2/25/2013 BOARD OF SELECTMEN Minutes

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_ ®NRC responsible for business matters such as , granting construction and operating licenses for new reactors, extending the licenses of existing reactors, and amend- ing licenses to allow for increased power a output. Unfortunately, the NRC often places business ahead of safety.In particular,the , agency has established goals for complet- ing business dealings in a timely manner, i but has not done so for resolving out- R if t standing safety issues. The problem is evident in the periodic reports the NRC submits to Congress detailing its progress on both safety and business matters.' For example, its No- "t• _ vember 2010 report indicated that in 2009 and 2010 the agency met its goal F of approving 90 percent of new business - within one year and 100 percent within two years.Conversely,five"generic"safe- ty issues—unresolved problems affecting numerous operating reactors—had no timetable for resolution, and one of the lithe NRC required plant owners to use multiple inspection techniques,workers at South Carolina's five—affecting nearly 20 reactors—has Summer nuclear plant would have detected a crack in a pipe connected to the reactor vessel earliei. f been unresolved since 1990 reactor core. Yet the agency assigned a 9. 7he NRC should treat generic and The NRCOften'plaees very low probability to emergency pump unique safety issues alike. Until agener- failure because it ignored the possibility is issue is resolved, the NRC should ac- business ahead of safety. of an accident involving a broken pipe. count for it as a potential risk factor in In particular,the agency Having understated this risk, the agency its safety analyses and decision making did not require reactor owners to address related to all affected reactors. has established goals the problem until the end of 2007, but When a safety problem affects—or could for completing business even now some 20 reactors are still not affect—more than one nuclear plant,the in compliance.7 NRC labels it a generic safety issue and dealings in a timely way, treats it separately from problems unique 10. The NRC should require plant oumers to individual plants. The agency assesses but has not done so for to use multiple inspection techniques to the risk associated with each generic issue resolving outstanding ensure detection of any degradation in by assuming that all other plant sys- aging, high-risk equipment. tems are fully functional and reliable; safety issues. The periodic inspections and safety it similarly assesses the risk associated equipment tests required by NRC regu- with unique problems at individual reac- lations do not use techniques varied tors by assuming that generic issues do likelihood of an accident or worsen its enough to detect problems with high con- not exist. This approach prevents the consequences. fidence,which is especially important for NRC from accurately assessing the over- One example is related to the emer- aging equipment that is slowly deterio- all risk from a combination of unique and gency pumps of the 69 U.S.pressurized- rating.For example,when one of the larg- generic problems. water reactors(PWRs).In 1979 the NRC est pipes connected to the reactor vessel The NRC usually has 6 to 10 generic determined that steam and water jet- at South Carolina's Summer nuclear plant safety issues open at any given time, ting from a broken pipe during an acci- began leaking in 2000, workers discov- and often takes more than a decade to dent could dislodge pipe insulation and ered a crack in the pipe. Past inspections rectify these problems. In the meantime, equipment coatings,which could clog the had missed the crack because the sonar- these unresolved issues may increase the emergency pumps.needed to cool the like probe being used lifted off the outer 8 UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS