Did you catch "The Meltdown: Three Mile Island" on Netflix? TMI remains a danger and TMIA is working hard to ensure the safety of our communities and the surrounding areas. Learn more on this site and support our efforts. Join TMIA. To contact the TMIA office, call 717-233-7897.
NRC to Hold Webinars Seeking Public Comment on Updating Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Renewing Reactor Licenses
Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hear the public’s views on updating the Generic Environmental Impact Statement used by the agency when considering applications to renew operating reactor licenses.
NRC staff will consider written comments on the updated GEIS scoping process until Nov. 2, following the publication of a notice in the Federal Register. Include Docket ID NRC-2020-0175 with your comment, via the regulations.gov website. The notice includes details for participating in webinars Aug. 19 and Aug. 27, with two sessions each day from 1:30-4 p.m. and from 6:30-9 p.m. to discuss the GEIS process and gather input.
The GEIS covers environmental topics relevant to all nuclear power plant licensees seeking renewed licenses. The NRC is reviewing the document to re-evaluate potential impacts and apply what the agency has learned during previous license renewals. The agency will consider whether to modify, add to, consolidate, or delete any of the 78 environmental issues currently evaluated in the GEIS.
The NRC is particularly interested in comments in several areas, including greenhouse gas emissions, groundwater quality degradation, the impact of new reactors on existing reactor license renewals, and the consideration of small modular or advanced reactor license renewals.
NRC Schedules Regulatory Conference with International Isotopes Inc.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a regulatory teleconference on Aug. 4 with officials from International Isotopes Inc. to discuss two apparent violations of regulatory requirements identified by the NRC during an inspection.
The teleconference will begin at 9 a.m. Central Time and will be open to the public. NRC officials will be available to answer questions following the business portion of the meeting. The public will have the opportunity to listen to the meeting and ask questions via a phone bridge by calling 888-972-4310, passcode 3411918#.
The purpose of the conference is to discuss the apparent violations identified in a June 22 inspection report. They involve the licensee’s failure to properly review and approve operating procedures through their radiation safety committee prior to implementation. These procedures were used by International Isotopes when a significant contamination event occurred at the Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Wash., on May 2, 2019.
The inspection was conducted at the company’s facility in Idaho Falls, Idaho, in February.
No decision on the final safety significance of the apparent violations or any NRC actions will be made at the meeting.
NRC Approves Changes to Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station Emergency Planning Requirements
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has granted a request to alter the emergency preparedness plan for the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Londonderry Township, Pa., to reflect the plant’s decommissioning status. Exelon Generation Co. LLC requested the change.
The change comes in the form of exemptions from NRC requirements no longer appropriate for a plant that has permanently ceased operations. These exemptions are consistent with NRC actions for other decommissioning plants. Once Exelon implements the exemptions, state and local governments may rely on their comprehensive emergency management (“all hazard”) planning for off-site emergency response should events occur at TMI, rather than having a dedicated offsite radiological emergency response plan. As a result, there will not be a 10-mile emergency planning zone as currently identified in TMI’s license. The plant will maintain an onsite emergency plan and response capabilities, including the continued notification of state government officials in the event of an emergency declaration.
The exemption request included analyses to show the exemptions are warranted. When compared to an operating power reactor, the risk of an offsite radiological release is significantly lower, and the types of possible accidents are significantly fewer, at a nuclear power reactor that has permanently ceased operations and removed fuel from the reactor vessel. The NRC staff evaluated and confirmedthese analyses, along with considering comments from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Based on the NRC staff’s evaluation and recommendation, the Commission today approved the exemptions. The exemptions, a safety evaluation and associated license amendments reflecting the change will be issued in the next few weeks. Under the exemptions, Exelon may not implement the change to its emergency preparedness plans until Jan. 20, 2021.
Exelon holds the operating license for TMI Unit 1, a single pressurized-water reactor that began operations in 1974. TMI Unit 1 ceased operations Sept. 20, 2019. All spent fuel has been permanently moved from the reactor vessel to the spent fuel pool for storage. The exemptions from certain emergency preparedness requirements are part of several changes to the plant’s licensing basis and technical specifications the licensee requested to reflect TMI’s decommissioning status. TMI Unit 2 has been in a non-operating status since the accident in 1979. General Public Utilities Nuclear Inc. retains the license for TMI-2 and is owned by FirstEnergy Corp. The TMI-2 defueling was completed in April 1990, and all spent fuel has been removed from the site. The U.S. Department of Energy took title and possession of the TMI-2 spent fuel and stores it at Idaho National Laboratory.
