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This email is to notify you that docket FEMA-2012-0026 for the revision of NUREG-0654/FEMA-REP-1 has been reopened and is now able to receive comments. The docket can be accessed through the weblink http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=FEMA-2012-0026 or by logging on towww.regulations.gov and searching for FEMA-2012-0026.  The docket will remain open until January 31, 2013.

The NRC and FEMA encourage people to share their thoughts and ideas about the proposed revision. Regulations.gov is a website used by Federal agencies to collect thoughts and formal comments on proposed changes to current regulations and guidance, or new regulations and guidance. The site can also be used to search for original regulatory documents, and to view comments that have been submitted by other individuals.

Feel free to pass this email on to others. Please remember that comments should focus on the process and proposed scope of the revision. The opportunity for comments on specific changes to the guidance will be available during the revision process itself.  FEMA and NRC will review your comments and suggestions on the path forward.  Please contact me at 301-415-0705 or carolyn.kahler@nrc.gov with any questions. Thank you.
 
Sincerely,
 
Carolyn J. Kahler
Communications and Outreach
Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response
US Nuclear Regulatory Commission

From Reuters:

NEW YORK, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Hurricane Sandy slowed or shut a half-dozen U.S. nuclear power plants, while the nation's oldest facility declared a rare "alert" after the record storm surge pushed flood waters high enough to endanger a key cooling system.

Exelon Corp's 43-year-old Oyster Creek plant in New Jersey remains on "alert" status, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said early Tuesday. It is only the third time this year that the second-lowest of four emergency action levels was triggered.

"Oyster Creek is still in an alert but may be getting out of it as long as water levels continue to drop," NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan told Reuters.

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Nuclear Roulette: The Truth about the Most Dangerous Energy Source on Earth by Gar Smith is now available from Chelsea Green Publishing.
 
“If ever there was a book that people need to read at this moment in the history of the world it is Nuclear Roulette. Comprehensively referenced, it is not only an encyclopedia of the nuclear age related specifically to nuclear power, it is a potent warning of the almost incomprehensible dangers that lie ahead, as well as the damage that has already contaminated portions of our beloved planet beyond repair. I highly recommend this wonderful book to all who care about our children, future generations, and the thirty million other species that cohabit this earth with us.”

—Dr. Helen Caldicott, pediatrician, founding president of Physicians for Social Responsibility, and author of Nuclear Madness and Nuclear Power is not the Answer

Get Book

All Exelon nuclear stations are robust and fortified facilities, capable of withstanding the most severe weather, including hurricanes and floods. Extra precautions have been taken at each Pennsylvania facility, including increased staffing, pre-staging of emergency equipment, activating back-up communications, and securing outside equipment and materials.

“These extra storm precautions make our safe facilities even safer,” said Chris Mudrick, Exelon Senior VP for Mid-Atlantic Operations. “Our plants are designed to withstand the most severe weather conditions and we will continue to take actions that keep our stations, our workers and the public safe.”

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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has made preparations for Hurricane Sandy, with inspectors at all nuclear power plants that could potentially experience impacts from the storm. The inspectors are independently verifying that plant operators are making the proper preparations, are following relevant procedures and are taking appropriate actions to ensure plant safety before, during and after the storm.

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From SimplyInfo:

The US has a 10 mile (16km) evacuation zone around nuclear plants but have stated they may not issue evacuation orders for everyone inside that zone. Instead they intend to ask only select people to leave based on their location and prevailing winds. Most evacuation zones in Germany are 10km (6.21 miles) some are 2km (1.24 miles) and 10km (6.21 miles) with an outer 25km (15.53 miles) zone. The IAEA suggests 30km evacuation zones (18.84 miles), the US and Germany do not meet that standard. The IAEA also suggests evacuating anywhere the levels reach 100 mSv, the Japanese models found this quickly would happen even outside the 30km zone. The US also declared an 80km evacuation suggestion around Fukushima Daiichi yet impose no such idea back in the US.

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From Union of Concerned Scientists

When the NRC says that the Oconee nuclear plant is safe despite not having yet implemented many required safety upgrades, or that San Onofre is safe despite not knowing why the plant’s steam generator tubes are degrading almost as fast as if they were water soluble, or that Browns Ferry is safe despite not meeting fire protection regulations adopted more than three decades ago in response to a disastrous fire at Browns Ferry, it’s not necessarily because these plants are safe. It may be because the NRC’s vocabulary is limited to only that label.

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Greetings,

The NRC intends to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to support the rulemaking to update the Commission’s Waste Confidence Decision and Rule, and is conducting scoping to gather information necessary to prepare the EIS.  Today’s Federal Register notice (77 FRN 65137) announcing the scoping period and providing additional details about upcoming public meetings and webinars can be found at the following web address:  https://federalregister.gov/a/2012-26295.
 
Public comments on the scope of the Waste Confidence environmental review will be accepted through January 2, 2013.  Comments may be submitted through the Federal government’s rulemaking website, www.regulations.gov, using Docket ID NRC-2012-0246; by mail to Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules, Announcements, and Directives Branch (RADB), Office of Administration, Mail Stop: TWB-05-B01M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; or by fax to 301-492-3446.  Please do not send comments to this email address.
 
As part of the scoping process the NRC is planning to hold two webcast public meetings on November 14, 2012, and two webinars on December 5 and 6, 2012.  Meeting notices will be posted on the NRC’s public meeting website at http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/public-meetings/index.cfmapproximately two weeks before each meeting date.  The meeting notices will contain additional information, including agendas, teleconference phone line details, and information on how to access and participate in the webinars.  This information will also be provided on the NRC’s Waste Confidence public website – http://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/wcd.html – which will be updated regularly with new public documents and information regarding the waste confidence EIS and rule.
 
We will send additional emails providing links to the meeting notices once they are issued.  Any immediate questions regarding the scoping process can be directed to Sarah Lopas, NEPA Communications Project Manager – Sarah.Lopas@nrc.gov or telephone (301) 492-3425.
 
Sincerely,
 
Staff of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Waste Confidence Directorate

Does Price Anderson Cover Offsite Economic Costs? ANI implied that it does to the NRC Commissioners; NRC OGC representative told ACRS that he doesn’t know; Inside EPA investigative report, supported by emails between EPA, NRC, FEMA obtained by FOIA, July 2010 concluded that Price Anderson only covered partial costs-not cleanup. The report said that,

NRC officials also indicated during the meetings that the industry-funded account established under the Price Anderson Act -- which Congress passed in 1957 in an effort to limit the industry's liability -- would likely not be available to pay for such a cleanup. The account likely could only be used to provide compensation for damages incurred as the result of an accident, such as hotel stays, lost wages and property replacement costs, the documents show, leaving federal officials unsure where the money to pay for a cleanup would come from.

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From The Washington Post:

The Richmond, Va.-based energy provider said that the 556-megawatt facility in Carlton, Wis., is expected to stop producing power in the second quarter of 2013 and move to safe shutdown status. Dominion plans to record an after-tax $281 million charge in the third quarter related to the closing and decommissioning of the station.

The company had announced plans in April 2011 to sell the facility it purchased from Wisconsin Public Service Corp. and Wisconsin Power & Light Co. in 2005 for $220 million, as part of a strategic review of its assets. Dominion had previously planned to acquire additional plants and build a business around that portfolio.

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