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NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS' Y2K READINESS QUESTIONED
TOXIC MUD FOULS U.S. WATERS
REVVING THE ENERGY ENGINE MEANS RISING U.S. EMISSIONS
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NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS' Y2K READINESS QUESTIONED
WASHINGTON, DC, November 9, 1999 (ENS) - Two federal agencies are at
odds over how ready U.S. nuclear power plants are to handle the Year 2000
(Y2K) computer bug.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) says all 103 operating U.S.
nuclear power plants are now ready for Y2K. But the U.S. General Accounting
Office testified before Congress October 26 that the steps the nuclear
industry has taken might not be enough to prevent problems at power plants.
The Y2K problem refers to a computer's potential inability to recognize
two digit dates after January 1, 2000. A computer system could read "00" as
1900, rather than 2000, causing a computer system to malfunction. "Y2K
ready" means that the computer will function as designed after the Year 2000
date rollover.
Nuclear reactors provide about 20 percent of the power supply in the
U.S., serving more than 65 million homes.
All U.S. nuclear plants have notified the NRC that they have completed
remediation efforts on all plant systems involved with safety, power
generation and plant support.
The NRC says safety related systems at all 103 plants have been Y2K
ready since July 1. At that time, 68 of the plants were declared fully Y2K
ready while 35 had remaining work on power generation and plant support
systems. During the past four months, NRC has confirmed completion of the
remaining work.
Based on a review of responses from the nuclear power industry
concerning Y2K readiness, the NRC’s independent inspection efforts at all
103 plants, and ongoing regulatory oversight activities, "we conclude that
the Y2K problem will not adversely affect the continued safe operation of
U.S. nuclear power plants, and should contribute to grid stability during
the transition period," the NRC says.
On October 26, representatives of the federal General Accounting
Office’s Y2K Computing Challenge office offered testimony before Congress
that casts doubt on the NRC assurances.
The General Accounting Office is the investigative arm of Congress.
Charged with examining matters relating to the receipt and disbursement of
public funds, GAO performs audits and evaluations of government programs and
activities.
Joel Willemssen and Keith Rhodes, directors of the accounting and
information management division of the GAO, detailed weaknesses in the NRC
reporting process to subcommittees of the House Committee on Science and the
House Committee on Government Reform.
The GAO spokesmen pointed out that the NRC has not required that its
licensees perform an independent verification and validation (IV&V) of their
Y2K remediation programs.
"Although we were told by NRC that some licensees obtained independent
technical reviews of each facility's Y2K system test plans and results, NRC
did not have specific, current information identifying the types of Y2K IV&V
reviews performed at nuclear power facilities," Willemssen and Rhodes said.
"NRC noted that the industry had reported in April 1999 that multiple
audits were completed. ... However, neither NRC nor the industry issued
guidelines establishing criteria to ensure consistency of reviews," they
testified.
Without an IV&V, the NRC cannot know which plants might need additional
work, due to inadequate Y2K testing and preparation programs, the GAO
testimony concluded.
All NRC licensees, including nuclear power plants, are required to have
contingency plans in place in case unforeseen problems do arise from the Y2K
bug. The GAO says these plans, like the actual Y2K remediation, have not
been adequately verified.
"While the nuclear power plants have reportedly completed Y2K
contingency plans, it is unclear as to whether these facilities have
validated their plans," Willemssen and Rhodes testified. "While NRC's
assessment ... included questions on whether the facility validated
contingency plans, NRC has not summarized the results of each question from
all plants and therefore does not know how many plants responded
affirmatively that they had indeed tested their plans. Further, NRC did not
assess how the plans were being validated."
In December 1998, the Washington, DC based nuclear watchdog group
Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS) petitioned the NRC to
perform emergency planning exercises to confirm that nuclear plants are
prepared for the possible failure of their computer systems due to Y2K. The
NRC denied this petition, saying that nuclear power plants are already
required to conduct exercises covering scenarios like a Y2K related computer
failure.