AKRON, Ohio, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstEnergy Corp. ( FE) today issued the following statement:
This afternoon, FirstEnergy Corp. received subpoenas in connection with the investigation surrounding Ohio House Bill 6. We are reviewing the details of the investigation and we intend to fully cooperate.
Forward-Looking Statements: This statement includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 based on information currently available to management. Unless the context requires otherwise, as used herein, references to "we", "us", "our", and "FirstEnergy" refer to FirstEnergy Corp. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These statements include declarations regarding management's intents, beliefs and current expectations. These statements typically contain, but are not limited to, the terms "anticipate," "potential," "expect," "forecast," "target," "will," "intend," "believe," "project," "estimate," "plan" and similar words. Forward-looking statements involve estimates, assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, which may include the following: the extent and duration of the novel coronavirus (known as COVID-19) and the impacts to our business, operations and financial condition resulting from the outbreak of COVID-19 including, but not limited to, disruption of businesses in our territories, volatile capital and credit markets, legislative and regulatory actions, the effectiveness of our pandemic and business continuity plans, the precautionary measures we are taking on behalf of our customers and employees, our customers' ability to make their utility payment and the potential for supply-chain disruptions; mitigating exposure for remedial activities associated with retired and formerly owned electric generation assets, including, but not limited to, risks associated with the decommissioning of TMI-2; the ability to accomplish or realize anticipated benefits from strategic and financial goals, including, but not limited to, executing our transmission and distribution investment plans, controlling costs, improving our credit metrics, strengthening our balance sheet and growing earnings; legislative and regulatory developments including, but not limited to, matters related to rates, compliance and enforcement activity; economic and weather conditions affecting future operating results, such as significant weather events and other natural disasters, and associated regulatory events or actions; changes in assumptions regarding economic conditions within our territories, the reliability of our transmission and distribution system, or the availability of capital or other resources supporting identified transmission and distribution investment opportunities; changes in customers' demand for power, including, but not limited to, the impact of climate change or energy efficiency and peak demand reduction mandates; changes in national and regional economic conditions affecting us and/or our major industrial and commercial customers or others with which we do business; the risks associated with cyber-attacks and other disruptions to our information technology system, which may compromise our operations, and data security breaches of sensitive data, intellectual property and proprietary or personally identifiable information; the ability to comply with applicable reliability standards and energy efficiency and peak demand reduction mandates; changes to environmental laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, those related to climate change; changing market conditions affecting the measurement of certain liabilities and the value of assets held in our pension trusts and other trust funds, or causing us to make contributions sooner, or in amounts that are larger, than currently anticipated; the risks and uncertainties associated with litigation, arbitration, mediation and like proceedings; labor disruptions by our unionized workforce; changes to significant accounting policies; any changes in tax laws or regulations, , or adverse tax audit results or rulings; the ability to access the public securities and other capital and credit markets in accordance with our financial plans, the cost of such capital and overall condition of the capital and credit markets affecting us, including the increasing number of financial institutions evaluating the impact of climate change on their investment decisions; actions that may be taken by credit rating agencies that could negatively affect either our access to or terms of financing or our financial condition and liquidity; and the risks and other factors discussed from time to time in our Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings. Dividends declared from time to time on our common stock during any period may in the aggregate vary from prior periods due to circumstances considered by our Board of Directors at the time of the actual declarations. A security rating is not a recommendation to buy or hold securities and is subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the assigning rating agency. Each rating should be evaluated independently of any other rating. These forward-looking statements are also qualified by, and should be read together with, the risk factors included in our filings with the SEC, including but not limited to the most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q together with any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. The foregoing review of factors also should not be construed as exhaustive. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all such factors, nor assess the impact of any such factor on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. FirstEnergy expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise, except as required by law, any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
The 2nd Event Report today on Global Nuclear Fuel License # SNM-1097. This facility is prone to failure and seeking: Exemption from Reporting Certain Unplanned Contamination Events.
