Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery Rallies Environmental Justice Campaigners in Georgia
Dr. Joseph E. Lowery
Jan. 7, 2012: Today at a church within view of Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle nuclear power plant, civil rights veteran Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery spoke about the issues currently affecting the people this region. In attendance were many local residents from the rural Shell Bluff community in Burke County and many people from the Atlanta area who arrived in a bus chartered by Georgia Women’s Action for New Directions.
BREDL comments on Seismic Risk Evaluations for Operating Reactors
Oct. 31, 2011: The glacial pace of the NRC’s safety and security procedures appears to be wholly unresponsive to reality, which threatens to undermine both the agency’s authority and the safety of the plants it licenses. During the last three years we have seen both nuclear and financial meltdowns. Heedless of events, the NRC continues to gamble with sub-prime safety codes and horizontal acceleration default swaps.
BREDL comments to Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future
Oct. 31, 2011: The Blue Ribbon Commission must include steps to avoid disproportionate, adverse environmental impacts on low income and minority populations and impacts on important religious, subsistence, or social practices. Finally, it should address the question of ending the production of dangerous materials which cannot safely be disposed.
Oct. 31, 2011: Today the Virginia Supreme Court will hold oral arguments on Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League’s appeal of an environmental permit for Dominion-Virginia Power’s North Anna nuclear power station.
The case centers on a Clean Water Act permit for the North Anna nuclear power station. The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League first challenged the permit in 2008 and won; the Circuit Court of the City of Richmond concluded that the State Water Control Board’s NPDES wastewater permit for the North Anna electric power plant was “not in accordance with the law.” However, Dominion-Virginia Power and the state Department of Environmental Quality obtained a reversal in the Court of Appeals. Early this year the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League was granted the right to take its case to the state Supreme Court.
BREDL’s Reply to Dominion Virginia Power and NRC regarding the Virginia earthquake’s impacts
Oct. 20, 2011: Shirking and sharking, in all their many varieties, have been sown broadcast by the ill-fated cause; and even those who have contemplated its history from the outermost circle of such evil, have been insensibly tempted into a loose way of letting bad things alone to take their own bad course, and a loose belief that if the world go wrong, it was, in some off-hand manner, never meant to go right.
NRC Petition Review Board's public meeting on GE Mark I reactors
Oct. 7, 2011: The NRC Petition Review Board's public meeting on GE Mark I
reactors was held today. The testimony by the nine
presenters opposed the continued operation of the nuclear plants
in the US similar to those that devastated Fukushima, Japan. Blue
Ridge Environmental Defense League’s testimony centering on
TVA’s Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant.
Today’s speakers’ roster:
Paul Gunter (Beyond Nuclear)
Kevin Kamps (Beyond Nuclear)
Dale Bridenbaugh (former GE engineer and MHB Associates)
Arnie Gunderson (Fairewinds Associates)
Deb Katz (Citizens Awareness Network)
Lou Zeller (Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League)
Randy Kehler (Safe & Green Campaign)
Michael Mariotte (Nuclear Information and Resource Service)
Bobbie Paul (Georgia WAND)
Following today’s meeting, the NRC’s Petition Review
Board may take up to 6 weeks to submit its final decision to the
NRC Executive Director of Operations for the Director's Decision.
The meeting was recorded and will be available to view at the NRC
Webcast Portal at www.nrc.gov
September 2011
Historic and potential flooding at
proposed uranium mine
and mill site Coles Hill, Pittsylvania County, Virginia
Sept. 26, 2011: This report indicates that any uranium mill
tailings storage operation in Coles Hill, Virginia would create
high risk of chronic and/or catastrophic release of radioactive
contamination into the aquatic environment.
Download BREDL Report without Attachments
Download Report Attachments: Attachment
A – FEMA flood zones and historic flood events at Coles
Hill Attachment
B – Flood of November 11 & 12, 2009 - Coles Hill, VA
Attachment
C – spring and wetlands at Coles Hill
Event
Special event celebrates river connections - At this free educational
and fun event, visitors will be able to learn about water issues
and water recreation, participate in water activities and
mini-workshops, hear informative speakers and view a mock
life-size radioactive nuclear waste cask.
Future River Fest
2PM - 8PM
Sept. 24
Renaissance Park
Chattanooga, TN
Geologic Faulting Under the North Anna
Nuclear Power Plant
The History of Dominion-Virginia Power's Seismic Cover-up
The North Anna nuclear power plant is on unstable ground. The potential danger of an earthquake in central Virginia was brought to the attention of regulators by the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League in 2005. Our investigative report reveals the events which led to the building of nuclear reactors in an active earthquake zone.
On
August 11, 2011, the League launched a new initiative to halt the
expansion of nuclear power in Georgia. The campaign is based on
the testimony in the documents filed with the Atomic Safety and
Licensing Board of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Our major
points are: 1) The lessons of the nuclear disaster in Japan, 2)
River floods caused by distant earthquakes and 3) The violations
of environmental justice by the NRC.
BREDL comments to the NRC regarding licensing
potential new commercial reprocessing facilities.
July 7, 2011: Chemical processing facilities for
reprocessing nuclear fuel create more nuclear waste, contaminate
the environment, are costly and can be used to make nuclear
weapons. We do not believe that new facilities would avoid the
fate of the continuing reprocessing disaster at West Valley.
The League comments to US
NRC on Recent Events at Fukushima, Japan
June 23, 2011: It is the duty of the Advisory Committee on
Reactor Safeguards to provide the guidance which the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission plainly needs for a thorough re-assessment
of commercial nuclear power, including the possible phase-out of
all nuclear power plants in the United States
So they want to mine and mill uranium in a
FEMA flood zone?
Download the BREDL
brochure: TOO MUCH RISK - So they want to mine and
mill uranium in a FEMA flood zone? What’s wrong with
this picture?
Flooding creates risk!
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) gives many
clear warnings of the risk of radioactive contamination
brought by flooding in areas where uranium mill tailings
are being stored.
May 2011
BREDL comments on AP1000
design
May 10, 2011: The problems with the AP1000 center on an
inherently unsafe technology. Other problems are political: a
deceitful marketing strategy and an oversight agency which mixes
promotion with regulation.
Fractures, Faults and Fission
Bellefonte is Not Suitable for Nuclear Reactors
The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bellefonte site near Scottsboro, Alabama is in an earthquake
zone. Nuclear Regulatory Commission geologic and seismic regulations detail the requirements
for determining whether a proposed site is acceptable for a nuclear power plant.
Groups Say Nuclear Disaster Can Happen Here
Call For Moratorium On All Nuclear Plans
March 21, 2011: The Bellefonte Efficiency & Sustainability Team (BEST), Mothers Against Tennessee
River Radiation (MATRR), and parent organization Blue Ridge Environmental Defense
League (BREDL) issued a statement asking for a review of all nuclear power plants as they
are not immune to the kinds of disasters or accidents that lead to catastrophic releases of
radiation to air, ground, and water.
In light of the unfolding tragedy in Japan, the United States
must re-visit all nuclear issues--power, waste and mining.
Earthquakes are not unusual in Japan. If an advanced, industrial
nation with all known safeguards in place can be blind-sided by
such an event, the United States should question all its
assumptions about nuclear technology. This is the least we can do
to honor the brave souls who are sacrificing their lives to
control the disaster in Fukushima, and to commemorate the
terrible loss of life among the innocent.
One of BREDL's Nuclear Engineering Consultants in High
Demand
BREDL comments to VA DEQ regarding
Dominion’s Federal Consistency Certification application for
North Anna
March 18, 2011: Dominion’s Federal Consistency Certification
application asserts that the addition of a third water-cooled
nuclear reactor would have no impact on Lake Anna. This is pure
nonsense.
BREDL, Riverkeeper, Inc. and the Southern
Alliance for Clean Energy file legal petition regarding
high-level radioactive waste from nuclear reactors
On Friday, February 18, 2011, the Blue Ridge Environmental
Defense League, Riverkeeper, Inc. and the Southern Alliance for
Clean Energy filed a petition in US District Court to reverse
decisions by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission on high-level
radioactive waste from nuclear reactors. Attorney Diane Curran
based the challenge on NRC's violations of the National
Environmental Policy Act and the Atomic Energy Act.
Louis Zeller, the League’s Science Director, said, “The
NRC licensed the first generation of over 100 nuclear reactors,
allowing sixty thousand of tons of highly radioactive spent fuel
to pile up at reactor sites, without having a proven means of
disposing of it. They're whistling past the graveyard on this
crucial question. Since the NRC’s assumptions about the
impacts of disposal are obsolete by its own reckoning, the time
has finally come for the NRC to acknowledge the reality and
prepare an EIS as the law requires.”
The petition calls for a halt in nuclear power plant site permits
and construction licenses pending the outcome of this legal
challenge.
Reactor Flaws Neglected as Regulators
Rush to License New Nuclear Plants, Says Engineer
Jan. 10, 2011: Former nuclear Senior VP points to more cracks
found at operating reactors; groups urge advisory panel to force
correction of containment design flaws.
Read AP1000 Oversight Group Press
Release
(BREDL is a part of the AP1000 Oversight Group)
Concerned Citizens of Shell Bluff Radio
Commercials
Jan. 2011: Listen to radio spots regarding Savannah River Site
Spot 1:
Spot 2:
Spot 3:
Spot 4:
December 2010
Blue Ribbon Commission on America's
Nuclear Future
Dec. 28, 2010: BREDL's SRS Project Coordinator and
Environmental Justice Campaign Director, Rev. Charles Utley, will
be a guest panelist on "Environmental Perspectives" at
the upcoming meeting of the President's Blue Ribbon Commission on
America's Nuclear Future.
The Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future
Open Meeting on January 7, 2011
Augusta Marriott Hotel and Suites
Two Tenth Street
Augusta, GA 30901
Virginia Supreme Court Agrees to Hear
North Anna Appeal
Dec. 15, 2010: Today the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League
announced that Virginia’s highest court has agreed to hear
their appeal of a Dominion-Virginia Power permit.
Dec. 9, 2010: On November 30, 2010 The Atomic Safety and
Licensing Board of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission rejected our
latest petition on Plant Vogtle. In their ruling, the ASLB said
that a statement by the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards,
the committee with principal responsibility for reactor safety at
the NRC, was irrelevant. The ACRS statement was at the heart of
our argument. Incredibly, the ASLB said that we should have
realized and acted upon the relevant statement by the ACRS
Chairman two months before he said it. This appeal to the full
Commission is lodged in hope that clearer thinking may prevail.
Write to President Obama
Let him know why you oppose
Georgia Power’s plans to expand Plant Vogtle
December 2010: Shell Bluff Concerned Citizens who live
in the shadow of Plant Vogtle ask that all residents of Burke
County let the President know about this injustice.
