you notice your children (who are more susceptible)are vomiting profusely. Somehow, you have to get them to the hospital, so you protect yourselves the best you can, and make a mad dash through the falling radioactive particles to your second car that is parked in the garage. Somehow, you make it through the chaos to the Hudson Valley Medical Center Emergency Room (sponsored by Entergy)that has been recieving MASS CASUALTIES. Citizens are being corraled into roped off areas OUTSIDE the facility in the radioactive fallout area. Sorry, but if you go to the REAC/TS site and read their Radiological Triage document, this is NOT some far out concocted scenerio written by some drug crazed, long haired hippie. The walking wounded, and those who may have been exposed take a second seat to the seriously wounded. Further, the REACT/TS site admits that staff could be over run.

To deal with this reality, emergency planners have been instructed to A) suspend the rule of law in the exclusion zone, and B) have adequate law/military enforcement on the scene at hospitals to control a frenzied, out of control general public...in short, even though your children are exhibiting all the signs of radioactive contamination, it could be hours, even days before they are attended to. They may survive the incident, but they are now a cancer death waiting to happen, months or years later.

The NRC and NEI adit they have far to little knowledge on the effects brittling will have on a reactor core's susceptibility to thermal shock. As a potter, I can tell you a vessel that experiences thermal shock will shatter, plan and simple, sending shards exploding into the atmosphere. With this uncertainty, with the very real fact that sheltering in place only protects you from 40 percent of the fallout, can we really afford to relicense Indian Point for 20 more years?

Breaking News...NRC Has Accepted GNB's Petition For Rule Making

Indian Point Has Great Security.....Ask Barney

As some of you who co-signed on too it remember, a few weeks ago Green Nuclear Butterfly filed with the NRC a Petition for Rule Making. We received first class mail today verification that said petition has been docketed in as a PRM, and assigned Docket Number PRM-50-86. If you are wanting to track the documents progress, or know when it will be released into the Federal Registry for public comment, you can contact Michael T. Lesar at 301-415-7163 or email at mtl@nrc.gov You can also contact Betty K. Golden at 301-415-6863 or email her at bkg@nrc.gov to keep yourself up to date.

In other news from the NRC, we received a letter from Chairman Klein's off stating they are in receipt of our letter, and will be in touch shortly. Wonder if they are aware that said letter was elevated to a second Petition For Rule Making this past Friday afternoon.

As we have begun reading through Entergy's License Renewal Application, we have found some areas of concern that will be addressed with the NRC in other Petition for Rule Making to be filed once the NRC has finished their preliminary review of the document, and we have had a chance to seek some legal clarifications from the NRC.

Now we just need to hear back on where our formally filed allegations regarding the DBT are at.

The NRC's system is there for us to use to the best advantage of the stakeholder community, and the time has come to use it's to its fullest extent in slowing down the nuclear renaissance juggernaut, so start sending in paperwork folks. We here at GNB will begin shortly posting small segments of Entergy's Application for License Renewal to our blog with our own comments in bold. We will be encouraging our readers to add to the mix by sending us email comments to be added to our own...the company's document is almost 3,000 pages in length...we want to get enough people involved to see that page count PALE IN COMPARISON TO OUR OWN.

Preparing For Battle-Indian Point's License Renewal

We cannot allow an American Host Community to Become the next Chernobyl

Last week, some important information came out of the Annual Assessment meeting, including a statement, that Entergy needs to submit their license renewal application by the end of the month. If the source (Sam Collins of the NRC) is correct, then the clock starts ticking on Wednesday, May 1st, 2007. NRC gives a 24-30 month time line for license renewals, but have accomplished the task with another Entergy reactor in as little as 17 months. There are hundreds of reasons to deny Indian Point's license renewal application, but if other reactors serve as example, the NRC is unwilling to consider any of them, which means we as a community need to make hard decisions, and depending on what they are, draw the proverbial line in the sand as we prepare our battle strategy.

With this reality before us, there was a second very important fact that came out in the NRC's Annual Assessment meeting. After Mark Jacobs delivered his impassioned condemnation of both Entergy's Indian Point facility, and NRC for their lack of any meaningful regulatory control, Sam Collins again spoke on behalf of his agency. Some may have missed two crucial admissions as he spoke. In case of a FAST MOVING EVENT, evacuation will not work, the NRC, Entergy and FEMA will have no choice but to rely on sheltering in place.

