Sierra Club chapter seeks Fort Calhoun shutdown (nuclear reactor power plant)

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Omaha World Herald

By Nancy Gaarder

The Iowa chapter of the Sierra Club has petitioned federal regulators to shut down the flood-idled nuclear reactor north of Omaha.

The organization alleges in its petition to revoke Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station's license that the Omaha Public Power District, which owns the plant, has failed to correct problems there for years. (Click here to read the Iowa Sierra Club petition.)

“Based on the evidence, there is no likelihood that OPPD will ever be able or willing to operate Fort Calhoun properly or safely,” wrote the chapter's legal counsel, Wallace Taylor, in his petition to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Scott Burnell, a spokesman for the commission, said the agency has a formal review process for petitions. It will examine the request and respond to the Sierra Club, he said.

FULL story at link.



Read more: http://www.omaha.com/article/20120622/NEWS/706229919/1694#sierra-club-chapter-seeks-fort-calhoun-shutdown

[wordpix]

1. good! Go, Sierra Club, a great organization

[RKP5637]

2. Excellent!!! n/t

[wordpix]

3. shades of the BP oil blowout here:

snip: The problems cited by the Sierra Club date to 1992, when an electrical malfunction caused a loss of reactor coolant at Fort Calhoun. Subsequent problems cited include a fuel rod leak in 2001, a 2007 leak of tritium into groundwater at the plant and concerns by regulators about the reactor's flood preparedness.snip

Years of problems that are never fixed, just like BP. The "regulators" allowing business as usual. The plant should be shut down!