The GAO acknowledged the NRC’s position, but noted, "It is unknown
whether or not each plant has recently tested, through normal emergency
exercises, scenarios addressing potential Y2K induced failures. Therefore,
given the known Y2K threat to nuclear facilities, we believe that NRC should
obtain information on the scope and extent of nuclear power plants'
emergency exercises, and whether these exercises have incorporated Y2K
scenarios."
In addition, Willemssen and Rhodes pointed out that the NRC has not
required nuclear fuel facilities or decommissioned nuclear power plants to
develop specific Y2K contingency plans. Eight of 10 fuel facilities plan to
be in safe shutdown mode during the Y2K changeover. The remaining two
facilities - the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Paducah, Kentucky, and
the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, Ohio - have contingency
plans that are acceptable to the NRC.
"NRC could not say how many of the decommissioned plants completed
contingency plans," noted the GAO experts, "as the agency had not reviewed
them because NRC staff concluded that Y2K issues were highly unlikely to
cause a potential threat to public health and safety at such plants."
In early 1999, some of the nation’s 14 decommissioned nuclear power
plants that store spent fuel onsite reported they were not yet Y2K ready.
Willemssen and Rhodes observed that the NRC has not reviewed their status
since. "Because of the risk posed by the spent fuel facilities at these
sites, we believe that NRC should evaluate and report on the current Y2K
status of these plants," they recommend.
Finally, the GAO questioned whether nuclear facilities are adequately
prepared for potential power outages, supply shortages, and other external
problems that could occur on or after January 1, 2000.
According to Willemssen and Rhodes' testimony, "Probably the most
serious external risks faced by a nuclear power plant are the potential
instability of the electric power grid and the loss of offsite electric
power. ... NRC studies show that a major contributor to reactor core damage
is a station blackout event."
The NIRS also petitioned the NRC last year to require that all nuclear
power plants keep at least 60 day supply of diesel fuel for backup
generators, needed to power reactor coolant systems and other critical areas
in case of a power outage. The NIRS requested that plants also provide
alternate means of backup power, such as solar panels or wind turbines.
The NRC denied the petition. "Why did the NRC deny what were relatively
simple, straightforward, and, we believed, rather noncontroversial
petitions?," asked Michael Mariotte, NIRS executive director, in a September
speech. "Because the NRC is completely beholden to the nuclear industry,
which, especially with electricity deregulation here or looming, doesn’t
want to spend an extra dime on public safety matters if it doesn’t
absolutely have to. And these days, the NRC is far more interested in saving
utilities money than it is in doing its job of protecting the public health
and safety."
"NRC officials told us that nuclear power plants have taken certain
actions to be ready for the Y2K rollover," Willemssen and Rhodes said, "such
as requiring additional staffing and stockpiling consumables (i.e., diesel
fuel for emergency diesel generators). However, these do not entail a
comprehensive set of actions to be carried out systematically by every
operational nuclear power plant."
"The actions that the nuclear power plants and fuel facilities take
during this time will be just as critical as actions taken already to become
Y2K ready," the GAO spokesmen concluded.
At the same October 26 hearing a nuclear industry association
spokesman assured the lawmakers the safety systems are all Y2K ready.
"Safety is our top priority. As a result of the tremendous efforts of
industry professionals, I am proud to report that all nuclear power plants
have demonstrated that their safety systems are Y2K-ready," said Ralph
Beedle, senior vice president and chief nuclear officer of the Nuclear
Energy Institute (NEI).
"Detailed contingency plans are in place and are ready should they be
needed during the transition to the Year 2000," Beedle said.
"Additional personnel will be at nuclear power plants, back-up
communications systems are available, and response strategies have been
developed. This advance preparation will reduce the likelihood that even a
minor problem will disrupt power generation," he explained. "Consistent with
the industry's commitment to safety, be assured that any problem that could
affect safety would result in operators safely shutting down the plant,"
Beedle said.
Willemssen and Rhodes recommended to Congress that the NRC further
evaluate Y2K preparations that have already been made, and ensure that plant
emergency plans include Y2K scenarios.
