York Daily Record 

July 10, 2009

Environmental monitoring at Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station has turned up levels of a radioactive form of hydrogen six times what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says is acceptable.

But Peach Bottom maintains there is no public health threat or health threat to employees at the plant.

TMI-Alert's Eric Epstein and nuclear activist Gene Stilp discuss, with the Patriot-News editorial board, nuclear power, electrical deregulation, alternative energy and their challenges to PPL's application to construct a new nuclear reactor at Bell Bend near Berwick, Pa. 

videos.pennlive.com/patriot-news/2009/07/activists_gene_stilp_and_eric.html 

The NRC license renewal staff has evaluation the environmental impacts related to

re-licensing the Three Mile Island Nuclear Station Unit 1 reactor and has concluded that 

the effects would be "small," overall but that the cumulative effect over time would be

 "small to moderate" as related to aquatic resources. The June 29, 2009 memo is reproduced

here and attached below are related documents. 

MEMORANDUM TO: Brian E. Holian, Director 

Division of License Renewal 

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation 

FROM: Sarah Lopas, Project Manager /RA/ 

Reactor Projects Branch 1 

Division of License Renewal 

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation 

Dr. Cooper said: "We are literally seeing nuclear reactor history repeat itself. The 'Great Bandwagon Market' that ended so badly for consumers in the1970s and1980s was driven by advocates who confused hope and hype with reality." The study finds that new reactor costs are now more than four times greater than original "renaissance" projections.

By Ad Crable

Staff Writer, Lancaster New Era

The economic downturn has caused funds set aside for the safe closure of the Three Mile Island and Peach Bottom nuclear plants to drop dramatically in the last two years.

Since 2007, estimates of dismantling costs at the nation's 104 nuclear plants have risen by more than $4.6 billion while the investment funds that are supposed to pay for the closures — or decommissioning as it's called — have dropped $4.4 billion, according to an investigation by the Associated Press.

According to decommissioning fund statements filed by Exelon Corp., owners of the two plants, the balance in the closure fund for Three Mile Island's Unit 1 dropped $69 million from 2007 to 2009.

For Peach Bottom, decommissioning funds dropped $64 million over the last two years for Unit 2 and nearly $70 million for the Unit 3 reactor.

The fund losses are tied to investments.

Is it a cause for concern?