View Action Alert
November 2010
BREDL replies to Dominion and NRC
regarding North Anna Unit 3
Nov. 4, 2010: Contentions One and Two present significant
public safety and environmental impact issues to the Atomic
Safety and Licensing Board. As detailed in this legal brief,
there is a significant and genuine dispute between Blue Ridge
Environmental Defense League and the NRC Staff and Dominion.
Atomic Safety and Licensing Board to Hear
Arguments
Groups Call for Special Investigation of NRC Secrecy
On Tuesday, October 19, 2010 the attorney for the
Center for a Sustainable Coast, Georgia Women’s Action for
New Directions and the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League
will argue the groups’ case against use of the Westinghouse
AP1000 nuclear reactor design at Plant Vogtle before the Atomic
Safety and Licensing Board. The AP1000 is slated for use in
reactors throughout the Southeast.
Sept. 22, 2010: Today in the continuing campaign against the
expansion of nuclear power in Georgia and the Souteast, the
Center for a Sustainable Coast, Georgia WAND and the Blue Ridge
Environmental Defense League sent the US Nuclear Regulatory
Commission a point-by-point argument as to why the Atomic Safety
and Licensing Board should take a closer look at the problems
with the proposed addition of two nuclear reactors at the Vogtle
nuclear power station near Waynesboro, Georgia.
Petition for Intervention Deadline October 4, 2010
Dominion –Virginia Power at North Anna
Change in reactor design forces new hearings
The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League’s ongoing intervention in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s licensing of Dominion-Virginia Power’s North Anna Unit 3 has reached a major turning point. On June 29, 2010, Dominion submitted a new license application, substituting a US Advanced Pressurized Water Reactor design for the Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor.
Demand a Better Way from TVA. Use BEST and MATRR
voucher to send message
As taxpayers and as rate-payers, we are paying
for the most expensive and dangerous form of energy on earth -
nuclear power. Please visit the BEST/MATRR
website to printout their 'check' voucher then send it in
with your electric bill payment.
Groups File New Legal
Challenge at Plant Vogtle
Aug. 17, 2010: League files new contention with
nuclear licensing board regarding inadequacy of
containment/coating inspection program for Vogtle Units 3 and 4.
Louis Zeller, Science Director for the Blue Ridge
Environmental Defense League, explained why the groups took this
action. "Southern Nuclear Company has overlooked a major
problem which we simply cannot allow to go unchallenged. The
fundamental requirement of the operator is to protect public
health and safety. Southern Nuclear Company is not doing its job.
League Files Unprecedented
Air Pollution Challenge at Plant Vogtle
Aug. 12, 2010: This week in a bold move, the Blue Ridge
Environmental Defense League filed a legal challenge to the
proposed air pollution permit at Plant Vogtle. The August 10th
filing was one of the first in the nation under the federal Clean
Air Act challenging excessive radionuclide emissions from nuclear
power. In a petition to the US Environmental Protection Agency,
the League called for rejection of the permit issued by the State
of Georgia because it failed to limit radioactive air pollution,
failed to protect public health and failed to prevent
environmental injustice.
BREDL Continues its Decade-long Campaign
to Halt Plutonium Fuel
Aug. 5, 2010: Tennessee Valley Authority’s
Browns Ferry and Sequoyah nuclear power plants are identified in
the July 19th Department of Energy Notice of Intent as the
reactors designated for plutonium fuel use. The handling of
special strategic nuclear materials requires the highest safety
and security procedures. But the identified problems with fire
protection, over-worked plant employees and site security lapses
at these TVA power plants should eliminate them from further
consideration by the DOE for plutonium disposition.
Read BREDL Comments
to U.S. Department of Energy National Nuclear Security
Administration
June 2010
League Challenges
Dominion's New Reactor Design
June 18: Lou Zeller, representative for the
League, said, “Dominion’s switching of reactor
technology is like altering the foundation after the walls are
up.” He said that the switch this late in licensing the
plant would make it difficult to regulate. Zeller added, “The
Commission may lack the regulatory duck tape to piece it
together.” He drew a comparison of the US Nuclear Regulatory
Commission with the Interior Department's Minerals Management
Service, the agency which oversees offshore oil drilling and
which became too accommodating to its licensees.
Groups Urge Feds to
Suspend Nuclear Licensing;
Westinghouse Reactor Defect Was Missed By Regulators
April 21, 2010: Today the League and other environmental groups
held a national press teleconference to reveal a fatal flaw in
America’s planned expansion of nuclear power. We released a
detailed engineering analysis of a problem with the Westinghouse
AP1000. This marks the launch of a new national initiative.
BREDL comments on permit amendment for
Vogtle plant
April 6, 2010: BREDL and our chapter Shell Bluff Concerned
Citizens comment on the Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Environmental Protection Division’s operating permit
amendment for Georgia Power Company’s two additional
pressurized water reactors at Southern Nuclear Operating Company
Vogtle Electric Generating Plant. Read
BREDL Comments
North Anna April 2010 Update
Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League v. the
Commonwealth of Virginia
Upcoming April 22 Court Date Read Update
January 2010
BREDL files Brief regarding Dominion-Virgina Power's Appeal of North Anna Decision
Jan. 26, 2010:
BREDL's brief filed on Jan 19 regarding Dominion-Virginia Power's appeal in Circuirt Court. The Dominion-Virginia Appeal is of the February 2009 Virginia Circuit Court's decision that ruled state agencies violated federal law and revoked the water quality permit for the North Anna nuclear station.
Two-thirds of the energy generated at every nuclear power plant is not converted into usable electricity. Rather, it is wasted and discharged to the environment. This waste heat can be discharged directly to the air via cooling towers, or it can be discharged to a body of water. Heat discharged to waterways poses a special environmental threat and is subject to the Clean Water Act. For decades Virginia’s State Water Control Board has declined to limit thermal discharges from the North Anna nuclear power plant.
Joint Petitioners' Respond to TVA's Motion to Strike Supplemental Basis for Contention 6 regarding Bellefonte Nuclear facility
Rust Never Sleeps: Bellefonte Nukes Would Threaten Tennessee Valley
Jan. 11, 2010: Joint Petitioners file Supplemental Basis for
Previously Submitted Contention 6 - TVA has not and cannot meet
the NRC's Quality Assurance and Quality Control Requirements.
The accident in the
nuclear reactor's containment area and the history of
prior failures all point to further problems if the
Commission were to allow the completion of the virtually
moth-eaten 35-year old reactors following years of
salvage operations and lack of maintenance and oversight.
BREDL Answer Opposing Dominion
Motion to Reconsider
Dec. 19, 2009: For over a year, the Atomic Safety
and Licensing Board judges have allowed our intervention to
proceed. Our argument that the power company has little or no
plan for what to do with its radioactive waste is still not
adequately addressed. In November the Atomic Safety and Licensing
Board agreed that Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League’s
position that Dominion-Virginia Power’s radioactive waste
storage plan needs further study. Unhappy with the ruling,
Dominion filed a motion for the Board to take a second look,
called reconsideration. But Dominion’s Motion for
Reconsideration sets up a straw man argument. Our answer to
Dominion was filed on December 17. The judges could rule at any
time.
Groups file Petition for Review
regarding Vogtle Units 3 and 4
Oct. 29, 2009: Today organizations concerned with the high costs and environmental risks posed by Southern Company’s plan to build two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle near Augusta, Ga. announced their filing of an appeal in federal court to stop the proposed expansion.
Our appeal calls upon the court to
review the site permit and the work authorization issued
by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for Vogtle Units 3
and 4. In the petition for review, filed in the US Court
of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit, we contend that
the NRC violated the Atomic Energy Act, the National
Environmental Policy Act, and other relevant laws. The
appeal states, "Petitioners seek review and reversal
of the issuance of the ESP and the LWA for the Vogtle ESP
site." The appeal was filed by attorneys for the
Center for a Sustainable Coast, Savannah River Keeper,
Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Georgia Women’s
Action for New Directions and the Blue Ridge
Environmental Defense League.
People Against A Radioactive Chesapeake (PAARC) is holding its
first "Love the Bay" Concert on Saturday, October 10
from noon to 5:00 p.m. on the Boardwalk on the Chesapeake Bay in
North Beach, Maryland.
Oct. 6, 2009: The Tennessee Valley
Authority operates the Watts Bar nuclear power plant 50 miles
northeast of Chattanooga. TVA has one nuclear reactor in
operation there and seeks to open a second. The fundamental
weakness of these plants is the "ice condenser"
containment system which relies on baskets of ice to reduce
temperature and pressure during an accident. If the ice systems
fail, the relatively weak concrete structure is no match for the
pressures created during a meltdown.
BREDL members and chapters in Virginia
and supporters of the federal Clean Water Act everywhere hail
landmark court victory.
On September 14, 2009 the Virginia Circuit Court judge issued her
Final
Order stating that Virginia's State Water Control Board
wrongly allowed Dominion-Virginia Power to use part of Lake Anna
as it's private waste lagoon. The Order finalizes the court's
February 20 oral ruling and enters it into law. The decision
means that the company's North Anna nuclear power plants may not
continue to dump heated water into the lake unregulated and the
state must now develop a permit which complies with the federal
Clean Water Act. The Order
Denying Appellees Joint Motion for Stay is another win for
BREDL because the judge rejected the motion by the state and the
company to suspend, or "stay," the effect of judge's
ruling. The filing of the Final Order also sets the clock in
motion for appeals. Stay tuned!
August 2009
Aug. 6, 2009: Citizens Groups Claim Victory - Commission Delays Nuclear Plants at Bellefonte: Today citizens’ groups claimed a victory in their fight against Tennessee Valley Authority’s drive to build four nuclear power plants in northeast Alabama. According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, further action on TVA’s proposal is halted until at least 2011. Spokespersons for the citizens’ groups see the two-year delay as vindication of their stand against TVA’s plan to complete two nuclear power reactors and to add two more at its Bellefonte site near Scottsboro.
BREDL Press Release | NRC Letters regarding delay
July 2009
July 2009: Since 1987 Plant Vogtle has generated
electric power. Today, two nuclear reactors operate at the site
on banks of the Savannah River in Burke County, Georgia. Now
Southern Company wants to add two more nuclear reactors. But the
two existing reactors have placed an unfair burden on residents.
More would be an environmental injustice. Here’s why. BREDL Factsheet
BREDL comments to TDEC-DRH on
the proposed license amendment to the IMPACT Services incinerator
July 7, 2009: BREDL comments to Tennessee Dept. of
Environment and Conservation - Division of Radiological Health on
the proposed license amendment to the IMPACT Services
incinerator. Amendment is to their Tennessee Radioactive Material
License to "authorize a pyrolytic volume reduction process
for wastes contaminated with radioactive materials at the
licensee's facility at the U.S. Department of Energy ETTP Complex
on the Oak Ridge Reservation." BREDL
comments
June 2009
BREDL files amended Contention
Ten regarding the North Anna application
June 26, 2009: BREDL files amended Contention Ten
regarding the application for a combined operating and
construction license filed by Dominion Virginia Power. In order
to meet its goal to assure NRC that there is space to store Class
B and C radioacive waste material for ten years, Dominion
Virginia Power has reduced its capacity for storage of Class A
material from 6 months to 3 months. This is simply "Robbing
Peter to pay Paul." ViewBREDL Amended Contention Ten
June 3, 2009: BREDL files legal brief with NRC.