The NIRS and other nuclear activists are calling for a Y2K World Atomic
Safety Holiday. Activists want all nuclear facilities to be off line for New
Years 2000, be subject to strict criteria of Y2K compliance and be given
robust backup power systems.
Detailed information on NRC's Y2K activities is available online at:
http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/NEWS/year2000.html.
Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 1999
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/nov99/1999L-11-09-06.html
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TOXIC MUD FOULS U.S. WATERS
WASHINGTON, DC, November 9, 1999 (ENS) - A serious environmental
problem may be lurking in the mud under the placid waters of U.S. lakes,
rivers and ocean shores. Environmental groups say millions of tons of toxic
contaminated sediment from harbors and shipping channels are dredged each
year, then dumped back into waters where they can poison humans and
wildlife.
Scientists and environmental leaders from the Pacific, Atlantic, Great
Lakes and Gulf of Mexico converged on Washington, D.C. this week to demand
that human health and the environment be protected from toxic harbor muds.
The groups cite a variety of contaminants in bottom muds, which are dredged
to keep shipping channels open or to significantly deepen them.
Pollutants from factories, farms, streets and the air make their way
through water into sediments. The chemicals include PCBs (polychlorinated
biphenyls), dioxin, mercury, lead and hydrocarbons, which have been shown to
cause cancer, reproductive abnormalities, birth defects and compromised
immune systems.
Every year, 100 ocean dumpsites receive 60 million tons of dredged
harbor muds, the equivalent of six million dump truck loads of mud. Roughly
400 million tons of sediments are dumped into rivers, lakes, bays and
estuaries annually, nearly three times the amount of mud that was dredged to
build the Panama Canal. The groups called on the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to immediately ban dumping
of contaminated sediments in America's waters.
"Like a muddy Typhoid Mary, sediments can be carriers of an unseen
threat," said Beth Millemann, author of a new report released today, "Muddy
Waters: The Toxic Wasteland Below America's Oceans, Coasts, Rivers and
Lakes."
"The most dangerous offenders of the industrial age have wound up in
the muds below, yet the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers persist in dumping
untreated sediments into America's oceans and rivers - a practice as
sophisticated as medieval man tossing the contents of his chamber pot out
the window," said Millemann.
In a 1998 inventory, the EPA identified hundreds of problem sites
around the country, many of them located in coastal areas. In fact, every
major harbor in the nation suffers from moderate to severe sediment
contamination, according to the EPA.
The EPA is developing new standards to address dredging, but
conservation groups say the recommendations are so lax that even more
contaminated sediments could be dumped, and more pollutants could be spewed
out of pipes and sewage treatment plants. The scientists and environmental
experts, who gathered in Washington to attend a "Summit on Sediments,"
called on EPA to dump its weak provisions, not more toxic mud.
"We all lose when EPA weakens rather than upholds legal standards of
ocean protection - natural ecosystems lose because they become ever more
degraded and impoverished; the public loses because health is compromised;
and national commerce loses because eventually the damage will be impossible
to ignore and ports will be threatened with downsizing or closure," said
Boyce Thorne-Miller, science advisor for SeaWeb and Ocean Advocates,
national organizations that educate the public about threats to the marine
ecosystem.
Leaders from 15 states with contaminated harbors attended the "Summit
on Sediments." Speakers from six states and Washington DC spoke at a press
conference today, and urged that treatment technologies developed by the
private sector, and implemented in states like New Jersey, be adopted
nationwide. New Jersey has developed alternatives to ocean dumping to handle
all its short term needs, and a ban on dumping sediments off the state's
coast has been in effect since September 1997.
"The barbaric practice of ocean dumping was state of the art in 1902,
but in New Jersey, we're meeting the 21st century with new technologies that
move us forward, protect the environment and create jobs," said Cynthia
Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action. "If we can do it, so must
the rest of the nation," said Zipf. Clean Ocean Action is a New Jersey based
coalition of 150 environmental, fishing, business and civic organizations.
