82 reactors are more than 25 years old

AP IMPACT: US nuke regulators weaken safety rules
Posted at 12:25 AM on Monday, Jun. 20, 2011
By JEFF DONN - AP National Writer



Another Fukushima in the making?

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 - all of these and thousands of other problems linked to aging were uncovered in the AP's yearlong investigation. And all of them could escalate dangers in the event of an accident.

...Oyster Creek nuclear plant in Lacey Township, N.J. Called "Oyster Creak" by some critics because of its aging problems, this boiling water reactor began running in 1969 and ranks as the country's oldest operating commercial nuclear power plant. Its license was extended in 2009 until 2029, though utility officials announced in December 2010 that they'll shut the reactor 10 years earlier, rather than build state-ordered cooling towers.

This June 14, 2007, photo made available by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shows some of the extensive rust that accumulated on piping carrying essential service water at the Byron nuclear plant in Illinois. The water is needed to cool the reactor in an emergency. A leak in the system forced the plant to go offline for repairs later that year.

This undated photo made available by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shows a 5-by-5-inch hole in a section cut from the top of the reactor vessel at the Davis-Besse nuclear plant in Ohio. Discovered in February 2002, the hole was eaten by boric acid that spilled from inside the reactor through cracks in the vessel head. Only three-eighths of an inch of steel cladding remained, making a reactor breach likely in as little as two months, by the NRC's estimate.

This undated photo made available by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shows a 5-by-5-inch hole in a section cut from the top of the reactor vessel at the Davis-Besse nuclear plant in Ohio. Discovered in February 2002, the hole was eaten by boric acid that spilled from inside the reactor through cracks in the vessel head. Only three-eighths of an inch of steel cladding remained, making a reactor breach likely in as little as two months, by the NRC's estimate.

Yet despite the many problems linked to aging, not a single official body in government or industry has studied the overall frequency and potential impact on safety of such breakdowns in recent years, even as the NRC has extended the licenses of dozens of reactors.

Industry and government officials defend their actions, and insist that no chances are being taken. But the AP investigation found that with billions of dollars and 19 percent of America's electricity supply at stake, a cozy relationship prevails between the industry and its regulator, the NRC.

Records show a recurring pattern: Reactor parts or systems fall out of compliance with the rules. Studies are conducted by the industry and government, and all agree that existing standards are "unnecessarily conservative."

Regulations are loosened, and the reactors are back in compliance.

"That's what they say for everything, whether that's the case or not," said Demetrios Basdekas, an engineer retired from the NRC. "Every time you turn around, they say 'We have all this built-in conservatism.'"

The ongoing crisis at the stricken, decades-old Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear facility in Japan has focused attention on the safety of plants elsewhere in the world; it prompted the NRC to look at U.S. reactors, and a report is due in July.

But the factor of aging goes far beyond the issues posed by the disaster at Fukushima.

In this Friday, April 20, 2007 picture, Tracy Sudoko, a control room agent at the Indian Point nuclear power plant, works on a report at the facility in Buchanan, N.Y. Commercial nuclear reactors in the United States were designed and licensed for 40 years. When the first ones were being built in the 1960s and 1970s, it was expected that they would be replaced with improved models long before those licenses expired. Instead, 66 of the 104 operating units have been relicensed for 20 more years, mostly with scant public attention. As of 2011, renewal applications are under review for 16 other reactors. Applications to extend the lives of pressurized water units 2 and 3 at Indian Point, each more than 34 years old, are under review by the NRC.

Commercial nuclear reactors in the United States were designed and licensed for 40 years. When the first ones were being built in the 1960s and 1970s, it was expected that they would be replaced with improved models long before those licenses expired.

But that never happened. The 1979 accident at Three Mile Island, massive cost overruns, crushing debt and high interest rates ended new construction proposals for several decades.

Instead, 66 of the 104 operating units have been relicensed for 20 more years, mostly with scant public attention. Renewal applications are under review for 16 other reactors.

By the standards in place when they were built, these reactors are old and getting older. As of today, 82 reactors are more than 25 years old.