First, we have a key employee of the NRC admitting publicly in and open meeting that the evacuation plan will not work, cannot be implemented in the case of a fast moving event or terrorist attack at the Indian Point facility...within that admission is the cold tacit truth that none of the evacuation plans for every reactor in America are workable in the case of a fast moving incident or terrorist attack. If you look at the action plan, the only kind of event that would elevate to a level that the sirens and evacuation plan would come into play, is a fast moving event.

Secondly, Sam admitted that the Emergency Response teams would rely on sheltering in place in the case of a fast moving event. Being blunt, sheltering in our homes in the case of a fast breaking significant event will sentence many of us to death. The State Department's website envisions a scenario wherein citizens could be sheltered in place for a period of up to two weeks, perhaps longer. Without an adequately supplied and equipped shelter, we as citizens are vulnerable to the ravages of the radioactive fallout from a significant radiological event. The NRC attempts to mitigate this reality, by mitigating the odds of such an event occurring.

I've alienated some with my blunt assessments, with my in your face approach to this battle as it looms ever closer. Apologize for that, but we do not have time on our side, do not have the luxury of hammering out and reaching consensus between the various groups and factions in this fight...the leaders have to step up with a battle plan, or plans, and the foot soldiers need to be ready for deployment where and when needed, or we are doomed to failure, in this case failure being saddled with Indian Point for a period of forty more years.

So, what is a workable strategy? Sadly, I do not have a crystal ball, no soothsayer with whom to consult. However, do have some hunches, do feel we can greatly weaken the entire license renewal process by attaching the NRC's flanks, using their own bureaucracy to slow them down, if not stop it in its tracks. For the strategy to have a chance, we need volunteers, not just here in our own community, but in every reactor community in America.

The NRC's 10 CFR Rules and Regulations provide numerous avenues for citizen stakeholders to get involved in the process. There is the NRC's Office of The Inspector General, there is the ability to file for intervenor status, and there is the ability to file a petition for rule change. With these access tools, we have the ability to swamp if not collapse the NRC's regulatory process. Yes, we use their own rules and regulations to strangle them, we barage the agency with hundreds of thousands of pages of paperwork they have to deal with and address.

Magaret Mead stated, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, devoted citizens can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that has" , and my idea takes that truth and multiplys it across America as Aging Reactor host communities join together as one to take on the entire nuclear industry. 104 reactors in 67 American communities, and almost every community hosting a reactor wants them shut down...it can happen if we use our grassroots organizations, and numbers to our favor and advantage.

In our own area of Westchester, Rockland, Orange and Dutchess counties how many individual citizens want Indian Point shut down? How many members can Riverkeeper, IPSEC and Clearwater rally to our cause? Multiply that times 67 reactor communities, and how many others around other dangerous sites such as Barnwell would join in the fight? Nationwide, we could have a veritable Army of activists waiting on their marching orders. So, what do we do?

We use the regulatory process to our advantage by having this citizen army file individual separate petitions for rule making. We have these citizens write up and mail in allegations to the NRC's Office of The Inspector General. We have this citizen army of activists all across the nation mailing in letters demanding intervener status for their own reactor sites. Imagine for a moment even 67,000 citizens (1000 from each reactor community) each mailing in one petition for rule making, one letter of allegation, and one letter demanding intervener status. That's 201,000 documents that the NRC has to deal with! With three simple letters from each activist, we have a great chance of bogging down the NRC, forcing them to come to the negotiation table, forcing them to end a re licensing process that is corrupt to its core.

NRC does NOT consider:

Fatally Flawed Emergency Evacuation Plan

Population changes/density of surrounding area,

Ongoing leaks of strontium 90 and tritium

Terrorism, or Plant security

The hour grows late, and our communities are running out of time. The call for and ISA is non-workable, and is not going to occur. Desperate times call for bold and decisive actions. If others have ideas, lets hear them now, and map out our plan. One thing is certain...we need a miracle, and most miracles come from a lot of hard work, and the willingness to take risks.