Fuel Cycle Facility
Event Number: 54797
Facility: Global Nuclear Fuel - Americas RX Type: Uranium Fuel Fabrication Comments: Leu Conversion (Uf6 To Uo2) Leu Fabrication Lwr Commerical Fuel Region: 2 City: Wilmington State: NC County: New Hanover License #: SNM-1097 Docket: 07001113 NRC Notified By: Phillip Ollis HQ OPS Officer: Thomas Herrity
Emergency Class: Non Emergency 10 CFR Section: PART 70 APP A (c) - Offsite Notification/News Rel
Person (Organization): MARK MILLER (R2DO) NMSS_EVENTS_NOTIFICATION (EMAIL)
Event Text
CONCURRENT REPORT FOR FIRE SUPPRESION OUT OF SERVICE
The following was received from Global Nuclear Fuels, America:
"At 1030 (EDT) on July 21st, 2020, the New Hanover County Deputy Fire Marshall was notified per State code requirements that the fire suppression system for the Fuel Manufacturing Operation Sandblast Building was impaired. An underground pipe that feeds water to the sprinkler system had developed a leak. The building is normally unoccupied and no other buildings are affected. Compensatory measures were enacted and communicated to the Deputy Fire Marshall. Because the New Hanover County Deputy Fire Marshall was notified, a concurrent notification to the NRC Operations Center is being made per 10 CFR 70, Appendix A(c)."
Emergency Class: Non Emergency 10 CFR Section: PART 70 APP A (c) - Offsite Notification/News Rel
Person (Organization): MARK MILLER (R2DO) NMSS_EVENTS_NOTIFICATION (EMAIL)
Event Text
CONCURRENT REPORT FOR FIRE SUPPRESSION OUT OF SERVICE
"At 1015 EST on July 13, 2020, the New Hanover County Deputy Fire Marshall was notified per State code requirements that the fire suppression system for various Fuel Manufacturing Operation Shop Areas was taken offline for planned maintenance to conduct a NFPA [(National Fire Protection Association)] required 5-year inspection. These inspections will be ongoing throughout the week. Compensatory measures were enacted and communicated to the Deputy Fire Marshall. Because the New Hanover County Deputy Fire Marshall was notified, a concurrent notification to the NRC Operations Center is being made per 10 CFR 70, Appendix A(c)."
Licensee will notify Region 2.
On 07/11/2020 10:24 AM Michael J Keegan wrote:
Dear Global Nuclear Fuel America Trackers,
Catchy Title: Exemption from Reporting Certain Unplanned Contamination Events
Zip file of three documents, and then those referenced are pasted farther below.
Global Nuclear Fuel America (GNFA) looks to have had several "Unplanned Contamination Events"
seems just too many to have to write it up, how about an Exemption. Some of the fuel is enriched up to 8%
and intended to be high burnup. Fermi 2 is scheduled to utilize GNF3 an Experiment see note farther below.
Global Nuclear Fuels-Americas (GNF-A) - Request for Exemption from 24-Hour Reporting Requirement of 10 CFR 70.50(b)(1).
Document Type:
Letter
Document Date:
01/09/2019
The link below is a zip file of 3 documents. What I am picking up on is that Fermi 2 use of GNF3 is an experiment, and scheduled for next RFO (21) for a 24 month fuel cycle using high burnup fuel which is 3X as nasty according to Marvin Resnikoff (citation needed)
I have only skimmed these documents, they require study and informed / expert interpretation. Elsewhere GNF America has authorization for enrichment up to 8%. Most likely the new GNF3 for first time "Experimental Use" at Fermi 2 will be Proprietary.
A multitude of problems at Fermi 2 but no financial resources to secure Expertise / Legal at level necessary.
Pro bono contributions have been generous, but those resources are exhausted.
U.S. Attorney, FBI to announce charges related to $60 million bribe to state official & associates
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Federal officials will brief the media on a public corruption racketeering conspiracy involving $60 million.
The briefing will be held:
TODAY: TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020
WHEN: 2:30PM
WHERE: U.S. Attorney’s Office
Main Conference Room
303 Marconi Blvd. Suite 200
Columbus, Ohio 43215
WHO: U.S. Attorney David M. DeVillers
Chris Hoffman, FBI, Special Agent in Charge
*Pool coverage is strongly encouraged for video footage. Reporters not present in person will be given opportunity to ask questions via conference telephone line.*
Room available at 2:15PM. ID and valid media credential will be required for entrance on Marconi Blvd., where someone will bring you into the building. No TV lighting provided. Please practice social distancing inside the main conference room/common areas and wear a mask.