In short, the law does not authorize the NRC to reinstate a
construction permit that has been terminated. Therefore, the
Commission should vacate its decision and void TVA’s
construction permits for Bellefonte Units 1 and 2. BREDL Legal
Brief
May 2009
May 14, 2009: GROUPS TAKE AIM AT
BELLEFONTE 1 AND 2 - Today three citizens’ groups
announced a new lawsuit against TVA’s Bellefonte nuclear
site in Alabama. The groups’ effort centers on the
mothballed nuclear reactor units 1 and 2. They based their
opposition on 14 separate flaws in the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission’s recent approval of a construction permit. The
lawsuit was filed by the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League,
the Bellefonte Efficiency and Sustainability Team and the
Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.
"NRC’s got the cart before the horse.
Contrary to their own procedural requirements, they’re
handing out construction permits for reactors on a 40
year old gutted plant site before new reactor designs
have been approved and before environmental impacts have
been determined." - Sandra Kurtz, a
member of BREDL's Bellefonte Efficiency and
Sustainability Team.
April 17, 2009: BREDL Reply
to Answers of Duke Energy and NRC Staff regarding new Contention
Eleven on proposed W S Lee Nuclear Plants
March 2009
GROUP TAKES BELLEFONTE FIGHT TO A HIGHER
COURT
March 31, 2009: Yesterday the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense
League filed a Petition for Review in the US Court of Appeals of
the Bellefonte nuclear power plant in Alabama. The League seeks
judicial review of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s
reinstatement of construction permits for two nuclear reactors,
the so-called Bellefonte 1 and 2. BREDL Press
Release | Petition
for Review | NRC's
voting record
GROUP CHARGES NEW NUKES MUST
WAIT
FOR RADIOACTIVE WASTE SOLUTION
March 10, 2009: Yesterday in a
flurry of legal activity the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense
League filed new arguments opposing nuclear reactor licenses in
Virginia, South Carolina and Alabama. The League acted because of
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's failure to recognize that
high-level radioactive waste storage would pose significant
environmental risks at proposed nuclear power plants at TVA's
Bellefonte, Duke Energy's WS Lee and Dominion Virginia Power's
North Anna stations. Read BREDL Press Release
(includes links to filing documents)
February 2009
Victory in Landmark Clean Water Act
Challenge
League and Lake Residents Overturn Dominion Nuke Permit
Jan. 2, 2009: BREDL's
reply to NRC and TVA regarding the Amended Contention NEPA-N
at Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant
December 2008
COURT HEARING FOR NORTH ANNA WATER CASE
ON THURSDAY - On Thursday morning, December 18th, the
Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League’s appeal of the
Dominion-Virginia Power North Anna permit will be argued in
Richmond Circuit Court. More Details: Read BREDL Press Advisory
Dec. 16, 2008: GROUPS DISPUTE TVA COST
FIGURES - NEW LEGAL CHALLENGE AT BELLEFONTE: Today
citizens’ groups announced new cost arguments in their
lawsuit against nuclear power at Tennessee Valley Authority’s
Bellefonte site. The December 15th filing charges that TVA
provided inaccurate cost information in its environmental report.
In an 18-page request to the three-judge licensing board, the
Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, the Bellefonte
Efficiency and Sustainability Team and the Southern Alliance for
Clean Energy charged that TVA violated the National Environmental
Policy Act. Read
BREDL Press Release | Read BREDL,
BEST, SACE Dec. 15, 2008 Contention to ASLBP
GNEP the "Gargantuan Nuclear Expansion
Program."
The US Department of Energy’s Global
Nuclear Energy Partnership calls for building special nuclear
reactors to use plutonium from nuclear waste for fuel. The
plutonium would be separated from used nuclear fuel rods in a
complicated process called reprocessing. Backers of the program
are trying to sell GNEP as recycling but it is reprocessing, a
technology abandoned by the US decades ago. Bobbie Paul, of the
Women's Actions for New Directions chapter in Atlanta, rightly
renamed GNEP the "Gargantuan Nuclear Expansion
Program." Here's why. BREDL
GNEP Fact Sheet
Attend one of the public hearings:
Tuesday, December 2, 7 p.m., New Hope Center, 602 Scarboro Road,
Corner of New Hope and Scarboro Roads, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830
Thursday, December 4, 7 p.m., Aiken Technical College, Building
700--Amphitheater, 2276 Jefferson Davis Highway, Graniteville,
South Carolina 29829.
Tuesday, December 9, 1 p.m., Holiday Inn Capitol, 550 C Street,
SW., Washington, DC 20024.
September 2008
September 27,
2008 Seminar
Middle Tennessee State University
Know Nuclear in the Tennessee Valley
- Afternoon panels on nuclear waste, nuclear transport,
and TVA nuclear reactors Know
Nuclear Agenda
Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free: A Roadmap for U.S.
Energy Policy - An evening with nationally-renowned
energy expert Arjun Makhijani, Ph.D. Arjun
Makhijani Bio
Saturday,
September 27, 2008
Middle Tennessee State University
Keathley University Center
Murfeesboro, TN
Know Nuclear in the Tennessee Valley
11:30am - 6:00pm
Room 322
Registration: $10.00 | Students Free
Carbon Free and Nuclear Free
Theater on 2nd Floor
7:30pm
Free and Open to the Public
September 11, 2008: The legal brief BREDL filed today calls on
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to suspend Tennessee Valley
Authority's request to build and operate new nuclear reactors at
Bellefonte. Contention Twenty details the total failure of TVA to
include Bellefonte Units 1 and 2 with Bellefonte Units 3 and 4 in
its application. In the 1970's TVA had planned to build two
reactors, called Bellefonte 1 and 2, but abandoned the plan after
spending about $4 billion. Earlier this year, TVA requested a
license to build two new reactors, designated 3 and 4, at the
Bellefonte site in Alabama. Last month, TVA asked the NRC to
re-instate the permits for Bellefonte 1 and 2. Our brief details
TVA's illegal attempt to circumvent the National Environmental
Policy Act by failing to include the impacts of four nuclear
reactors at Bellefonte. Read BREDL's
Contention
August 2008
On August 25, 2008, the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense
League filed a motion to reconsider with the US Nuclear
Regulatory Commission in the Dominion Virginia Power licensing
case. We have one legal argument, or contention, which has been
accepted by the judges, but we think the NRC should do more.
Hence, this motion. Also, we have formalized our opposition to
oral arguments which were held on the telephone. BREDL Motion
Atomic Safety and Licensing Board grants
hearing to BREDL on North Anna Unit 3
The judges of the Atomic Safety and Licensing
Board have granted a hearing to the Blue Ridge Environmental
Defense League on CONTENTION ONE: Dominion Lacks a Realistic
Low-level Radioactive Waste Plan. The ASLB order issued August
15, 2008 states:
"We find that one of the Petitioner's
contentions (Contention One) is admissible in part, and the
Petitioner has therefore met the necessary prerequisite for the
Board to grant a hearing request....BREDL has met the requirement
to identify the specific deficiency in the Application and the
reasons for its belief. We therefore conclude that Contention One
satisfies the requirements of Section 2.309(f)(1). Dominion and
the NRC Staff do not contend that Contention One, construed as a
safety contention, was resolved in the [early site permit]
proceeding....We therefore admit Contention One as a safety
contention based on the omission of necessary information from
the [final safety analysis report]."
Regarding proposed new W S Lee Nuclear Power Units (posted online Aug. 11, 2008)
On July 22, 2008 both Duke Energy Carolinas and the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission staff attorneys filed their answers to our
petition. (Duke
Answer | NRC
Answer) BREDL filed a
motion requesting more time to file our reply and the judges
agreed. (BREDL
Request) Our motion stated:
Contemporaneous proceedings initiated by the Commission are
creating scheduling conflicts. These conflicts arise from license
applications for licenses in Alabama, Virginia, North Carolina,
Georgia as well as South Carolina. While this development may not
be the ASLB’s doing, neither is it the responsibility of the
Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League which merely seeks to
represent its members in South Carolina and elsewhere.
On August 8, 2008 BREDL sent our reply to NRC and Duke Energy. (BREDL
Reply)
Regarding proposed new North Anna Nuclear Power Units (posted online Aug. 11, 2008)
On April 28, 2008 the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League
requested that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission grant a new
deadline for the filing of petitions for leave to intervene. (BREDL
request) This motion is based on an inadequate Notice of
Hearing and Opportunity to Petition for Leave to Intervene
published in the Federal Register. Dominion-Virginia Power
responded to us two days later (Dominion Reply) and
the NRC held to its deadline.
The June 3 replies from NRC and Dominion respond to our May 9th
petition and uniformly oppose all our arguments. (NRC response |
Dominion response
) In turn, we sent our reply to Dominion and NRC on June 11th. (BREDL
Response)
On June 20th, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board issued an
order directing BREDL, and other the parties to focus the
argument upon BREDL’s first, second, and third contentions.
The Board said they were "not interested in hearing argument
concerning the remaining contentions." (ASLB Order)
BREDL objected and replied to the judges' order on June 30. (BREDL
Reply) The Board was unresponsive and held the hearing via
telephone conference on July 2nd.
July 2008
Regarding proposed new Bellefonte Nuclear Power Units
July 25, 2008: The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League,
its chapter Bellefonte Efficiency and Sustainability Team and the
South Alliance for Clean Energy (“Petitioners”) hereby
file this motion to admit all portions of our reply to NRC staff
and the Tennessee Valley Authority filed July 8, 2008. Read July 25 Motion
July 18, 2008: In accordance with the Atomic Safety and
Licensing Board Panel’s Memorandum and Order of July 9, 2008
permitting Joint Petitioners to reply to the NRC Staff’s
filing of July 14 regarding the timeliness of intervention
petition, the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, its
chapter Bellefonte Efficiency and Sustainability Team and the
Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (hereinafter “Joint
Petitioners”) hereby file their response. Read
July 18 Response
July 15, 2008: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission hereby
responds to the “Applicant’s Motion to Strike Portions
of Petitioners’ Reply” filed on July 11, 2008, by the
Applicant (Tennessee Valley Authority, “TVA”). The
Motion seeks to strike portions of the “Reply of The Blue
Ridge Environmental Defense League, its Chapter Bellefonte
Efficiency and Sustainability Team and the Southern Alliance For
Clean Energy to the NRC Staff Answer to Petition for Intervention
and the Applicant’s Answer Opposing Petition To Intervene,
Both Dated July 1, 2008.” (July 8, 2008). Read
NRC July 15 response
July 11, 2008: On July 8, 2008, the Petitioners filed their
“Reply of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defsense League, its
Chapter Bellefonte Efficiency and Sustainability Team and the
Southern Alliance for Clean Energy to the NRC Staff Answer to
Petition for Intervention and the Applicant’s Answer
Opposing Petition to Intervene, Both Dated July 1, 2008”.
