Citizens speak out against nuclear plant

Citizens speak out against nuclear plant
Terrorism, government response cited as reasons to deny Oyster Creek relicensing
By DAVID BENSON Staff Writer, pressofatlanticcity.com
Published: Friday, June 1, 2007
(A protester wears a gag Thursday during the Nuclear Regulatory Commision meeting in Toms River. Due to the type of hearing it was certain the NRC members, the enviormental groups opposing the Oyster Creek license and representatives of AmerGen were not legally allowed to address the judges. Staff photo by Edward Lea)
TOMS RIVER — Fear of terrorists and distrust of the federal government were two forces driving people to speak against the relicensing of the Oyster Creek nuclear generating station during a special public hearing held Thursday afternoon in Ocean County.
By nightfall, at the second hearing, proponents of the plant were more in evidence, though still clearly outnumbered.
Three judges with the federal Atomic Safety Licensing Board listened for four hours at two public hearings while area citizens spoke in favor of, or against, a 20-year license extension for the nation's oldest operating nuclear power plant, located in Lacey Township. All but a few had harsh words for the nuclear facility.
The meeting, designed to get input on issues surrounding the corrosion of the Oyster Creek plant's drywell liner, often strayed to worries about planes hitting the facility's spent fuel pool, or how difficult it would be to evacuate the area in the event of a nuclear emergency.
Roy Hawkens, one of the three judges for the ASLB, cautioned the public early in the meeting to try to stick to the subject of the drywell liner. But it wasn't enforced, and current events and how they related to the nuclear plant frightened some residents more than the corrosion.
Liz Arndne described herself as an ordinary, concerned citizen representing many like herself. “We have seen what happened at Chernoybl,” Arndne said. “We have seen what happened at Katrina. And we are frightened that our government is not responsive.”
Arndne raised the issue of government disarray in the face of catastrophe, a chord others struck repeatedly during the meeting.
But Ed Stroup trusts the Nuclear Regulatory Commisson and AmerGen. As one of less than a half-dozen people to speak in favor of a renewal of the station's license, he was accused of being a shill for AmerGen.
The reasoning was twofold. Stroup worked for AmerGen for 22 years, 20 of them at the plant as a mechanic. Also, his support of the plant included facts and figures concerning the thickness of the drywell shell.
Some said only a person coached by the company could have that information.
Later, Stroup shrugged and smiled. “It's all public information,” he said. “Anyone who looks into the licensing process can get the information.”
Janet Tauro, of Grandmothers, Mothers and Others for Safe Energy, got some public information and wanted to get it out during the meeting. But she wasn't allowed to speak.
It's an arcane rule, but due to the type of hearing it was, certain members of the NRC, the environmental groups opposing the license and representatives of AmerGen were not legally allowed to address the judges.
Tauro took it in good form. “Everything has rules,” she said. “You have to follow the rules.”
And that's what Tauro wants the NRC to do in relation to the Oyster Creek plant. She says that because her group is one of the six environmental groups joined in a lawsuit against AmerGen, they have received documents from the company that aren't normally available.
“Discovery,” she said. “Because we're part of the coalition in the suit, we have discovery.”
Recently, Tauro said the group received a document that suggests a 9-square-foot area of the contested drywell shell is thinner than the measurement required by the NRC.
“There can be no area within the drywell that falls below .736 inches,” Tauro said. “The latest documents show that a 9-foot square area in Bay One are at .696 inches.” It's the difference of a gnat, Tauro said. Maybe less than a gnat. “But it's a license violation,” she said.
The recent fire that forced the evacuation of thousands of Ocean County residents reminded some how unorganized the federal government can be. The shortfalls of the government during Hurricane Katrina were brought up by several people wondering how this county would be evacuated in the event of a nuclear accident.
Others pointed to the spent fuel pool, jammed with more than 200 tons of radioactive rods. A terrorist attack, said Carol Burns, a grandmother with grandchildren in the area, would leave Ocean County stranded with people desperate to leave.
“I was near the Pentagon during 9-11,” Burns said. “I know that there was gridlock. You could not get out.” The memory stopped Burns for a moment. She took a few breaths as if to regain composure. “It wasn't nuclear. Imagine if it was and you were on Route 9.”
Lacey Township favors relicensing the plant under the regulations of the NRC. David Most, deputy mayor for the township, said the plant has been a good neighbor, providing clean, safe energy.
The Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders disagrees with the township. David McKeon, board planning director, said freeholders are concerned about the on-site storage of spent fuel, as well as terrorism and evacuation of the area in the event of an accident or attack.
The freeholders, McKeon said, are particularly concerned with the source of the leak that caused the corrosion of the drywell liner. “The NRC is satisified with the sealant that has been applied to the liner,” McKeon said. “But the county wants the NRC to find out the source of the leak.”
The United Way of Ocean County supports the relicensing of the Oyster Creek plant. Nancy Eriksen, a spokeswoman for the county branch of the United Way, is also a manager at the nuclear facility. Eriksen said AmerGen has donated $1.5 million to the United Way over the past eight years.
A few people, such as Most, described the nuclear facility as a good neighbor. Eriksen put a face on the neighbor. “The yearly Angel Tree,” she said, “where people help a family or buy a present for a needy child. Last year, Oyster Creek helped 300 on the tree.”
The two hearings will not decide whether the nuclear plant will be relicensed, Hawkens said. And while the public comments are part of official Nuclear Regulatory Commission transcripts, they will not be part of an upcoming hearing.
In September, a hearing will be held to decide whether AmerGen's schedule of measuring the thickness of a corroded drywell shell is adequate to protect public health and safety.
These public hearings gave attorneys for all of the groups involved a chance to gather information they may not have had previously. Richard Webster, an attorney for the Rutgers Law Clinic, said the meeting was basically a chance for people to sound off to the NRC and the ASLB.
There is a possibility, he said, that someone would say something that he could use in the September hearing. Webster represents a coalition of six environmental groups that oppose the relicensing of the plant.