IBEW Local 1289 (Lakewood, NJ) Works With NRC for Nuclear Safety

State official: Feds go easy on nuclear plants

By NICHOLAS CLUNN, MANAHAWKIN BUREAU

Published in the Asbury Park Press 1/16/05

TRENTON -- Federal regulators have been too easy on New Jersey's four nuclear reactors since changing their inspection process four years ago, according to a top state radiation protection official.

Jill Lipoti, assistant director of the state's radiation protection program, identified the process' failure to detect the mishandling of safety concerns by PSEG Nuclear managers at a Salem County plant as the most troubling problem.

The process, she wrote to the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, has also given the public sugarcoated assessments of poor performance, including grades given to mishaps at the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in Lacey.

Regulators welcomed Lipoti's comments, but disagreed with her assessment. The existing process, they said, gives regulators more opportunities to revisit problems. It also targets risk areas better than the old rules.

James McGovern, a 70-year-old Ocean Grove resident who made radioactive pharmaceuticals before retiring, said he trusts the NRC. Misinformation damaging atomic energy's reputation also has hurt the agency's standing, he said.

"There is false information that is being released, primarily by anti-nuclear groups, and a lot of it is not based on scientific information," he said. "It's mostly based on suspicions and innuendo."

But Jean Timmerman, a 77-year-old Long Island native, pointed to a fact many plant critics have cited when explaining their skepticism of the NRC: The agency has granted 20-year license renewals to every plant owner that has applied for one. This trend means that regulators approved the renewals without much scrutiny, she said.

"I don't trust the federal government to make a decision that will have our best interest at heart," said Timmerman of Lacey, whose elected officials support a license renewal for Oyster Creek, the nation's oldest commercial reactor.

David Lochbaum, a nuclear engineer who favors nuclear energy and works to improve reactor safety with the Union of Concerned Scientists, said he criticized regulators for considering a proposal that would cancel thinly attended public meetings required annually under the existing oversight process.

"For people who live near a plant, it's really their only opportunity to meet face to face with the NRC," he said.

Agency officials instead should develop new ways to publicize the meetings and attract larger turn outs, said Lochbaum.

Lipoti's chief concern at the Salem plant stems from a rare NRC order demanding managers reform its "safety culture" -- an action that came about last year, four months after a whistle-blower approached regulators about managers ignoring worker concerns about unsafe conditions.

The new process "has significant flaws since it allowed this poor safety culture," Lipoti wrote to Michael T. Lesar, chief of rules and directives at the NRC.

Also under the existing process, the NRC has issued fewer "significant enforcement findings" -- citations that usually come with increased oversight, wrote Lipoti.

This trend stems from a new rule allowing reactor owners to explain violations before they're classified according to risk.

The NRC uses a four-color system to grade risk. The scale ranges from green to white, yellow and red, the most serious. Since white, yellow and red grades could carry increased oversight, plant owners often testify before regulators and try for green.

Lipoti took issue with how the NRC classified a mistake made by workers rebuilding a backup generator at Oyster Creek. Regulators had considered grading the oversight as white, but then characterized it as green after considering testimony provided by experts and officials from plant owner AmerGen.

The green grade, said Lipoti, concealed poor performance. Regulators should make judgments based on fact and then allow reactor owners a chance to appeal, she said.

Regulators began using the new Reactor Oversight Process, or ROP, April 2000, said NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan. The process focuses inspectors on safety areas that would pose the most risk if degraded. The ROP also prescribes more opportunities for inspectors to follow-up on trouble spots.

"We're not going to back off until we're satisfied that a problem has been fully addressed," he said.

Although Lipoti has provided regulators with insight into the process, Sheehan characterized Lipoti's comparison of the old and new rules as comparing "apples to oranges."

Lipoti wrote Lesar after the agency solicited comments from her, officials from other states and industry observers.

Regulators are more organized under the new rules, although they require more information and more paperwork, said Oyster Creek Vice President Bud Swenson.

Plant workers have had healthy working relationship with the two NRC resident inspectors at the plant, said Edward Stroup, president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1289.

"They feel comfortable with them because everybody is looking to do the right thing and is looking to keep the plant running well," he said.

Nicholas Clunn: (609) 978-4597 or nclunn@app.com