The Tennessee Valley Authority hereby files this motion to
strike. Read
TVA Motion to Strike
July 9, 2008: Memorandum and Order - (Initial Prehearing
Conference Schedule; Schedule for Additional Briefing Regarding
Timeliness Issue; Opportunity for Written Limited Appearance
Statements) The participants are advised of the following
information regarding the schedule for the initial
prehearing conference in this proceeding: Starting Date:Wednesday,
July 30, 2008 Starting Time:9:00 a.m. Central Time, 10:00
a.m. Eastern Time (ET) Location: Scottsboro
Goosepond Civic Center, 1165 Ed Hembree Drive, Scottsboro,
Alabama Read
NRC Memorandum and Order
Groups Reply to TVA & NRC
On July 8, 2008 the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense
League, its chapter Bellefonte Efficiency and
Sustainability Team and the Southern Alliance for Clean
Energy filed their reply to Tennessee Valley Authority
and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission according to
administrative procedure rules seven days after their
answer to our petition to intervene in the NRC combined
construction and operation license for a new nuclear
power plant at Bellefonte in Alabama.
The League wishes to thank to all who
contributed their expertise to this reply: Sara Barczak
of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and Dr.
Shawn Young, Diane D'Arrigo and Mary Olson of
Nuclear Information and Resource Service, Dr. Arjun
Makhijani of the Institute for Energy and Environmental
Research, Dr. Ross McCluney and Louise Gorenflo of
Bellefonte Efficiency and Sustainability Team, BREDL's
Duke University Stanback Intern Xuan Chi and others who
contributed to the original June 6th petition including Garry
Morgan of Scottsboro, AL and Dr. Tom Moss of
Huntsville, AL.
July 1, 2008: The staff of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
hereby answers the “Petition for Intervention and Request
for Hearing” (Petition) filed on June 6, 2008 by the Blue
Ridge Environmental Defense League and its chapter Bellefonte
Efficiency and Sustainability Team and the Southern Alliance for
Clean Energy. Read
NRC's Answer
July 1, 2008: Applicant's answer opposing petition to
intervene - The Tennessee Valley Authority
(“Applicant”) hereby files its Answer to “Petition
for Intervention and Request for Hearing by the Bellefonte
Efficiency and Sustainability Team, the Blue Ridge Environmental
Defense League and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
(“Petition”) and “Supplement to Petition of June
6, 2008 Providing Alphanumeric Designation of Contentions”
(“Supplemental Petition”), dated June 26, 2008
concerning TVA’s application for combined licenses
(“COLs”) for two AP1000 pressurized water reactors at
the Bellefonte site in Jackson County, Alabama. Read TVA's
Answer
BREDL sends complaint to NRC
Licensing Board regarding the North Anna nuclear power station
licensing process
July 1, 2008: The Nuclear
Regulatory Commission is holding oral arguments for the nation's
first adjudicatory hearing on a nuclear power plant construction
and operating license behind closed doors. The nuclear plant is
the proposed North Anna Nuclear Power Station Unit #3 in
Virginia. Despite our request for a face-to-face hearing in
Charlottesville, the judges are holding the oral arguments via
telephone conference call. The judges' decision has implications
for the licenses to follow in South Carolina, North Carolina,
Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and nationwide because this is the
first permitting process for new nuclear power plant license
since the rules were re-written in 1989. We think it sets a bad
precedent. In the past, such hearings were held near the
community where a proposed facility was to be located, at a place
where residents, officials and the media could attend. Read BREDL's Complaint
June 2008
BREDL files appeal to stop Duke Energy in
South Carolina - The granting of a
license to Duke Energy Carolinas would permit the company to
construct and operate two nuclear reactors on the Broad River
near Gaffney, South Carolina. Nuclear reactors here would
endanger over a 2.3 million people in two states living within 50
miles of the plant including Spartanburg, Greenville, Newberry
and Rock Hill in SC and Marion, Morganton, Hickory and Charlotte
in NC. Download June 27 BREDL Petition
BREDL raised ten fundamental flaws
with Duke's proposal in our legal petition:
1. The design of the nuclear power reactor has not been
certified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
2. Duke Energy failed to analyze the carbon footprint of
the construction and operation of the nuclear reactors.
3. Duke failed to identify a plan for meeting its massive
water requirements in adverse weather conditions such as
droughts.
4. Duke has not demonstrated that it is and financially
able to spend the $18 Billion necessary to build the
plant.
5. Duke failed to show the plant could withstand the
largest potential earthquakes.
6. Duke's power plants will not improve the general
welfare, increase the standard of living, or strengthen
free competition in private enterprise as required by the
Atomic Energy Act.
7. Nuclear standards fail to provide equal protection to
all residents as required under the US Constitution.
8. Uranium fuel is not a reliable source of energy.
9. Duke and NRC failed to include adequate protections
from aircraft impacts.
10. There is no long-term plan for disposing of
high-level nuclear waste.
Help Stop Nuclear
Power in South Carolina!
Do You Live 50 miles from Gaffney, SC?
On December 13, 2007 Duke Energy applied to the
US Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a license to build and
operate two nuclear plants on the Broad River near Gaffney, South
Carolina. The application is for two Westinghouse AP1000
Pressurized Water Reactors designated William States Lee III
Nuclear Station Units 1 & 2. The Blue Ridge Environmental
Defense League is challenging this permit for health, safety and
economic reasons. If you are within the 50-mile zone, you may
join in this effort.
June 6, 2008: Groups file petition for intervention and
request for hearing before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
regarding proposed TVA Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant Units 3 and
4. The petition is on behalf of the Bellefonte Efficiency and
Sustainability Team, the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League
and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. Read the Petition
May 2008
May 16, 2008: BREDL scoping comments on EIS for third nuclear
reactor at the North Anna nuclear power plant. BREDL
Comments
May 2008: The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League and its
Virginia chapter the People’s Alliance for Clean Energy have
filed to halt construction of a third nuclear reactor at the
North Anna nuclear power plant. The petition raises eight major
issues: Dominion lacks a realistic radioactive waste plan, Unit 3
would be located on top of a geological fault, the plant’s
cooling system will violate water quality standards, the plant
will not adequately limit radioactive emissions to the
atmosphere, uranium is an unreliable fuel source, the license
would violate the protections of due process and equal
protection, irradiated fuel would remain on site, and the plant
would be a target for terrorist attacks.
Lou Zeller, the League’s legal representative, said that
Dominion covered up evidence of a geologic fault in the 1970’s
and now they want a variance because they cannot meet safety
standards. Zeller said, “Fool us once, shame on you; fool us
twice, shame on us.”
The League plans to press the seismic issue and other safety
and environmental problems created by the proposed third reactor.
Elena Day of PACE said, “New nuclear reactors at North
Anna would be irresponsible because the water situation is
critical. The growing population in this area and the ongoing
drought will only exacerbate the situation.”
Help Stop Nuclear
Power in Virginia! Do You Live 50 miles from the North Anna Nuclear Plant?
Dominion-Virginia Power has submitted an application to add a
third nuclear power plant at its North Anna Nuclear Station in
northern Virginia. The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League is
challenging this permit for health and safety reasons. If you are
within the 50-mile zone, you may join in this effort.
May 2008 Factsheet: New Nuclear Power Plants
in South Carolina? - Duke Energy has applied to the US
Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a license to build and operate
two nuclear plants on the Broad River near Gaffney, South
Carolina. The deadline for comments on
environmental impacts of a nuclear power plant on this
area’s air, water, and public health is May 20, 2008.
April 2008
League files Motion for Delayed Deadline in North Anna
nuclear license
On April 28, 2008 the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League
filed a legal motion with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to
postpone deadlines for the North Anna Power Station construction
and operation license. Dominion Virginia Power plans to add a
third nuclear reactor at its plant in central Virginia.
Unless a new deadline is granted, the public will have had only
three weeks to review the necessary documents to intervene in the
licensing process.
Federal administrative procedures require that the time be no
less than 60 days. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is ignoring
its stated goal of providing "ample opportunities for
members of the public." We know that there are fundamental
safety questions which must be addressed. A previous Atomic
Safety and Licensing Board decision on North Anna said these
safety issues are "unresolved." The public needs time
to investigate. For these and other reasons, Blue Ridge
Environmental Defense League filed this motion.
BREDL Files Supplemental Motion to Suspend
License Process at TVA's Bellefonte Nuclear Plant Action supports
Bellefonte Efficiency & Sustainability Team
April 2, 2008: Recently, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission stated that is unable
to go forward with a key portion of the safety and environmental
review required for Tennessee Valley Authority's Bellefonte
nuclear power plant license. An inspection by NRC found three
violations which TVA must address. Critical information lacking
includes data on surface water flow and earthquakes. However, the
NRC has not halted the process for approving TVA's license.
Therefore, on April 2, 2008 we filed a motion asking NRC to
either suspend the hearing process or delay the deadline for the
public to intervene.
We believe it would be fundamentally unfair for the NRC to
require interested citizens and public interest organizations to
review and comment on an incomplete document, an application to
build and operate the first nuclear power plant in the 21st
Century. On February 29th, Louise Gorenflo of the Bellefonte
Efficiency & Sustanability Team, a chapter of BREDL, filed a
similar request based on other omissions in the TVA's
application. Supplemental Motion
Feb. 15, 2008: BREDL requests Tennessee Valley Authority Board
of Directors to abandon its ongoing effort to open a new nuclear
power station at the Bellefonte site in Jackson County, Alabama.
View BREDL's Comments: Janet
Marsh's comments | Lou
Zeller's comments
The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League released a
study in March 2007 which shows that harmful levels of air pollution
from the Savannah River Site are reaching nearby
communities. The group published its results in a report
titled Sow The Wind: Toxic Air Pollution from the
Savannah River Site. More Details and Download the Report (posted online: Feb. 23, 2008)
January 2008
Jan. 2, 2008: On Friday, December 28th, the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League filed a petition against the Virginia's approval of a water permit for the North Anna nuclear power station (NAPS) located near Charlottesville.