Bob Weir's Publicist Dances Around Indian Point Issue

Seems yesterday was a BIG DAY where Indian Point was concerned, and the Green Nuclear Butterfly was out making waves in front of the Paramount Center as Bob Weir's publicist did the two step boogie trying to dance around the Entergy/Indian Point issue. Green Nuclear Butterfly had tracted the band down early in the day by getting to the theatre and speaking with members of the road crew who were STUNNED that the theatre is incestously tied to the Entergy corporation that is polluting the Hudson River with 10 Million gallons of irradiated water each and every year...THOSE BASTARDS.

Dennis McNally, publicist for Bob Weir and his band RatDog, came out of Bob's tan colored tour bus long enough to speak with us in the sub artic temperatures for about three minutes. He said that both he and Bob Weir are anti nuclear, and continued on to say that the band was not aware of Entergy's financial ties to the theatre, and thus RatDog's appearance there. He further stated that the band had a long talk on the issue, and would probably not play said venue in the future as long as Entergy was funding the theatre...Green Nuclear Butterfly will be handing out boycott fliers at numerous events at the Paramount to bring attention to this situation...the Paramount needs to tell Entergy Goodbye to be more in line with the public who supports it...we want Indian Point GONE, and that means Entergy.

Green Nuclear Butterfly was interviewed at the Peekskill Coffee House across from theatre by Channel 12, but the spot was not aired due to other important Indian Point news:

1. The NRC released their grade for the year...as was/is to be expected, the NRC gave Indian Point a passing grade, mitigating horrid issues of non compliance (leaking fuel pools) with the comment that Entergy is working on them.

2. Reactor 3 is closing down for one month to REFUEL the reactor...in short, another perilous and dangerous time for the community as the bungling staff of Indian Point plays with their fuel rods while thinking of Betcee.

3. Unless they postpone it, Indian Point today (March 7th) is supposed to file their application for license renew with the NRC...chances, just like with the new siren installation, the application will be LATE in being filed.

Green Nuclear Butterfly in conjunction with Rock The Reactors were successful yesterday in interacting with over 1200 people, and we distributed over 500 fliers and CD Roms. Total financial costs for this community out reach was $150.00, so if any one wants to contribute to the cause, your donations would be appreciated.

Fuel Rods CRACKING UP, Reactor Core NEXT?

I know I cannot pronounce the word, but show me where the RED LAUNCH BUTTON IS!

First it was an employee cracking up in a stranger than life murder/suicide plot unfolded over the weekend with a HIGH RANKING employee at Entergy's Indian Point Nuclear Reactors. Now it seems that Indian Point's leaking spent fuel pools have even BIGGER PROBLEMS as employees located a brittling, aging fuel rod that had splintered apart. Calls to Indian Point's public relations chimp, Larry Gottlieb went unanswered, and our dear Mr Sheets was/is on vacation, so we elevated our inquiry to NRC's Region 1.

We spoke with Diane in the Public Affairs office at (610 337 5330), and it was clear from the very start that she was UNCOMFORTABLE discussing fractured, breaking spent fuel rods, and the incident at Indian Point. We got an elaborate, round about no comment that provided some insights. First, Entergy/Indian Point has 45 days to submit an event report! Such a long period of time is allowed in the hopes the public will have forgotten about the event by the time they divulge WHAT REALLY HAPPENED, and they can sweep it under the carpet.

As Diane and I did our dance, me trying to nail her down, her trying to give up nothing, some things became clear, most important of them, that the incident today at Indian Point is not one of and isolated nature. Seems that spent fuel rods have been BREAKING APART at other nuclear reactor storage pools around America. Seems that the NRC has a committee studying this very issue, which led me to ask what I thought a fair question..."if there is a committee studying this very issue Diane, could I get a list of the incidents that have occurred?" I got a TOO QUICK..."There is NO LIST, WE DO NOT KEEP LISTS" answer. I quipped back to her, "Then how is a committee studying this very issue if you do not keep lists?" She was NOT HAPPY.

I fenced with Diane a bit longer, pointing out that old brittle spent fuel rods breaking apart could bring into serious questions the structural stability and safety of the entire dense packed racking system, but she of course WAS NOT WANTING TO HEAR IT, so I got off the phone with her and called up the NRC Chairman's office to see if they would be more forthcoming...seems they are not overly concerned with press deadlines....especially those of a blogger they are not overly fond of. The Chairman's assistant has promised to have someone GET BACK TO ME early next week...early being before next Wednesday.