The EPA has documented tumors, cancer, skin lesions and other problems
in fish that came in contact with polluted muds in the Elizabeth River,
Virginia; Black River, Ohio; San Francisco Bay, California; San Diego Bay,
California; Boston Harbor, Massachusetts; Chesapeake Bay, Maryland; and
portions of the Great Lakes. The environmental groups cite studies showing
that women who ate fish contaminated with PCBs from bottom muds in the Great
Lakes gave birth to babies with smaller heads and who weighed less, and who
continued to experience developmental problems.
"Our families are fed up with cancer, birth defects and infertility
especially when it's preventable," said Jackie Savitz, executive director of
the Coast Alliance, a national coalition of environmental leaders. "As long
as EPA fails to issue protective criteria, people and wildlife will continue
to eat fish contaminated with toxics from sediments, making chemical
exposure and health effects a fact of life."
The scientists and environmental leaders have united to demand action
nationwide and in their home states. They released a ten point citizens
agenda for action that included their call for an end to open water dumping
of contaminated sediments, EPA's development of truly protective standards
and the national implementation of alternative treatment technologies.
Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 1999
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/nov99/1999L-11-09-07.html
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REVVING THE ENERGY ENGINE MEANS RISING U.S. EMISSIONS
WASHINGTON, DC, November 9, 1999 (ENS) - Growth in energy demand in the
United States will lead to increasing greenhouse gas emissions through 2020,
according to government forecasts released today.
The U.S. already emits more greenhouse gases than any other nation,
with China rated second. Heat-trapping emissions of carbon dioxide, methane
and four other gases produced by combustion of fossil fuels are blamed for
global warming.
Atmospheric emissions of carbon will increase 33 percent during the
next decade over 1990 levels, the Energy Information Administration (EIA)
predicated in its "Annual Energy Outlook 2000." The EIA is the statistical
agency of the U.S. Department of Energy.
By 2020, the U.S. will be emitting 634 million more tonnes of carbon
each year than it released in 1990, the agency said.
These latest figures mean that the United States will fail to reduce
its emissions of greenhouse gases by seven percent over 1990 levels in the
period 2008 to 2012, - a target assigned by the Kyoto Protocol. This
agreement, an addition to the UN climate change treaty, has been signed, but
not ratified by the U.S. The 1997 international treaty would oblige 39
industrialized countries including the United States to limit their
emissions of six gases linked to global warming.
The U.S. Senate has refused to ratify the agreement until the
emissions of developing nations are controlled. No other industrialized
nations covered by the Protocol have ratified the agreement either.
International climate negotiations that concluded last week in Bonn,
resolved to work towards ratification in the year 2002. Still, many of the
39 nations, particularly in the European Union, are already working towards
achieving their Kyoto Protocol limits.
In the United States, the EIA predicted that, "Through 2020, growing
energy demand is mostly satisfied by fossil fuels, as nuclear electricity
generation declines and the use of renewable energy sources grows slowly."
The projections do not factor in any new policies or programs to reduce
emissions.
The growth in carbon dioxide emissions did slow down in 1998, but
continuing growth in energy demand will cause U.S. emissions to peak in 2020
at a level that will be 47 percent higher than in 1990, the agency
predicted.
........... Reference case projections from the Annual Energy Outlook 2000
and an
overview of the results can be accessed online at:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/earlyrelease/index.html.
The full report, including projections with differing assumptions on
the price of oil, the rate of economic growth, and the introduction of new
technologies, will be released on December 17, 1999, along with regional
projections. A report on the major assumptions underlying the projections
will be released by January 7, 2000.
Copies are available through EIA's National Energy Information Center,
Forrestal Building, Washington, DC 20585. Tel: 202-586-8800.
Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 1999
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/nov99/1999L-11-09-01.html
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AMERISCAN: NOVEMBER 9, 1999
For Full Text and Graphics Visit: http://ens.lycos.com
CONSERVATION VETERAN TO ADVISE TIMBER COMPANY
JACKSONVILLE, Florida, November 9, 1999 (ENS) - A veteran natural
resources manager is leaving the Nature Conservancy to work for a timber
company. The St. Joe Company has appointed George Willson to serve as vice
president for conservation lands for its timber subsidiary, the St. Joe
Timberland Company. Willson has been serving as the Florida director of land
acquisition for the national nonprofit Nature Conservancy. In his new
position with St. Joe Timberland, Willson will focus on developing
strategies for the part of St. Joe's landholdings in northwest Florida and
southwest Georgia that have conservation significance. St. Joe's
landholdings total 1.1 million acres...........
$20 MILLION PLUS PROMISED FOR WASHINGTON WATERWAY CLEANUP
TACOMA, Washington, November 9, 1999 (ENS) - The Port of Tacoma and
Occidental Chemical Corporation have agreed to spend $20 million to $25
million on an environmental cleanup of the outer Hylebos Waterway. If
approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the project will
be the third major cleanup in the Commencement Bay area since it was
declared a Superfund site in 1981. Work could begin in 2000 and be completed
by 2002. "This is a creative, collaborative effort to 'jump start' cleanup
of this major waterway," said Clare Petrich, president of the Port of Tacoma
Commission. "The Port and Occidental are committed to being proactive on
environmental issues. We've spent nearly 20 years and millions of dollars on
numerous environmental studies, and it's time to make progress toward a
solution."..........
EPA TAKES OVER ASBESTOS REMOVAL TO PROTECT PUBLIC
BOSTON, Massachusetts, November 9, 1999 (ENS) - Starting Monday, the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will begin removing asbestos at a
Massachusetts Superfund site whose owner has refused to clean up the site.
The EPA has decided that the Atlas Tack Superfund Site in Fairhaven,
Massachusetts, a group of dilapidated buildings that could collapse and
release asbestos fibers, must be addressed now to avoid a risk to the
community. The EPA issued a Unilateral Administrative Order to Atlas Tack
Corp. on August 9, 1999 requiring the company to remove the asbestos, but
the company has since declared it would not undertake the removal.
"EPA is stepping up to the plate because Atlas Tack Corp. is refusing
to comply with the Order," said John DeVillars, EPA's New England
administrator. "Our number one priority is the safety of the community.
Unfortunately, Atlas Tack Corp. doesn't seem to share this priority." EPA
will remove asbestos materials from the power plant and the main building.
The buildings have not been maintained since Atlas Tack stopped operations
in 1985. Most windows have been broken and the buildings have deteriorated,
which could release asbestos to the environment. Removing the insulation
from the buildings will prevent the asbestos fibers from becoming airborne
and presenting a risk to trespassers or members of the community. The Atlas
Tack facility was built in 1901 to manufacture tacks, steel nails, rivets
and bolts. From the 1940s to the 1970s, wastes including acids, heavy metals
and solvents were flushed into the facility’s drains and an onsite lagoon.
LONELY TORTOISE SEEKS RELATIVE FOR LOVE
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, November 9, 1999 (ENS) - "Lonesome George," the
only remaining male of a subspecies of the giant Galapagos tortoise, may be
unwilling to mate with females from nearby islands because the females most
closely related to him are on an island 200 miles away. "The Darwin Research
Station has been trying to mate him with females from islands closest to
his, but he doesn't seem interested," said Professor Jeffrey Powell of the
Yale Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. "We found from our DNA
studies that he is most closely related to a subspecies on islands farthest
from his. If he is going to mate, he might do so with a subspecies that is
closest to his island.".........
NINE MORE CONDORS HEADED FOR ARIZONA SKIES
BOISE, Idaho, November 9, 1999 (ENS) - Nine more captive raised
California condors left Boise on Monday, bound for their new home near the
Grand Canyon in Arizona. The three males and six females are part of a
reintroduction effort launched in the 1980s. California condors were driven
near extinction by hunters, poisoned carcasses and electrocution on utility
poles, but a captive breeding program has now led to the release of more
than 50 of the giant birds. There are now 162 California condors in the
world. This week’s releases will bring the number of the birds living in the
wild to 49, with 29 of those living in northern Arizona.