The League's petition states:
The Board's re-issuance of this Permit was in violation of Virginia's State Water Control Law, the federal Clean Water Act, and the Virginia Pollution Discharge Elimination System, as well as other laws and regulations governing water quality. Specifically, state and federal laws and regulations require regulation of and limitations on thermal pollution discharges into Virginia's waters. There was ample evidence presented to the Board and DEQ as contained in the record which demonstrated that thermal pollution discharges from NAPS into Lake Anna are causing and contributing serious harm to the lake and to Virginia citizens' use and enjoyment of that natural resource. Despite the mandate under state and federal law and the record evidence of the thermal pollution problem in Lake Anna from NAPS, this Permit contains virtually no limits at all on thermal pollution. For the reasons stated in this Petition for Appeal, BREDL asks this Court to suspend and set aside the Permit and to remand the Permit to the Board and DEQ for further proceedings consistent and in compliance with federal and state water laws and regulations.
BREDL Press Release | View Appeal
December 2007
BREDL's Comments on Draft EIS for Vogtle Nuclear Power
Plant - Dec. 28, 2007: Major problems we identified in the
Plant Vogtle draft Environmental Impact Statement:
1) It dismisses the mounting evidence of negative impacts on the
health of people living around nuclear plants;
2) The assessment of radiological releases to the public is
fatally flawed; and
3) Radionuclide emissions data indicates harm to public.
The public record contains evidence that Vogtle has not and will
not meet the requirements under federal law 10 CFR § 100.21
(c)(1). Test results for Vogtle indicate the existing nuclear
power plant is the source of a variety of radionuclides which
contaminate sediment, river water, fish and drinking water. There
is an increase in negative health impacts in proximity to and
contemporaneous with Plant Vogtle operations. Southern Nuclear
Operating Company seeks to add two new nuclear reactors to the
two already in operation at its Plant Vogtle power station near
Waynesboro, Georgia. The company submitted an application for an
early site permit in 2006.
Dec. 5, 2007: Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League and the
People’s Alliance for Clean Energy have filed a Notice of Appeal
to Virginia Department of Environmental Quality regarding
reissuance of VPDES (Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System) Permit for Dominion-North Anna Power Station. BREDL Press Release
| Notice of Appeal
November 2007
Nov. 6, 2007: Read
U.S. Dept. of Energy Document -
Chemical and Radiochemical Composition of Thermally Stabilized
Plutonium Oxide from the Plutonium Finishing Plant Considered as
Alternate Feedstock for the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication
Facility, JM Tingey and SA Jones, July 2005, Prepared for the
U.S. Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC05-76RL01830
BREDL and Nuclear Watch South File New Contention.
Oct. 9, 2007: Today two organizations announced the filing of a legal challenge that could stop the construction of a plutonium fuel factory at the Savannah River Site. Nuclear Watch South and the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League uncovered information that the US Department of Energy plans major modifications to the proposed plutonium fuel factory. Read Press Release
Oct. 5, 2007 - In 2002 the US Department of Energy
discontinued its vitrification and immobilization plans for
surplus plutonium; on September 5, 2007, the agency issued an
Amended Record of Decision which said, "[e]liminating the
mission for the Plutonium Vitrification process would result in
the MFFF and H-Canyon processing additional plutonium, therefore
requiring some modifications to both facilities." Such
modification of the plutonium fuel factory (MFFF) was not
requested or granted during the construction license process nor
is it covered by the proposed operating license. This failure
forms the basis for our latest challenge.
Aug. 02, 2007: BREDL comments to Virginia Department of
Environmental Quality on the NPDES permit for North Anna nuclear
power station. Excerpt: "Unless and until the DEQ can assure
that thermal discharges from Dominion-Virginia Power’s North
Anna plant will not exceed the maximum hourly temperature changes
in Lake Anna, it cannot issue a VPDES permit." Read Lou
Zeller's Comments
June 2007
BREDL, Nuclear Watch South, and NIRS have responded to
the NRC Staff and Shaw Areva MOX Services June 11 responses.
June 27, 2007 - The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League
(BREDL), Nuclear Watch South, and Nuclear Information &
Resource Service (NIRS) have responded to the June 11, 2007 NRC
Staff and Shaw Areva MOX Services responses to the Groups'
Petition for Intervention and Request for Hearing filed on May
14, 2007.
The Groups' June 27 Reply contains five contentions
and a request for a hearing. The contentions include:
- Failure to limit emissions of hazardous air pollutants
- Accidental Release of Radionuclides
- Extended Onsite Storage of Radioactive Waste Not
Addressed in EIS or License Application
- Failure to Address Impact of Terrorist Attacks on
Plutonium Fuel Facility and Transport
PUBLIC HEALTH RISK OF NEW VOGTLE
REACTORS
June 20, 2007: The data presented in this report detail the increases in
environmental radioactivity and local rises in cancer
rates since the Vogtle reactors began operating. The
parallel between these two trends is to be taken
seriously, as radioactive fission products are
carcinogenic, and are especially toxic to the young. The
addition of two new reactors at Vogtle would double the
capacity of the plant and presumable double the
radioactive emissions. Assuming there is no major
reduction in health risk to the local population –
such as an influx of new medical services or a large
reduction in poverty – the local population will be
at increased risk of cancer, based on the findings in
this report.
Bio: Joseph J.
Mangano, MPH, MBA, is Director, Secretary, and
the National Coordinator of the Radiation and Public
Health Project.
Mr. Mangano is a public health administrator and
researcher who has studied the connection between
low-dose radiation exposure and subsequent risk of
diseases such as cancer and damage to newborns. He has
published numerous articles and letters in medical and
other journals in addition to his book Low Level
Radiation and Immune System Disorders: An Atomic Era
Legacy which examines the connection between radiation
exposure and widespread health problems.
May 2007
NEW REPORT PUTS CHARLOTTE AT THE NUCLEAR CROSSROADS
May 22, 2007 At a press conference on the North Carolina-South
Carolina line, citizens’ groups from two states released a
new report which details the dangers of high-level nuclear waste
shipments under the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership program.
Author John Sticpewich of Commonsense at the Nuclear crossroads
used the Department of Energy’s routing criteria to produce
the maps and tables in More Than A TAD: A Study of the
Problems With the Transport and Reprocessing of Nuclear Waste in
the Carolinas. The report lists nuclear power plants in 17
states from which nuclear waste shipments would pass en route to
Savannah River, a potential GNEP site. For example, from 2,146 to
4,498 shipments would likely pass through the Charlotte-Rock Hill
area on Interstate 77. DOE has already held public hearings on
their plans for centralized storage and reprocessing.
BREDL, Nuclear Watch South, and NIRS have filed a
petition to intervene in the licensing of proposed Mixed Oxide
Fuel Fabrication Facility
On May 14, 2007 the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League,
along with Nuclear Watch South and Nuclear Information &
Resource Service, filed a petition to intervene in the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission's license proceeding for a plutonium fuel
factory at the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site in
South Carolina. We have opposed this technology since 1997 and
remain steadfast in our opposition to nuclear reprocessing.
The US Department of Energy's Surplus Plutonium Disposition
Program plans to convert approximately 37 tons of weapons-grade
plutonium into fuel for commercial nuclear power plants operated
by Duke Energy. The plan is to mix the plutonium with depleted
uranium. The $4 billion facility would include 1) a plutonium
fuel factory, 2) a facility to convert plutonium from a metallic
form to plutonium dioxide powder, and 3) nuclear waste
facilities.
Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility
How You Can Help
The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League opposes
the use of plutonium fuel in commercial nuclear power
reactors. While we support the goal of putting plutonium
into non-weapons usable form, we believe that the use of
plutonium as a fuel in commercial nuclear power plants is
wrong for environmental, economic, public health, and
national security reasons. Further, the plutonium fuel
program undermines international agreements for nuclear
non-proliferation.
May 2, 2007: The Department of Energy plans to build a factory
near Aiken, SC to convert weapons-grade plutonium into fuel for
nuclear power plants. The mixed oxide fabrication facility (MFFF)
would be built at the Savannah River Site, the nuclear reactors
are located near Charlotte and Rock Hill. BREDL and other groups
oppose this experimental project. If you live within 50 miles of
the Savannah River Site, you would be affected. You can help stop
this threat to public health by signing the enclosed Declaration
and mailing it to us before May 14, 2007.
April 20, 2007: BREDL comments
regarding Public Health Assessment, Evaluation of Off-site
Groundwater and Surface Water Contamination at the Savannah River
Site (USDOE) Aiken, SC. - The Agency for Toxic Substances and
Disease Registry has disregarded major pathways for hazardous and
radioactive substances from the US Department of Energy’s
Savannah River Site, improperly narrowed the focus of its
investigation to groundwater and surface water impacts at SRS,
and abrogated its responsibility to take responsive action by
shifting from itself the burden of protecting infants under the
age of one year.
April 19, 2007: BREDL
Limited appearance statements before the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission in the matter of the Dominion Nuclear North Anna, LLC
Early Site Permit. - The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Unless
must assess the impact of terrorist attacks on radioactive fuel
storage at Dominion-Virginia Power's North Anna nuclear power
plant and provide for protective measures. Recent decisions by
the US Court of Appeals and the US Supreme Court hold that
environmental impact statements for nuclear facilities should
explicitly address potential environmental consequences of
intentional destructive acts; that is, acts of sabotage and
terrorism.
November 2006
The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League opposes DOE’s
plan, called Complex 2030, which calls for a new generation
of nuclear weapons production, for which we believe the Savannah
River Site is at great risk. Complex 2030, developed
by the National Nuclear Security Administration, is a proposal to
construct new facilities to manufacture plutonium warheads, to
conduct nuclear weapons research and development, and
to store nuclear materials. On October 19, 2006 the US
Department of Energy published the Notice of Intent to Prepare
a Supplement to the Stockpile Stewardship Management Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement—Complex 2030 (Federal
Register vol. 71, no. 202, page 61731). The first public
meeting on Complex 2030 was held on November 9th
in North Augusta, South Carolina, near the Savannah River Site
bomb plant. Further meetings are being held near atomic
weapons sites in Tennessee, Texas, Nevada, New Mexico and
California with a final hearing in Washington, DC on December 14,
2006. The written public comment period extends through
January 17, 2007.
Our ultimate goal is to change completely the mission of the
United States Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site
from military to peaceful pursuits. We are dedicated to
ending the toxic and radioactive pollution of the soil, water and
air of SRS by achieving a true cleanup of more than five decades
of bomb plant contamination.
October 31, 2006: Help Stop Nuclear Power in Georgia -
Southern Nuclear Company of Georgia wants to build additional
nuclear power plants near Waynesboro. This would increase the
negative health impacts on nearby residents and increase the cost
of electric power. The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League is
joining with other groups who oppose this expansion. Will you
help us? How you
can help | 40 mile radius map (1MB) Declaration
of Standing Legal
Declaration/Standing Q&A Fact Sheet
April 2006: The
Safe Energy Campaign Factsheet - On March 16, 2006
Duke Power Co. and Southern Co. announced that they had
picked a site in South Carolina for a new nuclear power
plant. Also, the power companies announced plans to seek
early site permits for additional nuclear reactors at
Oconee, SC and at a new site near Winston-Salem, NC.