On a sidebar issue...seems that Congressman John Hall will make an appearance at next Friday's Indian Point summit, but needs to head out by 3:15 PM to be in New York City for an evening party...in short, he'll be there for the industry leaders, but is skipping out on the all important CITIZENS portion of the event to be held at 6:30 PM. The Green Nuclear Butterfly is attending this Indian Point summit, and have requested interview time with John Hall...we will see what happens.

Indian Point: Cracked fuel rod discovered; no danger to public

By GREG CLARY
THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: February 23, 2007)

BUCHANAN - Indian Point workers (Think murder/suicide.) discovered a cracked fuel rod in the spent fuel pool of Indian Point 2 this morning, causing them to stop a routine inspection so they could determine the extent of the damage and what repairs are needed. Details of how serious this is will not be known for around 45 days.

The action did not necessitate the shutdown of the nuclear power plant.

A spokesman for Entergy Nuclear Northeast, which owns and operates Indian Point, said there was no rise in radiological dose levels around the rod and no danger to the public.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission resident inspectors are monitoring the pool and the repair. The agency also said there was no evidence of a radiological release in the spent fuel pool area.

The broken pieces stayed underwater, which is how the old fuel is normally shielded from workers.

Oyster Creek...Another Community Being Raped

It Will TAKE REVOLT To Shut Down Dangerous Reactors!

WAKE UP AMERICA...it's not just Indian Point sitting on the banks of the Hudson just up river from New York city that is a MAJOR ACCIDENT waiting to happen. Vermont Yankee is not the only plant with far too many problems. Let's not forget about Pilgrim, or Diablo out in California either, but it is more than just that...the NRC is playing with OUR LIVES. Perhaps for some of you, that is fine...problem is, it is NOT FINE for those of us living within the circle of death around 103 aging reactors, it is NOT FINE for the folks of Nevada where the DOE/NRC and nuclear industry dip chits want to dump high level wastes, less than and hour from a major tourist MECCA.

We in the host communities are being sold to SATAN, and it is time that we join together and speak a NATIONAL VOICE. Congressman John Hall and Senator Hillary Clinton need to introduce NATIONAL LEGISLATION that would force a Independent Safety and Security Assessment of every nuclear plant in America. Local governments need to use our police departments, use our National Guard troops to shut down these facilities, and if necessary, BY FORCE. When dealing with human lives, when dealing with PUBLIC SAFETY, the NRC has no business rubber stamping the unsafe license renewals of 103 again reactors...Ignore THIS WARNING, and you are setting your community up to be an American Holocaust. It is time to do what must be done locally to close these plants...if that means FORCE ON FORCE, then so be it...Let George Bush be remembered as the president that killed innocent civilians in the name of the failing American Nuclear Industry.

Westchester County is not OWNED BY ENTERGY, Lacey is not owned by Exelon, and our communities ARE NOT OWNED by the NRC, or by the federal government...NO MEANS NO, and if it takes local government employing FORCE to shut down these aging relics, then the time has come to order law enforcement to begin it's preparations.

NRC disregarding signs of trouble at Oyster Creek
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 02/18/07
BY JANET TAURO

Let's do some role-playing.

You are a federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission member. You are charged with overseeing safety at the country's nuclear reactors — the most costly, dirtiest and "most dangerous technology available for boiling water."

You must decide whether the nation's oldest reactor situated in the middle of a densely populated region can chug along until its 60th birthday without jeopardizing the lives of 630,000 people living nearby.

You have a list of problems that don't bode well for the plant, which is owned by a powerful company, Exelon:

A document written by an Exelon engineer surfaces cautioning that the support floor to the elevated pool, already packed with 450 tons of nuclear waste, was not built to design and not adequately attached to the walls.

State officials legally challenge your agency to assess the plant's vulnerability to terrorist attack — specifically that the radioactive waste is sitting in pools 70 feet above ground and protected only by a metal roof. That challenge is supported when the U.S. Supreme Court refuses to interfere with an appeals ruling mandating evaluation of terrorist risk before license renewal.

The commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection states her preference for installation of cooling towers to stop the killing of billions of marine life, including endangered species. Soon after, the federal Environmental Protection Agency rules that nuclear plants install cooling towers to limit environmental damage.

The drywell, the steel liner shielding the public from radiation, which even Exelon estimated to be just .06 inches away from failing safety code, has now rusted at least another .02 inches.

