Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Nuclear Regulatory Commission downplays safety warnings, investigation finds

Nuclear Regulatory Commission downplays safety warnings, investigation finds

Steam rises from one of the two cooling towers, Jan. 30, 2012, at the Byron nuclear generating station in Ogle County, Ill.

Max Gersh,AP Photo/Rockford Register Star


The federal agency responsible for safety at the nation's 61 nuclear power plants routinely downplays warnings from plant workers and its own experts about problems, including some with potential for disaster, a Better Government Association investigation found.

Employees from U.S. nuclear power plants filed nearly 700 complaints with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission in recent years, claiming retaliation for raising safety concerns, records show. The agency found no wrongdoing.

NRC officials also overruled recommendations from their own technical experts on how to protect plants from potential catastrophe spurred by floods, equipment failures, power outages and other problems.

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This article was provided to The Associated Press by the nonprofit news outlet Better Government Association.

Interviews with more than 20 current and former NRC and nuclear plant employees reveal a pattern of top officials dismissing safety warnings rather than impose costly fixes on plant operators. Some said careers suffered as potential threats were never fully addressed.

"It's the NRC's longstanding practice to consistently declare the plants are safe and to avoid directly answering any questions that might suggest otherwise," said Lawrence Criscione, an NRC risk analyst.

NRC officials would not consent to an interview. But NRC spokeswoman Viktoria Mitlyng responded in writing to BGA questions.

"All U.S. nuclear power plants have multiple appropriate procedures and resources in place to maintain key safety functions if severe events" occur, Mitlyng said. "These conclusions are based on extensive agency reviews and inspections."

In 2012, Criscione shared with Congress a letter raising doubts over adequacy of flood protections at Duke Energy's Oconee Nuclear Station in South Carolina and other plants built decades ago near dams.

Soon after, Criscione said, he was accused by the NRC inspector general of compromising confidential information, interrogated by armed agents and saw his case referred to federal prosecutors. They opted not to act, and he remains on the job.

Internal NRC surveys underscore a climate of fear among employees. A report on a 2015 questionnaire of NRC employees stated most felt "if you disagree with your manager it can, and most likely will, affect your career path and advancement."

Records and interviews also show that:

- In 2016, NRC brass overturned a proposed safety analysis for the Byron and Braidwood nuclear plants in Illinois after multiple appeals by Exelon, the Chicago-based owner of the facilities and the nation's largest nuclear operator.

The action undid an order issued after agency technical staff concluded Exelon did not prove critical pressure-relieving valve systems were safe to use in an emergency. The same problem may exist at other nuclear plants, said one of the NRC engineers who ordered the safety testing.

- Also in 2016, seven NRC electrical engineers publicly urged the agency to order an immediate fix or a complete shutdown of most U.S. nuclear plants after discovering a problem with an emergency power system at the Byron plant that was common to other nuclear facilities as well.

Exelon quickly addressed the problem at its plants, but the NRC acceded to a request from other U.S. operators to give them an additional two years to devise a fix.

- Separately, the NRC took only two months to reject a staff petition in March 2017 urging the agency to reverse a decision allowing Arizona Public Service Co.'s Palo Verde nuclear plant near Phoenix to operate even though an agency expert said it lacked sufficient emergency backup power to run safely.

Complaints from plant whistleblowers raised issues ranging from security problems to inadequate radiation monitoring.

- The U.S. Department of Labor ordered the Palisades nuclear plant near South Haven, Michigan, to rehire veteran security guard Chris Mikusko who claimed he was laid off in retaliation for pointing out security problems. Mikusko filed a similar whistleblower complaint with the NRC, which rejected his allegations as unsubstantiated.

- NRC investigators concluded supervisors at Exelon's shuttered Zion plant in Illinois had "greatly exaggerated" claims of disruptive behavior they had used to discipline Marilyn Lingle, hired to help dismantle the facility. Yet the agency rejected these findings and declined to discipline Lingle's managers.

The nuclear industry, through its trade group and individual companies, often downplays the seriousness of problems highlighted by NRC experts. Exelon and others in the industry bat down potential rules and regulations by pleading to NRC's top managers.

"Safety is the highest priority for both Exelon Generation and the NRC," spokesman David Tillman said in a statement. "We are equally committed to protecting our people and our communities and to suggest otherwise is a disservice to the authority of the NRC and our shared commitment to public health and safety."

The problem, say people who conduct government reviews, is that the NRC's final rulings often don't reflect warnings from its experts.

"Management tells you where they want the answer to go. If you push, you're not going to get promoted again - there are other people who are willing to say it's not a serious issue," said Richard Perkins, one of Criscione's NRC colleagues involved in exposing flooding concerns.

One case in point is the emergency safety valve issue at Exelon's Byron and Braidwood plants.

After Exelon moved in 2013 to increase power, NRC experts concluded the plants' pressure valves to relieve water in an emergency would stick open and allow cooling water to escape and not do its function to cool the reactor. They ordered Exelon to prove the valves would work, but the company blocked that with a successful appeal to the NRC's executive director.

Exelon says the valves work fine. But Samuel Miranda, an NRC expert who disagreed, said the company and NRC were rolling the dice on valves because it risks melting the reactor.