Oct. 25, 2005: Problems
with Dominion Nuclear North Anna's Early Site Permit and
the Federal Coastal Zone Management Act | Read BREDL's Oct. 25 letter to Virginia DEQ | View Map Attachment to
letter Dominion-Virginia Power
is attempting to mischaracterize the permit in an attempt
to limit the scope of the state's required coastal zone
review. Dominion states that the existing power plant and
the proposed nuclear site permit (ESP-Early Site Permit)
are not located within Virginia’s Coastal Zone.
However, North Anna Power Station is, indeed, within the
Virginia coastal zone which includes Spotsylvania
County‘s portion of Lake Anna. Dominion downplays
the permit's impacts. But activity permitted by the ESP
would include major construction including clearing and
grading for roads; construction of warehouses, utilities
and concrete mixing plants; excavations for facility
structures; sewage treatment plants; and intake and
discharge structures, water lines, and cooling towers.
Finally, Dominion’s certification is inconsistent
with the National Environmental Policy Act, which
requires consideration of cumulative impacts and
connected actions. The ESP permit and the pending
Combined License are “connected” actions as
defined in the Council on Environmental Quality
regulations at 40 CFR 1508.7.
September 2005
Sept. 01, 2005: Read BREDL letter to Nuclear Regulatory
Commission On February 17, 2005
at a Nuclear Regulatory Commission public hearing, a man
who identified himself as an employee of
Dominion-Virginia Power falsely accused the Blue Ridge
Environmental Defense League of misusing public health
data. His allegations not only have no basis in fact,
they do nothing to alter our conclusion that deaths
increased significantly after Dominion's nuclear reactors
began operation. In this letter the League demonstrates
why the allegations are false and asks the NRC for
further investigations into death and disease in the
communities around the North Anna nuclear power station.
August 2005
August 30, 2005: BREDL Report on
2005 Southern Energy & Environment
Expo, which was held at
the Western NC Agricultural Center in Fletcher on August
26-28. The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League
participated with an information booth, two workshops,
and a parking lot-sized educational display. The
League’s focus this year was nuclear power and
nuclear waste transportation.
July 26, 2005: Read BREDL July 26, 2005 letter
to Jean Sulc, Chair, Savannah
River Site Citizens Advisory Board. Today citizens called
upon the Savannah River Site Citizens Advisory Board to
use its powers to bring an end to a pattern of delays and
waste at the old weapons plant near Aiken, SC. Citing
audits by the Department of Energy’s Inspector
General, the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League
detailed a ten year environmental cleanup gone wrong and
tens of millions of tax dollars wasted.
July 12, 2005: Read BREDL July 12, 2005 letter
to Robert Meisenheimer, WM
Committee Chair, Savannah River Site Citizens Advisory
Board. | On March 29th, the Blue Ridge Environmental
Defense League informed the Savannah River Site Citizens
Advisory Board that we believe that the Department of
Energy provided falsified data to Congress, information
which affected federal legislation for the ongoing clean
up of atomic weapons waste at SRS. On May 23rd the League
presented supporting data to the CAB. Subsequently, we
were invited to present this information to the CAB's
Waste Management Committee. On July 12th, we made four
recommendations.
1. Block the U.S. Department
of Energy from disposing high-level radioactive
waste in South Carolina, a precedent which also
threatens communities with contaminated DOE sites
in Idaho, Washington and other states.
2. Direct DOE to immediately implement an open,
transparent and public review process on
high-level nuclear waste tank closures.
3. Grant EPA direct regulatory authority over the
disposal of DOE's high-level radioactive waste.
4. Ensure that the external regulator of
high-level waste have the discretion to set an
appropriate cleanup standard for the waste that
protects public health and the environment.
May 2005
May 23, 2005: On behalf of
the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, I request to
present the information requested by members of the SRS
Citizens Advisory Board at the last meeting. As you may
recall, on March 28th I provided federal budget documents
which revealed that the $16 billion in savings promised
during passage of Section 3116 of the 2005 Defense
Authorization for clean up of high-level radioactive
waste tanks was not evident. Further, I said, “We at
BREDL are convinced that the DOE provided falsified data
to gain an exemption so it could add cement to the waste,
leave it underground, and reduce costs.” Some CAB
members took issue with this statement and I am here
today to provide documents which will demonstrate the
accuracy of our contention. - Lou Zeller, BREDL | BREDL May 23 statement to SRS CAB
We hereby stand opposed the
reprocessing of plutonium for fuel because it
presents unsupportable risks to public safety and
the environment, and undermines the goal of
nuclear non-proliferation. The circulation
of plutonium fuel in the commercial sector would
increase the risk of diversion. There is no way
to ensure that plutonium reprocessing facilities
for electric power will not be turned to military
use. We submit that a global movement for a
world without nuclear weapons must also halt the
drive for plutonium power.
April 2005
ANTI-PLUTONIUM
CAMPAIGN WINS CONCESSIONS
On April 18, 2005
the U.S Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued
the public version of its final decision on
the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense
League’s legal challenge to Duke
Power’s request to test plutonium fuel at
the Catawba nuclear power station. In its
application to amend its operating license, Duke
requested exemptions from post-9/11 federal
requirements designed to protect nuclear
materials from theft or sabotage. The judges
granted the exemption but imposed four
conditions that Duke is required to meet before
it can receive the fuel at Catawba. They are:
1. Duke shall modify
its security procedures regarding
plutonium fuel.
2.
Duke must demonstrate its ability to
counter an attempt at theft of plutonium
fuel by undertaking tabletop and
force-on-force exercises.
3. Duke must upgrade
its security monitoring procedures during
acceptance of plutonium fuel.
4. Duke must establish
and have in place all procedures
identified during the intervention
hearings for accepting the plutonium
fuel. These measures include coordinating
transfer of plutonium fuel from DOE,
coordinating with local law enforcement
agencies and ensuring that armed
responders are dedicated to the
protection of the plutonium fuel.
The plutonium
fuel tests necessitate the insertion of four lead
test assemblies (LTA) into the Catawba
reactor for at least two fuel cycles. Duke sought
to exempt Catawba Nuclear Power Station from the
regulations for Category I facilities which have special
strategic nuclear materials such as 2
kilograms or more of plutonium. Duke’s
Catawba nuclear station would contain 80
kilograms of plutonium during the proposed
plutonium fuel tests.
Commercial nuclear
fuel typically contains the oxide form of
uranium. The nuclear industry’s term
for this novel fuel is “MOX”
because it is a mixed oxide containing
both uranium and plutonium. But the
primary fissile isotope of the fuel is
plutonium, so we use the more accurate
term “plutonium fuel.”
Our case required access to sensitive
documents, Safe Guards Information,
making many of the legal proceedings
closed to the public. Relevant
information was provided only to our
technical consultant, Dr. Edwin Lyman of
the Union of Concerned Scientists, and to
our attorney Diane Curran, of Harmon
Curran Spielberg and Eisenberg, who
complied with all security requirements.
The Atomic Safety and Licensing
Board’s ruling, originally issued on
March 10th, required additional review
and approval before it could be released
to the public in censored format on April
18th. The redacted version is freely
available and is posted on our website.
April 7, 2005:
GROUPS CALL ON GOVERNOR TO DEMAND TERRORISM SAFEGUARDS -
Today at a press conference in Columbia, citizens groups
called on Governor Mark Sanford to halt the impending
plutonium fuel shipments through South Carolina and to
demand terrorism safeguards at the Catawba nuclear
station. BREDL Press Release | Letter
to SC Governor Mark Sanford
March 2005
Mar. 28, 2005: Citizens
Groups Advise SRS Citizens Advisory Board - Sunshine
Campaign Will Allow Public To Have Say - Today at a press
conference in North Augusta, grassroots citizens groups
announced a “Sunshine Campaign” to open up the
process of communication between the Department of
Energy, the SRS Citizens Advisory Board and the general
public. BREDL Press Release | BREDL Statement to the Savannah River Site
Citizens Advisory Board
March 09, 2005: BREDL Press Release:
BREDL CHALLENGES DUKE’S PLUTONIUM LICENSE - Today
the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League filed a
petition before the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to
revoke the license amendment issued by the staff of the
NRC to Duke Energy Corporation for plutonium fuel tests. BREDL
Petition | Cover Letter | Exhibit 1 | NRC
Original Order
Feb. 17, 2005 Rally and NRC Public
Hearing: Action Alert and more details. RALLY
AGAINST NEW LICENSING for NUKES at NORTH ANNA, Thursday,
February 17, 2005, 6:00 pm, Louisa County Middle School,
1009 Davis Highway, Mineral, VA. This rally precedes the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) hearing scheduled
for 7:00 pm concerning a site permit for two new reactors
at North Anna nuclear power station in Louisa County in
Central VA.
Nov. 3, 2004: Project: Environmental
Pollution at Savannah River Weapons Site | Date of Project: September 4— 11, 2004 |
Host organizations: Blue Ridge Environmental Defense
League, ISAR Open World Russia Civic Program |
Administered by: Open World Leadership Center at the
Library of Congress. Associated documents:
Risk-Based End States at SRS factsheet: Radioactive
Pollution gets a Facelift. English
Version , Russian Version |
Combat Air Pollution with Bucket Brigades factsheet. English
Version , Russian Version (documents posted 11/04/04)
October 2004
October 5, 2004: Table slides (in 2 .pdf files) detailing
actual radioactive releases to the air and water
from Dominion/Virginia Power's North Anna nuclear
station, and the high rates of mortality in the
area within 30 miles of the North Anna reactors
located near Charlottesville, VA.
BREDL Press
Release: DEATH RATES INCREASED AFTER NORTH
ANNA STARTUP - Group Calls for Comprehensive
Health Study
July 14, 2004: This is the written testimony
of Dr. Edwin S. Lyman, filed July 1, 2004 on
behalf of Blue Ridge Environmental Defense
League. This legal action is a part of BREDL's
campaign to educate the public about the dangers
of plutonium fuel use at the Catawba nuclear
power station. Duke Energy seeks a license
amendment for its Catawba nuclear power plant to
test the experimental fuel which is a mixture of
plutonium and uranium oxides (hence the industry
abbreviation MOX). Dr. Lyman's testimony supports
BREDL Contention I which was admitted for
litigation on March 5 by the Atomic Safety and
Licensing Board of the US Nuclear Regulatory
Commission. This filing also includes a list of
the exhibits to Dr. Lyman's testimony and Dr.
Lyman's curriculum vitae, which is Exhibit A to
his testimony.
In his testimony, Dr. Lyman states,
"Duke has failed to address these
uncertainties in MOX fuel behavior, and
therefore its LTA [lead test assembly]
application is unacceptable tosatisfy the
requirements of 10 CFR 50.46 with respect
to PCT [peak cladding temperature],
maximum cladding oxidation, and coolable
geometry of fuel."
The July 8, 2004 rebuttal testimony of
Dr. Edwin Lyman further addresses safety issues
brought up in BREDL Contention 1. In his
rebuttal, Lyman states, "Neither the
testimony of Duke nor the testimony of the NRC
staff offers any experimental evidence to support
their claims regarding the ability of MOX LTAs
[mixed oxide fuel lead test assemblies] to comply
with 10 CFR 50.46 criteria...." Dr. Lyman
adds, "In fact, the NRC staff testimony
confirms several of the assertions that BREDL has
made in the course of this proceeding."
June 26, 2004: North
Anna information slides in .pdf. (First new reactors
in 25 years, Facts about North Anna, What's wrong with
nuclear power and proposed expansion?, Timeline for
expansion) (.pdf)
June 8, 2004 (posted
online): May
28, 2004 Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Atomic Safety
& Licensing Board (ASLB) Memorandum and Order
regarding BREDL arguments on security measures at the
Catawba Nuclear Reactor and the proposed plutonium fuel
test. The ASLB wrote: "The original version of this
Memorandum and Order was issued on April 12, 2004, and
was sealed as Safeguards Information. This document is a
redacted version of the original." Redactions are
blacked out sections of the document, removed by the NRC.
BREDL objects to some of these omissions; we will raise
our objections before the ASLB judges. (.pdf
- 3.95 MB)
June 8, 2004 (posted online): Notice of the June 15, 2004
hearing in Charlotte, NC on Duke Energy's
plutonium fuel test at Catawba. The public
will be permitted to attend and speak at what is
called a "limited appearance" session
with Atomic Safety Licensing Board judges. This
is the public's opportunity to present issues
centering on opposition to plutonium fuel. The
hearing is the result of legal challenges by
BREDL to Duke’s request to amend the
operating license for its Catawba Nuclear Station
to allow the testing of four experimental
plutonium fuel assemblies at the station. Note:
The nuclear industry calls this new type of
nuclear reactor fuel "MOX" because it
contains a mixture of plutonium and uranium
oxides. (.pdf)
ASLB
"limited appearance"
public hearing
Time:
June 15, 2004, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. and 7:00 to
9:00 p.m.
Place: Grand Ballroom (lobby level) of the Omni
Charlotte Hotel located on 132 East Trade Street
Charlotte, NC 28202.
May 27, 2004: BREDL
comments on Draft Site-wide Environmental Impact
Statement for Continued Operation of Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory in California and Supplemental
Stockpile Stewardship and Management Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement, February 2004
May 17, 2004: BREDL
comments to EPA regarding deregulation of low-level
radioactive wastes. BREDL recommends that the EPA
withdraw its Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on
Low-Activity Radioactive Waste; furthermore, we recommend
that EPA undertake no non-regulatory actions which would
have the effect of de-regulating radioactive wastes.
April 27, 2004: Read
Press Release and Lou Zeller Statement - Citizens
Charge US With Nuclear Treaty Violation : Today
at a press conference at the United Nations, the Blue
Ridge Environmental Defense League charged the United
States with violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT) and called for international inspections of
weapons facilities in South Carolina.
April 26, 2004: People’s
Resolution for United States Adherence to the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty - The Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty has successfully limited the
number of new states armed with nuclear weapons, but for
decades the states which already possess nuclear weapons
have continually avoided their obligation to eliminate
them. Next year the United States of America proposes to
spend $6.57 billion for nuclear weapons research and
development. Also, the United States plans to construct a
new nuclear bomb plant to produce 450 new atomic weapons
per year. We submit that the United States is now the
principal violator of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty. Therefore, we press for full implementation of
the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and to bring an end
to the nuclear arms race. We bring this People’s
Resolution to the attention of all delegations attending
the Preparatory Committee Meeting of the States Party to
the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty at the United
Nations in New York on April 26 - May 7, 2004. Read or
sign onto the resolution
April 9, 2004: Pictures taken at the
March 25, 2004 rallies in Louisa County and
Charlottesville, Virginia which were held in support of
the BE SAFE Anti-nuclear Days of Action. PACE, People's
Alliance for Clean Energy, organized the events with help
from the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League to
commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Three Mile Island
nuclear meltdown and to prevent new nuclear plants from
being constructed by Dominion Virginia Power on Lake
Anna. View Pictures
March 2004
March 25, 2004: Read Press
Advisory - PACE, a BREDL
chapter, Anti-Nuclear Day of Action: Commemorating Three
Mile Island to be held in Charlottesville, VA (includes a
Talk by Lois Gibbs, BREDL mock nuclear cask)
March 24, 2004: Factsheet:
Three Mile Island 25 years later, TMI facts - Three Mile
Island VA ? (.pdf)
March 24, 2004: Factsheet:
Nuclear Waste transport to Nevada? - Don't Bet the Farm
on it (.pdf)
March 8, 2004: BREDL’s
Lawsuit Against Duke’s Plutonium Fuel Tests Wins
Full Hearing. In a ruling by the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, the
three-judge panel agreed to hear three specific
objections to the experimental project. Read Press Release
| Read NRC Atomic Safety and
Licensing Board ruling (.pdf)
February 2004
Feb. 27, 2004: Factsheet:
North Anna - New Nuclear Power Plants in Virginia? (.pdf)
February 19, 2004: Post-9/11
Terrorism Measures Not Applicable to Duke’s
Plutonium Fuel | NRC Chooses Secrecy Over Security:
Yesterday, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
announced that confidential NRC upgrades to the security
requirements for nuclear power plants and plutonium
processing facilities, imposed after the terrorist
attacks of September 11, 2001, have “nothing to
do” with a proposed license amendment that would
allow Duke Energy Corporation to use bomb-grade plutonium
at the Catawba nuclear power plant. Read Press
Release
Jan.14, 2004: On
Thursday, January 15th, representatives of the
southeastern regional Blue Ridge Environmental Defense
League will argue against plutonium fuel testing at Duke
Energy’s Catawba nuclear plant at a second hearing
before the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board of the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Read Press Advisory
Dec. 02, 2003: On
Wednesday, December 3rd, representatives of
the southeastern regional Blue Ridge Environmental
Defense League will argue against plutonium fuel testing
at Duke Energy’s Catawba nuclear plant at an
ajudicatory hearing before the Atomic Safety and
Licensing Board of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Read Press Advisory
Oct. 29, 2002: U.S. Dept. of Energy
Public Hearing on Supplemental PEIS re: Pit Facility at
SRS. Hearing is scheduled to begin at 6 pm in North
Augusta, SC. BREDL Factsheet with more details (in .pdf)
June 11, 2002: BREDL has released a
report which reveals that the US DOE's plutonium fuel
testing program would require tens of thousands of miles
of national and international shipments. BREDL Press
Release and Report
MAY 2002
May 30, 2002: On Thursday, May 30th
the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League will launch
its regional campaign opposing nuclear waste transports
from nuclear power plants in North Carolina and South
Carolina to Nevada. See
Press Release and Press Advisory for details and
locations - updated throughout the Roadshow | Please
see the BREDL Southeastern HLNW
Roadshow page for pictures, reports, letters, and
links.
Feb. 23, 2002: Duke
Energy stockholder requests SEC and Duke Energy to
address nuclear risk and responsibility. The shareholders
request the Board of Directors to conduct an open
comprehensive study, utilizing independent public
resources, oversight, and participation (but excluding
proprietary and confidential information), defining Duke
Energy's risk of, and potential responsibility for,
causing public harm due to the company's continued
participation in nuclear energy programs, and to prepare,
at reasonable expense, a report for the next annual
shareholders' meeting in 2003. Duke Energy does not want
to include this resolution. The SEC should make a
decision soon. Read
stockholder resolution and SEC letter.
Jan. 31, 2002: NRC Atomic
Safety & Licensing Board grants NIRS and BREDL a
hearing on the license renewal of Duke Energy's McGuire
and Catawba Nuclear Power Plants. The Nuclear Regulatory
Commission's judges had never before granted such a
hearing in a license renewal case. Hearing
date to be announced later. Read NRC notification
(.pdf)
Nov. 29, 2001: Blue Ridge
Environmental Defense League submittal of contentions in
the matter of the renewal of licenses for Duke Energy
Corporation (DUKE) McGuire Nuclear Stations 1 and 2
[McGUIRE] and Catawba Nuclear Stations 1 and 2 [CATAWBA].
And Support for Motion to Suspend Proceeding Filed by
NIRS 11/29/01. Download .pdf file
Nov. 16, 2001: Janet
Zeller's report from the US
Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Advisory Committee
on Reactor Safety (ACRS) meeting to hear staff reviews of
the key issues in Duke Cogema Stone & Webster’s
(DCS) Construction Authorization Request (CAR) for the
plutonium fuel factory proposed for the Savannah River
Site.
Nov. 15, 2001:
NUCLEAR REACTORS THREAT TO HOMELAND SECURITY - GOVERNMENT
DOWNPLAYS THE RISK
Despite U.S. government knowledge that terrorists were
targeting nuclear plants, security risks have been
downplayed for years by both industry and the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, according to a Greenpeace report
released Thursday. The report, Risky Business: The
Probability and Consequences of a Nuclear Accident,
co-released locally with the Blue Ridge Environmental
Defense League, analyzes each of the 103 nuclear reactors
operating in the U.S. and includes detailed maps of the
consequences and fall out for the 12 worst reactor
sites. The Catawba reactors and McGuire reactors north
and south of Charlotte figure prominently in the lists. BREDL Press
Release and link to report
OCTOBER 2001
Oct. 23, 2001: Today
at a press conference in Rock Hill, SC, the Blue Ridge
Environmental Defense League (BREDL) announced the filing
of a legal petition to block the US Nuclear Regulatory
Commission's proceedings for the extension of licenses
for Duke Energy’s Catawba and McGuire nuclear power
plants. BREDL
Press Release ; Petition
to NRC
Tue.,
Oct. 9, 2001 at 1 pm: BREDL's
Don Moniak will appear on Armstrong Williams' nationally syndicated radio talk show. He will
discuss nuclear security. Please check your local radio
listings.
Aug. 30, 2001: Groups Warn South Carolina
Governor Jim Hodges not to fall for MOX. Press
Release
Aug. 29, 2001: BREDL
letter to Dept. of Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham
requesting information regarding the Department of
Energy’s (DOE) program for long-term storage of
plutonium and highly enriched uranium (HEU), and the
related transportation of non-pit plutonium, at
DOE’s Savannah River Site (SRS).
