"Nulear Safety Rules Wane" (AP Special Report on State of US Nuclear Plants)
Article points out safety issues across America...my newspaper had a section on my area which is North Carolina...but there are so many others.
------------
Nuclear safety rules wane
BY JEFF DONN - Associated Press
Published in: National
LACEY TOWNSHIP, N.J. Federal regulators have been working closely with the nuclear power industry to keep the nation's aging reactors operating within safety standards by repeatedly weakening those standards, or simply failing to enforce them, an investigation by The Associated Press has found.
Time after time, officials at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission have decided that original regulations were too strict, arguing that safety margins could be eased without peril, according to records and interviews.
The result? Rising fears that these accommodations by the NRC are significantly undermining safety - and inching the reactors closer to an accident that could harm the public and jeopardize the future of nuclear power in the United States.
Examples abound. When valves leaked, more leakage was allowed. When rampant cracking caused radioactive leaks from steam generator tubing, an easier test of the tubes was devised, so plants could meet standards.
Failed cables. Busted seals. Broken nozzles, clogged screens, cracked concrete, dented containers, corroded metals and rusty underground pipes - all of these and thousands of other problems linked to aging were uncovered in the AP's yearlong investigation. And all of them could escalate dangers in the event of an accident.
MUCH MORE AT.......
http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/06/20/1285720/nuclear-..."What a Tangled Web We Weave...when First we Practice to Deceive
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