The AP found proof that aging reactors have been allowed to run less safely to prolong operations. As equipment has approached or violated safety limits, regulators and reactor operators have loosened or bent the rules.

keywords:  Fukushima Chernobyl

List of USA Reactors

    * Beaver Valley, Pennsylvania 40°37?24?N 80°25?50?W? / ?40.62333°N 80.43056°W? / 40.62333; -80.43056? (Beaver Valley Nuclear Generating Station)
    * Calvert Cliffs, Maryland 38°25?55?N 76°26?32?W? / ?38.43194°N 76.44222°W? / 38.43194; -76.44222? (Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Generating Station)
    * Connecticut Yankee, Connecticut (Decommissioned) 41°28?55?N 72°29?57?W? / ?41.48194°N 72.49917°W? / 41.48194; -72.49917? (Connecticut Yankee Nuclear Power Plant)
    * FitzPatrick, New York 43°31?24?N 76°23?54?W? / ?43.52333°N 76.39833°W? / 43.52333; -76.39833? (Fitzpatrick Nuclear Generating Station)
    * Ginna, New York 43°16?40?N 77°18?36?W? / ?43.27778°N 77.31°W? / 43.27778; -77.31? (Ginna Nuclear Generating Station)
    * Hope Creek, New Jersey 39°28?4?N 75°32?17?W? / ?39.46778°N 75.53806°W? / 39.46778; -75.53806? (Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station)
    * Indian Point, New York 41°16?11?N 73°57?8?W? / ?41.26972°N 73.95222°W? / 41.26972; -73.95222? (Indian Point Energy Center)
    * Limerick, Pennsylvania 40°13?36?N 75°35?14?W? / ?40.22667°N 75.58722°W? / 40.22667; -75.58722? (Limerick nuclear power plant)
    * Maine Yankee, Maine (Decommissioned) 43°57?3?N 69°41?45?W? / ?43.95083°N 69.69583°W? / 43.95083; -69.69583? (Maine Yankee)
    * Millstone, Connecticut 41°18?43?N 72°10?7?W? / ?41.31194°N 72.16861°W? / 41.31194; -72.16861? (Maine Yankee)
    * Nine Mile Point, New York 43°31?15?N 76°24?25?W? / ?43.52083°N 76.40694°W? / 43.52083; -76.40694? (Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station)
    * Oyster Creek, New Jersey 39°48?53?N 74°12?18?W? / ?39.81472°N 74.205°W? / 39.81472; -74.205? (Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station)
    * Peach Bottom, Pennsylvania 39°45?30?N 76°16?5?W? / ?39.75833°N 76.26806°W? / 39.75833; -76.26806? (Peach Bottom Nuclear Generating Station)
    * Pilgrim, Massachusetts 41°56?42?N 70°34?42?W? / ?41.945°N 70.57833°W? / 41.945; -70.57833? (Pilgrim Nuclear Generating Station)
    * Salem, New Jersey 39°27?46?N 75°32?8?W? / ?39.46278°N 75.53556°W? / 39.46278; -75.53556? (Salem Nuclear)
    * Saxton, Pennsylvania (Decommissioned) 40°13?37?N 78°14?31?W? / ?40.22694°N 78.24194°W? / 40.22694; -78.24194? (Saxton Nuclear Generating Station)
    * Seabrook, New Hampshire 42°53?56?N 70°51?3?W? / ?42.89889°N 70.85083°W? / 42.89889; -70.85083? (Seabrook Station nuclear power plant)
    * Shippingport, Pennsylvania (Decommissioned) 40°37?16?N 80°26?7?W? / ?40.62111°N 80.43528°W? / 40.62111; -80.43528? (Shippingport Reactor)
    * Shoreham, New York (Decommissioned) 40°57?40?N 72°51?54?W? / ?40.96111°N 72.865°W? / 40.96111; -72.865? (Shoreham Nuclear Generating Station)
    * Susquehanna, Pennsylvania 41°5?20?N 76°8?56?W? / ?41.08889°N 76.14889°W? / 41.08889; -76.14889? (Susquehanna Steam Electric Station)
    * Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania 40°9?14?N 76°43?29?W? / ?40.15389°N 76.72472°W? / 40.15389; -76.72472? (Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station)
    * Penn State University Park, Pennsylvania
    * Vermont Yankee, Vermont 42°46?44?N 72°30?47?W? / ?42.77889°N 72.51306°W? / 42.77889; -72.51306? (Vermont Yankee)
    * Yankee Rowe, Massachusetts (Decommissioned) 42°43?40?N 72°55?45?W? / ?42.72778°N 72.92917°W? / 42.72778; -72.92917? (Yankee Rowe)

NRC Region Two (South)




    * Bellefonte, Alabama (Unfinished)
    * Browns Ferry, Alabama
    * Brunswick, North Carolina
    * Carolinas-Virginia Tube Reactor, South Carolina (decommissioned)
    * Catawba, South Carolina
    * Crystal River 3, Florida
    * Farley (Joseph M. Farley), Alabama
    * Hatch (Edwin I. Hatch), Georgia
    * McGuire Nuclear Station, North Carolina
    * North Anna, Virginia
    * Oconee, South Carolina
    * H.B. Robinson, South Carolina
    * Sequoyah, Tennessee
    * Shearon Harris, North Carolina
    * St. Lucie, Florida
    * Virgil C. Summer, South Carolina
    * Surry, Virginia
    * Turkey Point, Florida
    * Alvin W. Vogtle, Georgia
    * Watts Bar, Tennessee

NRC Region Three (Midwest)

    * Big Rock Point, Michigan (Decommissioned)
    * Byron, Illinois
    * Braidwood, Illinois
    * Clinton, Illinois
    * Davis-Besse, Ohio
    * Donald C. Cook, Michigan
    * Dresden, Illinois
    * Duane Arnold, Iowa
    * Elk River, Minnesota (Decommissioned)
    * Enrico Fermi, Michigan
    * Kewaunee, Wisconsin
    * La Crosse, Wisconsin (Decommissioned)
    * LaSalle County, Illinois
    * Marble Hill, Indiana (Unfinished)
    * Monticello, Minnesota
    * Palisades, Michigan
    * Perry, Ohio
    * Piqua, Ohio (Decommissioned)
    * Point Beach, Wisconsin
    * Prairie Island, Minnesota
    * Quad Cities, Illinois
    * Zion, Illinois (Decommissioned)

NRC Region Four (West)


    * Arkansas Nuclear One, Arkansas
    * Callaway, Missouri
    * Columbia, Washington - formerly WNP-2
    * Comanche Peak, Texas
    * Cooper, Nebraska
    * Diablo Canyon, California
    * Fort Calhoun, Nebraska
    * Fort Saint Vrain, Colorado (Decommissioned)
    * Grand Gulf, Mississippi
    * Hallam, Nebraska (Decommissioned)
    * Hanford N Reactor, Washington (Retired - see Plutonium Production Reactors below)
    * Humboldt Bay, California (Decommissioned)
    * Palo Verde, Arizona
    * Pathfinder, South Dakota (Decommissioned)
    * Rancho Seco, California (Decommissioned)
    * River Bend, Louisiana
    * San Onofre, California
    * Sodium Reactor Experiment, Santa Susana Field Laboratory, California (Accident 1959, Closed 1964)
    * South Texas Project Electric Generating Station, Texas
    * Trojan, Rainier, Oregon (Decommissioned)
    * MSTR, Missouri
    * Vallecitos, California (idle research center)
    * Waterford, Louisiana
    * Wolf Creek, Kansas

Plutonium production reactors

    * Hanford Site, Washington
          o B-Reactor (Pile) - Preserved as a Museum
          o F-Reactor (Pile) - Cocooned
          o D-Reactor (Pile) - Cocooned
          o H-Reactor (Pile) - Being Cocooned
          o DR-Reactor (Pile) - Cocooned
          o C-Reactor (Pile) - Cocooned
          o KE-Reactor (Pile) - Being Cocooned
          o KW-Reactor (Pile) - Being Cocooned
          o N-Reactor - Being Cocooned
    * Savannah River Site, South Carolina
          o R-Reactor (Heavy Water) - S&M (Surveillance and Maintenance) Mode
          o P-Reactor (Heavy Water) - S&M Mode
          o L-Reactor (Heavy Water) - S&M Mode
          o K-Reactor (Heavy Water) - S&M Mode
          o C-Reactor (Heavy Water) - S&M Mode

Army Nuclear Power Program
Main article: Army Nuclear Power Program

    * SM-1
    * SM-1A
    * PM-2A
    * PM-1
    * PM-3A
    * MH-1A
    * SL-1
    * ML-1

United States Naval reactors

Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory Prototype S6W Reactor, Ballston Spa, New York
Main article: List of United States Naval reactors
Research reactors