A national laboratory study shows there is a significant chance the drywell is already below safety code.

An internal memorandum from a plant employee shows that Exelon knows the way it analyzes the drywell's structural strength is fundamentally flawed.

A glass soda bottle is found embedded in the drywell floor, and a DEP official wonders what other "voids" might be exasperating corrosion in a letter posted on an NRC Web site.

An e-mail exchange between Exelon executives stating that the equipment used to take measurements of the drywell didn't perform worth "———" becomes public.

Now what do you do with this list? Cease operations until a plan of action can be drawn for safety and security? Order Exelon to empty the fuel pool and secure contents in concrete cask storage? Assess the effects of an aircraft attack? Enforce the EPA order to install cooling towers? Demand immediate state-of-the-art modeling to determine the actual thickness of the drywell? Find out what other garbage is embedded in the drywell floor? Find out more about the disturbing e-mail exchange?

If you chose any of the above answers, you're wrong.

In this very real scenario, the NRC has instead apparently put Exelon on the fast track to the relicensing finish line and given preliminary approval to the safety review for the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in Lacey.

Don't be surprised. A few months ago, the NRC disregarded the fact that Exelon had used 35-year-old data to assess the plant's environmental impact on Barnegat Bay. If the license is renewed, Ocean County will have the dubious distinction of being the nation's test case for whether a nuclear plant with an obsolete design can operate safely many years beyond its retirement date without hurting anyone. That's a Guinness record we could live without.

And that is why our coalition, Stop the Relicensing of Oyster Creek, with expert representation by our attorney, Richard Webster of the Rutgers Environmental Law Clinic, is by no means finished with our fight.

Our legal proceedings, which are ongoing, already have forced a more careful monitoring and analysis of the structural integrity of the drywell.

The DEP, with approval from Gov. Corzine, will reportedly hire an independent expert to analyze the drywell's structural integrity.

That expert should also take a close look at the spent fuel pool and its floor support, of which Exelon's own engineer wrote, "If the rebar (a metal fastener) is really corroding as projected, I suspect our design analysis of the floor support is not valid today, let alone for a 20-year life extension."

The governor has stated that if the plant is not safe to operate, it shouldn't operate. We respectfully draw the governor's attention to the list provided here. If the roles were reversed and he were an NRC commissioner charged with safeguarding the lives of hundreds of thousands, what would he do?

Janet Tauro, Brick, is a member of Stop the Relicensing of Oyster Creek, a coalition of six citizen and environmental groups.

IPSEC...They Want Your Donations, But Are Asleep At Wheel

This Friday at eight AM, there is a meeting at the NRC headquarters...you can bet that IPSEC has not opposed the meeting, will not be in attendance at the meeting, but will be sending out their email BEGS for money, make the same tired claims that they are working to STOP INDIAN POINT. They will jump up and down, scream and yell about the pending application for renewal as a reason FOR YOU to GIVE THEM more money! Problem is, what is IPSEC really doing? One thing they CLAIM THEY ARE DOING, is keeping US INFORMED through their LIST SERV...OK, count me in.

I live within three miles of Indian Point, I want to be INFORMED! PICK ME, PICK ME! So, with happy tears in my eyes, I submitted a REQUEST to be put in the IPSEC list serve...I mean HELLO, I am the Green Nuclear Butterfly, I need to be informed. I went to Yahoo, found the IPSEC listserve group, applied for membership (yes, you have to be APPROVED!), and waited. Then I waited some more. Today, my wait is over!

I am NOT A MEMBER OF THE IPSEC list serve...why do you ask? Seems that the moderator of the IPSEC list was too busy to realize someone wanted to JOIN! I was AUTO REJECTED when the moderater FAILED TO ACT ON MY REQUEST FOR TWO WEEKS! If you ever wondered WHY OUR SIDE IS LOSING, there is your answer...IPSEC and Riverkeeper get all your money, but when it comes to REAL ACTION, they are ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL.

THE REJECTION LETTER FROM YAHOO:

Hello,

Your request to join the indianpointsec group was not approved. Your membership was automatically rejected because the moderator didn't approve it within 14 days. We do this to provide a high quality of service for our users.

If you want, you may attempt to join this group again.

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We Are Told We Are Safe...It's a Matter Of Trust