He said dozens of other U.S. nuclear plants are equipped with similarly problematic equipment.

"They either won't close or they will leak," Miranda said. "That will relieve about a million pounds per hour. It's a hole in the system. Now you're losing water that you need to cool the core."

Underscoring that frustration is the NRC's record of handling whistleblower complaints lodged by plant employees. From 2010 through 2016, workers filed 687 complaints. The NRC investigated just 235 and upheld none.

The largest number of complaints, 84, were filed by employees at the two nuclear plants operated in Georgia by Southern Nuclear, records show. Next were the 70 complaints lodged by nuclear workers in South Carolina, 58 by workers in Tennessee and 50 in California. Illinois ranked 12th, with 21 whistleblower cases filed.

© 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Above is from:  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nuclear-regulatory-commission-downplays-safety-warnings-investigation-finds/

Wood County's proposed horse-buggy rules will drive out Amish, expert says


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Karen Madden, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin Published 12:59 p.m. CT Dec. 15, 2017 | Updated 9:28 a.m. CT Dec. 18, 2017

Amish populations follow most laws, but their religious convictions can sometimes make legal compliance a challenge. Daniel Walmer

Horse-drawn buggyBuy Photo

(Photo: Jamie Rokus/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

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WISCONSIN RAPIDS - Horse-drawn vehicles would need windshields, seat belts, child car seats and rear-view mirrors if the Wood County Board passes an ordinance it will consider Tuesday.

Amish and other religious groups that rely on animal-pulled buggies also would need to get driver's licenses and vehicle insurance under the measure.

It's an ordinance that an expert in Amish culure says is "completely impractical" and will drive those families out of the county.

The proposed ordinance is intended to save lives, said County Board member Bill Winch of Vesper, who helped to draft the new rules. Nine people have died in crashes involving horse-drawn buggies and wagons in and around Wood County since 2009, and Winch said it's an ongoing concern.

"The Amish have been getting killed and obviously nobody liked that," he said.

The ordinance requires drivers of animal-drawn vehicles to obey the same regulations the rest of the people on the roads are expected to follow, Winch said. If the board approves the measure, operators of horse buggies would have to get a driver's license from the Wisconsin Division of Motor Vehicles.

RELATED: Year after Amish deaths, safety still an issue

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The license requirement would ensure that drivers of the buggies are at least 16 years old and have passed a written test showing basic knowledge of laws involving public roads, Winch said.

If the ordinance is passed, the Amish will leave Wood County, said Mark Louden, a professor of German who specializes in Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch language and culture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

"There is no middle ground with this at all," Louden said after reading the proposed ordinance. "It's completely impractical."

The Amish will consider buying liability insurance or getting driver's licenses a violation of their beliefs and values, he said. Some — but not all — would be willing to attach manure catchers on their animals, another proposed rule.

Amish people want to be good neighbors and want to get along with the community they live in, Louden said. But the proposal simply doesn't leave room for compromise, he said.

If the ordinance passes, and Amish residents of Wood County start receiving tickets or getting arrested, they will move to another county or state, Louden said. They have been a nomadic people for 300 years, so they are willing to find new homes, he said.

"All I can think of is if they pass this, they don't want the Amish in Wood County," Louden said. 

Wood County Board Chairman Lance Pliml said the original idea behind the ordinance was to require proper lighting on horse-drawn vehicles and some level of education for all those who drive them.

Children younger than 10 have been driving horse-drawn vehicles and they don't understand what a "stop" sign means, Pliml said.

In addition to proposing the new rules, county officials have been trying to get Amish schools to add lessons about safely and legally traveling on public roads, he said.

Pliml said he hadn't seen the final proposed ordinance, which was advanced to the County Board by three of its committees. When a reporter shared details of the proposal with him, he said he had concerns about parts of the ordinance, including the driver's license, windshield and seat belt portions.

The ordinance requires not only windshields, but also side and back windows, all made from safety glass or plastic. It requires seat belts for all drivers and passengers, as well as child safety seats for children younger than 8 years old. It also requires drivers of animal-drawn vehicles to have the same type of insurance that is required for motorized vehicles.

Pliml said he could understand requiring some type of operator's license similar to the ones required for snowmobiles.

"The rest of that is a tough sell," he said.

Wood County Sheriff's Department, Emergency Management and County Board members have been working with elders in the Amish communities to get compliance with state laws regarding lighting and reflective signs. The county handed out new lights to those who would use them, Pliml said.

Michael Feirer of Marshfield, who is chairman of the County Board's Public Safety Committee, said the proposal is all about making highways safer.

"We want to get these people who are driving buggies down the road, or carts, to obey the traffic laws," Feirer said.

The County Board also will consider sending a resolution to Wisconsin legislators explaining Wood County's ordinance and asking that the state also take action to help solve the problem.

About the meeting

The Wood County Board meets at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in the County Board Room in the Wood County Courthouse, 400 Market St., Wisconsin Rapids.

Above is fromhttp://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com/story/news/2017/12/15/horse-buggies-may-need-windshields-child-seats-safety-belts-wood-county/955247001/