    * Arkansas-Southwest Experimental Fast Oxide Reactor, Arkansas
          o SEFOR - Shut Down
    * Argonne National Laboratory, Illinois (and Idaho)
          o CP-1 - Chicago Pile 1 (Relocated and renamed as Chicago Pile 2 in 1943) - Shut Down
          o CP-3 - Chicago Pile 3 - Shut Down
          o CP-5 - Chicago Pile 5 - Shut Down (1979)
          o EBWR - Experimental Boiling Water Reactor - Shut Down
          o LMFBR - Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor - Shut Down
          o Janus reactor - Shut Down (1992)
          o JUGGERNAUT - Shut Down
          o IFR - Integral Fast Reactor - Never Operated[citation needed]
    * Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York
          o High Flux Beam Reactor - Shut Down (1999)
          o Medical Research Reactor - Shut Down (2000)
          o Brookhaven Graphite Research Reactor - Shut Down (1968)
    * Hanford Site, Washington
          o Fast Flux Test Facility - currently in cold standby Core drilled
    * Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho
          o ARMF-I - Shut Down
          o AMRF-II - Shut Down
          o ATR - Operating
          o ATRC - Operating
          o AFSR - Shut Down
          o BORAX-I - Shut Down
          o BORAX-II - Shut Down
          o BORAX-III - Shut Down
          o BORAX-IV - Shut Down
          o BORAX-V - Shut Down (1964)
          o CRCE - Shut Down
          o CFRMF - Shut Down
          o CET - Shut Down
          o Experimental Test Reactor - Shut Down
          o ETRC - Shut Down
          o EBOR - Never Operated
          o EBR-I - Experimental Breeder Reactor I (originally CP-4) - Shut Down
          o EBR-II - Experimental Breeder Reactor II - Shut Down
          o ECOR - Never Operated
          o 710 - Shut Down
          o GCRE - Gas Cooled Reactor Experiment - Shut Down
          o HTRE-1 - Heat Transfer Reactor Experiment 1 - Shut Down
          o HTRE-2 - Heat Transfer Reactor Experiment 2 - Shut Down
          o HTRE-3 - Heat Transfer Reactor Experiment 3 - Shut Down
          o 603-A - Shut Down
          o HOTCE - Shut Down
          o A1W-A - Shut Down
          o A1W-B - Shut Down
          o LOFT - Shut Down
          o MTR - Shut Down
          o ML-1 - Mobil Low Power Plant - Shut Down
          o S5G - Shut Down
          o NRAD - Operating
          o FRAN - Shut Down
          o OMRE - Shut Down
          o PBF - Shut Down
          o RMF - Shut Down
          o SUSIE - Operational
          o SPERT-I - Shut Down
          o SPERT-II - Shut Down
          o SPERT-III - Shut Down
          o SPERT-IV - Shut Down
          o SCRCE - Shut Down
          o SL-1/ALPR - Stationary Low Power Plant - Shut Down
          o S1W/STR - Shut Down
          o SNAPTRAN-1 - Shut Down
          o SNAPTRAN-2 - Shut Down
          o SNAPTRAN-3 - Shut Down
          o THRITS - Shut Down
          o TREAT - Shut Down
          o ZPPR - Zero Power Physics Reactor (formerly Zero Power Plutonium Reactor) - Standby
          o ZPR-III - Shut Down
    * Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico
          o UHTREX - Shut Down
          o Omega West - Shut Down
          o Clementine - Shut Down
    * Nevada Test Site, Nevada
          o BREN Tower
    * Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee
          o X-10 Graphite Reactor - Shut Down, Operated 1943-1963
          o Homogeneous Reactor Experiment (HRE) - Shut down, Operated 1952-1954
          o Homogeneous Reactor Test (HRT) - Shut down, Operated 1957-1961
          o Aircraft Reactor Experiment (ARE) - Shutdown, Operated 1954-1955
          o Molten Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE) - Shut Down, Operated 1965-1969
          o Health Physics Research Reactor (HPRR) - Shut down, Operated 1963-1987
          o Low-Intensity Test Reactor (LITR)- Shut down, Operated 1950-1968
          o Bulk Shielding Reactor (BSR) - Shut Down, Operated 1950-1987
          o Geneva Conference Reactor - Shutdown, Operated 1955
          o Tower Shielding Reactor-I (TSR-I) - Shut Down, Operated 1954-1958
          o Tower Shielding Reactor-II (TSR-II) - Shutdown, Operated 1958-1982
          o Oak Ridge Research Reactor (ORR) - Shut Down, Operated 1958-1987
          o High Flux Isotope Reactor - Operational, Started 1965
          o Pool Critical Assembly - Shutdown, Operated 1958 - 1987
          o Experimental Gas Cooled Reactor (EGCR) - Constructed, but never operated (project canceled in 1966)