FISH CONSUMPTION ADVISORIES COST PUBLIC OVER $100 MILLION
GREEN BAY, Wisconsin, November 9, 1999 (ENS) - More than $100 million
in revenues has been lost due to Fish Consumption Advisories for PCB’s
(polychlorinated biphenyls) in the Fox River and Green Bay areas of
Wisconsin, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) estimates. "Following
intensive studies, rigorous methodologies and very conservative assumptions,
which include factoring in an aggressive cleanup proposed by the Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Service has calculated over $100
million in public damages due to the impacts of lost fishing opportunities
from fish consumption advisories alone," ecological services assistant
regional director Charlie Wooley said. "However, a less complete cleanup
would increase damages further. Additional economic studies which look at
injuries beyond fish consumption advisories are nearing completion as well.".........
MASSACHUSETTS TEXTILE FACTORY FIRES UP COGENERATION PLANT
LAWRENCE, Massachusetts, November 9, 1999 (ENS) - An efficient new
cogeneration plant was dedicated Monday at the Malden Mills textile factory
in Lawrence. The system was developed in partnership with the Department of
Energy (DOE) and Solar Turbines company. "The cogeneration power system we
dedicated today will produce energy for the Mill while dramatically reducing
the emissions of harmful pollutants," said Energy Secretary Bill Richardson.
"This will make Malden Mills a model of energy efficiency and environmental
responsibility while helping ensure a sound economic future for the Mill and
its employees."......
$100,000 GRANT HELPS BUILD GREAT LAKES RESEARCH CENTER
MUSKEGON, Michigan, November 9, 1999 (ENS) - Michigan Consolidated Gas
Company (MichCon) has donated $100,000 to build the new home of the Water
Resources Institute (WRI) of Grand Valley State University (GVSU). The
MichCon Foundation grant will help build the WRI Lake Michigan Center. The
MichCon Foundation plans to contribute more than $1.75 million throughout
the next year to Michigan nonprofit organizations in honor of the company’s
150th birthday. Alfred Glancy III, CEO of MichCon's parent company, MCN
Energy, said, “The best way to celebrate our history is by investing in the
future of our customers and their communities. This grant will help
scientists research our Great Lakes, protecting them for future
generations.” The $100,000 grant is a part of the MichCon Legacy Grant
program, a one time project designed to create a legacy of support for
community institutions into the future........
SCHOLARSHIPS SUPPORT GRADUATE STUDIES, NATIONAL PARKS
WASHINGTON, DC, November 9, 1999 (ENS) - Eight graduate students will
each receive $75,000 scholarships this year to complete Ph.D. degrees in the
environmental sciences. The awards are part of the Canon National Parks
Science scholars program, a public-private partnership to encourage doctoral
students to conduct innovative research on scientific problems critical to
the National Parks. "I cannot stress enough the importance that their
research will play in addressing real issues that affect our National
Parks," said National Park Service (NPS) director Robert Stanton. "I was
especially pleased to know that candidates are addressing the involvement of
minority communities and the issues of diversity in the National Park
Service. The research of these students will assist the National Park
Service in making sound science based decisions to resolve current
problems."..............
More information and a list of the 1999 scholarship winners are
available at: http://www.nps.gov/pub_aff/press/canon.html
SCHOOLYARD TURNED WILDLIFE HABITAT WINS PRIZE
PICKENS, South Carolina, November 9, 1999 (ENS) - The students at A.R.
Lewis Elementary School in Pickens are learning to become environmental
advocates by turning their school’s courtyard into a wildlife habitat. Their
hard work has earned them recognition by the South Carolina Department of
Health and Environmental Control (DEHEC) as November's Champions of the
Environment. More than 180 students, parents and community members
participated in the project, which created an area that now serves as an
outdoor classroom, a sanctuary for native plants and animals, and a place
where students learn valuable environmental lessons............
More information about Champions of the Environment is
available at: http://www.state.sc.us/dhec/eqc/water/html/champion.html
Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 1999
For full text and graphics visit:
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