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NRC needs to act on Harris fire safety issues

Posted on April 18, 2007April 18, 2007 by Staff

By Jim Warren

Power company influence – including suppression of criticism and public relations smokescreens – continues to damage our democratic process and threaten regional safety.

Last fall, NC WARN, the Union of Concerned Scientists and others began legal action to compel the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to enforce its rules after allowing Shearon Harris to violate fire safety regulations since 1992.

Since that time, Harris owner Progress Energy has repeatedly misled public officials and media about its fire protection status. A recent letter by Harris VP Bob Duncan disparaging NC WARN would be amusing if fire wasn’t a leading risk factor for a severe nuclear accident.

He wrote that the NRC “ensure[s] we are meeting the agency’s regulations,” that NRC “is constantly upgrading standards,” and “we constantly meet or exceed those standards.”

None of that is true. For ten years, Harris has repeatedly promised the submissive NRC it would soon correct all fire violations. But instead of complying with regulations requiring operable fire barriers and adequate distance between vital electric cables, Harris relies on “compensatory” measures that were intended only for short-term use. Those measures – requiring operators to quickly enter the plant and perform scores of complex procedures needed to manually operate safety systems during emergencies – haven’t been approved or tested for reliability.

Still, the NRC allows Harris to operate year after year under the agency’s “enforcement discretion.”

Failure to enforce fire safety rules means an increased risk of a radiation disaster. There have been six “emergency declared” alerts at U.S. plants since October due to electrical fires. A major electrical fire at Harris in 1989 required 30 firefighters and led to a weeks-long plant outage.
Progress Energy implies that Harris is struggling to catch up with NRC’s “constant upgrades.” In fact, after years of pressuring NRC to relax fire regulations, Progress voluntarily chose to attempt compliance with a new, optional form of regulation that allows many more years to study the problem.

Harris fire violations are heightened by a new security ruling. Under industry pressure, the NRC voted in January that instead of defending against aircraft or more than a handful of ground attackers, U.S. nuclear plant owners can rely on measures that control fires and explosions.
Despite false statements by NRC Chairman Dale Klein claiming that studies show nuclear power plants “provide adequate protection in a hypothetical attack by an airplane,” numerous federal studies exposed by the Union of Concerned Scientists’ David Lochbaum show that “allegedly robust nuclear plant structures are extremely vulnerable to fires from within,” and that fires fed by thousands of gallons of jet fuel could lead to catastrophic releases. Some of the studies indicate a high likelihood of meltdown.

Progress Energy and its compliant federal agency dodged a debate with nuclear engineer Lochbaum and NC WARN hosted last month by Sen. Kinnaird and other public officials. Corporate managers prefer to host plant tours for public officials – without knowledgeable critics present – and continue spreading millions of ratepayer dollars to regional politicians, charities and the media in order to suppress criticism.

News reports quote Progress saying NRC will allow them until 2015 to comply with fire regulations but that Harris expects to better that date; Duncan says three more years. Why should the public accept any more promises and delay?

Harris is seeking to extend its operating license until 2046, and NRC apparently intends to grant the extension before Harris complies with fire regulations. So NRC and Progress would speed through a major license amendment in 20 months or so, while it takes two decades to enforce critical safety regulations?

NC WARN and allies are calling for NRC to suspend Harris’ license or assess heavy fines until all fire violations are corrected.

It’s encouraging that despite Progress Energy’s corrupting influence over the NRC and regional institutions, many public officials in Orange, Chatham and beyond take seriously their responsibility for public safety by studying this issue instead of deferring to the power company. We’ll need Rep. Price’s help too. When federal agencies fail their duty, it’s imperative that those most closely representing the Triangle public be willing to press for reducing unnecessary risks.

Jim Warren is executive director of the North Carolina Waste Awareness & Reduction Network

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