    * Savannah River Site, South Carolina
          o HWCTR - Heavy Water Components Test Reactor - Partial Decommissioning
    * Santa Susana Field Laboratory, Simi Hills California
          o Sodium Reactor Experiment (Accident 1959, Closed 1964)
          o SNAP-10A (Shut Down 1965, presently orbiting)

Civilian Research and Test Reactors Licensed To Operate
Operator?     Location?     Reactor?     Power?     Operational?
Aerotest Operations Inc.     San Ramon, California     TRIGA Mark I     250 kW    
Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute     Bethesda, Maryland     TRIGA Mark F     1 MW    
Dow Chemical Company     Midland, Michigan     TRIGA Mark I     300 kW    
General Electric Company     Sunol, California     "Nuclear Test"     100 kW    
Idaho State University     Pocatello, Idaho     AGN-201 #103     50 W     1967
Kansas State University     Manhattan, Kansas     TRIGA Mark II     1250 kW     1962
Massachusetts Institute of Technology     Cambridge, Massachusetts     Tank Type HWR Reflected (MITR-II)     6 MW     1958 -
Missouri University of Science and Technology     Rolla, Missouri     Pool     200 kW     1961 -
National Institute of Standards and Technology     Gaithersburg, Maryland     Tank Type, Heavy Water Moderated     20 MW     1967 -
North Carolina State University     Raleigh, North Carolina     Pulstar     1 MW     1973 -
Ohio State University     Columbus, Ohio     Pool (modified Lockheed) [14]     500 kW     1961
Oregon State University     Corvallis, Oregon     TRIGA Mark II (OSTR)     1.1 MW     1967 -
Penn State University     University Park, Pennsylvania     TRIGA BNR Reactor     1.1 MW     1955 -
Purdue University     West Lafayette, Indiana     Lockheed     1 kW     1962
Reed College     Portland, Oregon     TRIGA Mark I (RRR)     250 kW     1968 -
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute     Troy, New York     Reactor Critical Facility[17][18]     1 W     1965-
Rhode Island Atomic Energy Commission/University of Rhode Island     Narragansett, Rhode Island     GE Pool     2 MW    
Texas A&M University     College Station, TX     AGN-201M #106 - TRIGA Mark I (two reactors)     5 W, 1 MW
University of Arizona     Tucson, AZ     TRIGA Mark I     110 kW     1958-2010
University of California-Davis     Sacramento, California     TRIGA Mark II, McClellan Nuclear Radiation Center     2.3 MW     August 13, 1998 -
University of California, Irvine     Irvine, California     TRIGA Mark I     250 kW     1969
University of Florida     Gainesville, Florida     Argonaut (UFTR)     100 kW     1959 -
University of Maryland, College Park     College Park, Maryland     TRIGA Mark I     250 kW     1960 -
University of Massachusetts Lowell     Lowell, Massachusetts     Pool     1 MW
University of Missouri     Columbia, Missouri     General Electric tank type UMRR     10 MW     1966 -
University of New Mexico     Albuquerque, New Mexico     AGN-201M $112        
University of Texas at Austin     Austin, Texas     TRIGA Mark II     1.1 MW    
University of Utah     Salt Lake City, Utah     TRIGA Mark I     100 kW    
University of Wisconsin–Madison     Madison, Wisconsin     TRIGA Mark I     1 MW     1961
U.S. Geological Survey     Denver, Colorado     TRIGA Mark I     1 MW    
U.S. Veterans Administration     Omaha, Nebraska     TRIGA Mark I     20 kW    
Washington State University     Pullman, Washington     TRIGA Conversion (WSUR)     1 MW     March 7, 1961 -
Under Decommission Orders or License Amendments

(These research and test reactors are authorized to decontaminate and dismantle their facility to prepare for final survey and license termination.)

    * General Atomics, San Diego, California (two reactors)
    * National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Sandusky, Ohio (two reactors)
    * University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois
    * University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

With Possession-Only Licenses

(These research and test reactors are not authorized to operate the reactor, only to possess the nuclear material on-hand. They are permanently shut down.)

    * General Electric Company, Sunol, California (two research and test reactors, one power reactor)
    * Nuclear Ship Savannah, James River Reserve Fleet, Virginia (one power reactor)
    * University at Buffalo
    * U.S. Veterans Administration, Omaha, NE
    * Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA