40 Down, 20 To Go

By Tom Mongelli

The Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant in Lacey, at age 40 among the oldest active commercial reactors in America, is now cleared to try for another 20 years of operation. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on April 8 issued the license extension that parent company Exelon - and two prior corporate incarnations - had sought in a five-year process.

The move drew quick and sharp response from opponents who had taken their challenge to unprecedented levels, including two Ocean County hearings by the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board.

NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan says that the renewal follows April inspections meant to determine that operators are adhering to aging-management systems stipulated as conditions for approval. But he cautions that a license extension isn't a blank check.

"If we at any point see evidence that there's any sort of degradation of the plant that could pose any sort of safety concerns," says Sheehan, "then we won't hesitate to take the appropriate steps."

Between now and an annual public assessment hearing tentatively set for May 28th in Ocean County, members of the multi-group coalition against relicensing will try to determine their next course of action. Janet Tauro of Grandmothers, Mothers and More for Energy Safety calls the relicensing premature, claiming that corrosion still threatens the steel liner around the reactor.

"They have not completed the 3-D analysis according to standards and recommendations that were set forth by their own advisory committee," Tauro says. "We know that the steel containment of the reactor is corroding. But we still don't know how extensive the corrosion is."

Richard Webster of the Eastern Environmental Law Center, who has tended their legal issues, has indicated that they can either re-file their appeal or bring their case to federal court.

Jersey Shore Nuclear Watch founder Edith Gbur hopes to refocus public attention on the issue with a film the group will screen April 11 at the Ocean County Library in Toms River. "Everything You Wanted To Know About Nuclear, But Were Afraid To Ask" features a discussion by director David Weissman.

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