Safety rules loosened for aging nuclear reactors

[kristopher]

Safety rules loosened for aging nuclear reactors
'We can't compromise on safety. I think the vulnerability is on these older plants,' says retired safety designer

LACEY TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Federal regulators have been working closely with the nuclear power industry to keep the nation's aging reactors operating within safety standards by repeatedly weakening those standards, or simply failing to enforce them, an investigation by The Associated Press has found.

Time after time, officials at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission have decided that original regulations were too strict, arguing that safety margins could be eased without peril, according to records and interviews.

The result? Rising fears that these accommodations by the NRC are significantly undermining safety — and inching the reactors closer to an accident that could harm the public and jeopardize the future of nuclear power in the United States.

Examples abound. When valves leaked, more leakage was allowed — up to 20 times the original limit. When rampant cracking caused radioactive leaks from steam generator tubing, an easier test of the tubes was devised, so plants could meet standards.

Failed cables. Busted seals. Broken nozzles, clogged screens, cracked concrete, dented containers, corroded metals and rusty underground pipes...

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43455859/ns/today-today_news/t/safety-rules-loosened-aging-nuclear-reactors/#.T4Grue3N7dk

[gateley]

1. Brilliant. nt

[madokie]

2. They won't stop this until we have a lot of people killed and displaced

due to one of these old nuclear power plants going belly up, contaminating a large swath of the country for the foreseeable future.
Many of our nuke plants are in close proximity to many people that there would be no way to safely escape. For instance how do you evacuate the city of New York in a timely manner I ask? Or Chicago?
If they get killed or maimed in a car or truck wreck trying to get away then the nuclear power industry won't count them. According to them they still haven't killed anyone, according to what many say anyway.
Its absurd to think otherwise.

[RobertEarl]

4. That is the greatest fear

It is not something I want on my conscience, therefore I strive to end nuclear power plant operations. Fools may tell me the plants are nothing to worry about, but I know better.

[madokie]

8. This flies in the face of what they should do.

tightening the rules makes more sense to me, especially in the face of what happened in Japan last year. Fukushima is not going away anytime soon, if ever. The old fishing boat that looked like it was dragging anchor has made its way all the way to Alaska. What else have traveled this far that could cause us harm that isn't dragging anchor? Shut them all down and do it now is my advice.
Nuclear energy is not cool by any stretch.

[enough]

3. Again and again, citizens' health and safety is subordinated to corporate profit.

I know I'm stating the obvious, but it has become SO obvious that I think most of us don't see the actual fact, which makes us hardly citizens at all, but what .... ?

[CrispyQ]

7. Consumers.

Seriously, that's what we are. More people pay more attention to the latest iWhatever than they do to politics & government. That's part of how we got here - distract the masses with TV & shiny objects & you can take their jobs, savings & right's away with hardly a whimper.

"Affluenza: The All Consuming Epidemic" is a bit simplistic, but a good read. The Horsey cartoons alone are worth it!

http://www.amazon.com/Affluenza-All-Consuming-Epidemic-John-Graaf/dp/1576751996

[Mnemosyne]

5. What could possibly go wrong? K&R nt

[CrispyQ]

6. Everything for profit.

The rich think they are safe because nukes are not in their backyard; because dirty rivers are not in their backyard; because factories that belch filth into the air are not in their backyard; and on and on and on.

At some point our nest will be so foul there will be no escaping it, no matter where you live, no matter how big your bank account.