Aug. 29, 2001: A Report on the Plutonium (Pu) Situation,
Promise To "Delay" Made In Bad Faith - The
decision this week by the Department of Energy (DOE) to
"delay" plutonium shipments to the Savannah
River Site (SRS) involved several omissions of
information and was another act of bad faith by an Agency
with a long tradition of bending federal law and
misleading the public. Read Media
Advisory
Aug. 23, 2001: PLUTONIUM FUEL FUNDING
NEARLY EXHAUSTED , BAD COST ESTIMATES PLAGUE PROGRAM -
Documents obtained this week by the Blue Ridge
Environmental Defense League (BREDL) indicate that
funding for the Department of Energy’s (DOE)
Plutonium/MOX fuel program contract is nearly exhausted. BREDL Press
Release , Plutonium Fuel Factory facts
May 9, 2001 - The Charlotte Observer - - "Plutonium
use raises concerns - Residents question safety of plan
to use fuel at McGuire, Catawba -
Opponents of a plan to turn surplus weapons plutonium
into power-plant fuel on Tuesday questioned the
suitability of two Duke Power nuclear plants to use the
fuel and the ability of area residents to flee an
accident.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission meeting in Charlotte
was intended to seek public input on an environmental
study of the facility where the mixed-oxide fuel, or MOX,
would be manufactured, at the Savannah River Site near
Aiken, S.C.
May 8, 2001 - The
Augusta Chronicle -- " Political changes in the
United States and Russia could push the former enemies
into another Cold War, some Russian activists said
Monday. ...Four activists visited Aiken and Augusta to
raise awareness of problems facing Russia's nuclear
program. Local chapters of the Sierra Club, Amnesty
International, Georgians for Clean Energy and the Blue
Ridge Environmental Defense League played host to the
group."
Russia's Nuclear Troublesmore info on
meetings.
Two Public Meetings featuring leaders from Russian
Citizen Groups.
University of South Carolina Saturday, May 5th, 2001 7:30
p.m.
Aiken, SC Monday, May 7th, 2001 at 7 p.m.
April 16, 2001: GROUP
REPORTS LITANY OF IRREGULARITIES IN PLUTONIUM FUEL
FACTORY LICENSE APPLICATION AND REVIEW:
Today, the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League
(BREDL) released documents challenging the plutonium fuel
factory proposed for the Department of Energy’s
(DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS) near Aiken, South
Carolina. In a letter written to the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC), BREDL contends that the Duke
Cogema Stone and Webster (DCS) plutonium factory license
application is fatally flawed and should be rejected. The
group also contends that DOE must complete a supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement. read
BREDL Press Release
April 10, 2001 - Read GCE/BREDL Press
Release - Georgians for Clean Energy and the Blue
Ridge Environmental Defense League will sponsor an
informational Open House regarding the Department of
Energy's ongoing plans to construct and operate a
plutonium (MOX) fuel factory at the already heavily
polluted Savannah River Site, approximately 90 miles
upstream from Savannah. If built, the plutonium factory
will generate millions of gallons of liquid radioactive
waste and increase the potential of creating more
permanent nuclear weapons and power production missions
at SRS and the region.
The Open House will be held from:
4-8 p.m., April 12, 2001, at 3025 Bull Street, Savannah,
GA.
March 22, 2001 - GROUPS
PETITION NRC FOR A FULL HEARING ON PLUTONIUM FUEL FACTORY
An international coalition of environmental, social
justice, and nuclear weapons groups have petitioned the
US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to hold a formal
licensing review of government plans to build a factory
to make nuclear fuel from plutonium. Today, Georgians
Against Nuclear Energy (GANE) and the Blue Ridge
Environmental Defense League (BREDL) released a letter
signed by 142 organizations requesting a full public
process including testimony, written comments, discovery,
subpoena, cross-examination, appeals, and the possibility
of a hearing before the Atomic Safety and Licensing
Board. More info: BREDL Press
Release , February 22, 2001 letter to NRC Chairman
Richard Meserve
March 08, 2001 - Wilmington Morning
Star -- "Critics of nuclear power are shining
the spotlight on sea turtles killed and captured at the
Brunswick Nuclear Plant each year, but turtle watchdogs
say the concerns are overblown.
A new report from three anti-nuclear groups
says endangered turtles, manatees and fish are needlessly
harmed at many of the 59 U.S. reactors that use the
"once-through" system, where large amounts of
water are drawn from a river or ocean to cool fuel rods
generating steam for electricity. They want the federal
government to require those plants to convert to a system
that uses cooling towers needing about 20,000 gallons of
water per minute.
Featured in the "Licensed to Kill"
report was Carolina Power & Light Co.'s Brunswick
plant outside Southport. The 1,521-megawatt facility
diverts about a million gallons per minute from the Cape
Fear River into a canal that leads to large pumps".
FEBRUARY 2001
Feb. 15, 2001 - GROUP
SAYS: LOCATE MISSING THERMONUCLEAR BOMB
American Sea Shore Underwater Recovery Expedition
(ASSURE) will present its recommendations regarding the
missing thermonuclear bomb in Savannah River harbor on 7
p.m. Thursday evening, February 15th, at the Tybee Island
City Hall; 403 Butler Avenue; Tybee Island, Georgia.
ASSURE recommends that the missing nuclear bomb be
located as soon as possible, and discussion and analysis
begin immediately to determine the feasible alternatives
for addressing the radiation and explosive hazards posed
by the bomb. Read ASSURE
Press Release
Feb. 6, 2001 - Aiken, SC: The Blue Ridge
Environmental Defense League will commemorate the 5th
Anniversary of former Secretary of Energy Hazel
O’Leary’s last “openness” press
conference at which DOE released its publication
“Plutonium, The Last 50 Years.” More info: BREDL Press Release,
BREDL MEDIA
ALERT , Download .pdf file or view html files of
report.
JANUARY 2001
Jan. 24, 2001 - GROUPS
URGE SUSPENSION OF PLUTONIUM FUEL EXPERIMENT IN CANADA -
Yesterday in a letter to the Canadian Nuclear Safety
Commission (CNSC), twenty-five organizations from three
countries urged the CNSC to take immediate action to
suspend a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) test--called
Parallex--of mixed oxide (MOX) plutonium fuel planned in
Canada’s National Research Universal (NRU) reactor. BREDL Press Release,
Groups' letter to
CNSC
Jan. 22, 2001 - Unplanned Shutdown of
Duke Energy's McGuire Unit 1, Huntersville, NC
"On January 22, 2001, at approximately 9:17 p.m.,
McGuire Unit 1 initiated a unit shutdown due to an
increase in identified reactor coolant system (RCS)
leakage from approximately 1.7 gallons per minute (gpm)
to an estimated 4.5 gpm." - from NRC preliminary
notification
Jan. 10, 2001 - Today in a letter to US
Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Bill Richardson, the
Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (BREDL) urged
immediate action to halt the plutonium fuel factory
project at the Savannah River Site. The group charged
that the recently released Environmental Report reveals
that the project’s Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) was incomplete and incorrect. BREDL
Press Release, BREDL letter to US
Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Bill Richardson
NOVEMBER 2000
The
Dangers of Plutonium Transportation: a report
delivered by Lou Zeller at the People's Forum on
Plutonium Fuels which was held Nov. 9, 2000 at Winthrop
University, Rock Hill, SC
OCTOBER 2000
Oct., 2000 - People's Forum on Plutonium
Fuels will be held on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2000 from 7 p.m.
- 9 p.m. at McBryde Hall , Winthrop University , Rock
Hill, SC.
April 20, 2000 - At its annual meeting,
Duke Shareholders voted in favor of burning plutonium
(MOX) fuel. They rejected a proposal to refuse plutonium
fuel for Duke reactors.
April 7, 2000 - Virginia Power
drops out of Plutonium Fuel Consortium. Virginia
Power has announced that it's dropping its plans to burn
Plutonium fuel at its North Anna Nuclear Power Plant in
Louisa County, Virginia. Duke Energy has said it will
stay in the Plutonium fuel program.
Feb 15, 2000 - Indian
Point, NY radiation steam leak - emergency declared A
leak in a steam generator at a Hudson River nuclear power
plant resulted in a brief release of radioactive steam.
Operators manually shut down the reactor and declared an
"Alert" following indications of a steam
generator tube leak.
January 2000
Jan 29, 2000 - Reversing a position held
for decades, the government has concluded for the first
time that many workers who built America's nuclear
weapons likely became ill because of exposure to
radiation or toxic chemicals. The findings, based on a
review of dozens of studies and raw medical data covering
an estimated 600,000 workers at 14 nuclear weapons sites,
could lead to compensation to the families of some of the
workers. Many were unaware that they were being exposed
to such health risks. This includes the Savannah River
Site.
Jan 7, 2000 - Reaction to the Department
of Energy decision that it is safe to use weapons grade
plutonium as fuel for Duke Energy's Catawba reactors was
as mixed Thursday as the fuel itself. The Department of
Energy issued a "record of decision" Tuesday
saying the proposal to convert up to 33 metric tons of
surplus plutonium into mixed-oxide, or MOX, fuel was
environmentally sound.
Jan 6, 2000 - The U.S. Department of
Energy will move forward with plans to use weapons-grade
plutonium at the Catawba Nuclear Station. The DOE issued
a "record of decision" that said the process of
using the mixed-oxide, or MOX, fuel was environmentally
safe. With that announcement, the program will begin
immediately with construction at the Savannah Nuclear
Site in Georgia for a plant that can convert plutonium
from decommissioned nuclear weapons into a fuel that
would power nuclear reactors.
Jan 6, 2000 - Federal regulators have
again cited the largest contractor at the Savannah River
Site nuclear complex for failing to follow safety
procedures. The latest problems occurred in a facility
that recovers useful materials from radioactive and
chemical wastes, and in a plant that stabilizes plutonium
left over from other operations.
Connecticut
Yankee: The Haddam Neck Plant began active
dismantlement of large radioactive components the week of
September 13, 1999.
May 1999
ACTION
ALERT : International NIX MOX
DAY - MAY 17, 1999 TO OPPOSE PLUTONIUM FUELED
NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS. This is the second annual
NIX MOX DAY, an opportunity to educate the
public, the news media, decision makers,
and our elected officials.
April 1999
Institute for Energy and Environmental
Research (IEER)
unveils a comprehensive alternative to current
official US government plans for management of highly
radioactive wastes.
March 1999
From Synergy - Plutonium
in the Piedmont: The MOX
program ( Duke Power contracts with
DOE to use plutonium-based mixed-oxide fuel (MOX) in
reactors at McGuire and Catawba nuclear stations.)
DOE contracts with Duke Engineering &
Services, COGEMA, Inc., and
Stone & Webster to provide mixed oxide fuel
fabrication and reactor irradiation services in support
of the department's mission to dispose of surplus weapons
plutonium.
Help Stop Nuclear
Power in South Carolina!