Oct. 22, 2009 (PR Newswire) --
NRC Action Further Underscores Seriousness of Multi-Billion Bailout Risk to Taxpayers; Future of 14 of 25 Planned Reactors -- Including Those in NC, SC, GA, FL, AL -- Now in Jeopardy Given AP1000 Safety Concerns
WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Not only does the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) objection last week to major problems in the AP1000 reactor design call into serious question the future of over half of proposed new reactors in the United States (14 of 25), it also means that it would be "grossly imprudent" for the Department of Energy (DOE) to proceed with its plans for loan guarantees for new reactors that are not finalized and licensed.
Four experts delivered that stern warning during a news conference today urging the DOE to halt controversial plans to issue nuclear loan guarantees "soon," according to Energy Secretary Chu. These guarantees are part of the DOE's Title XVII Loan Guarantee Program. Two of the four new nuclear projects that the DOE is reported to be considering for taxpayer-backed loan guarantees are AP1000 designs proposed by the Southern Company at the Vogtle site in Georgia and the South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G) V.C. Summer site.
The NRC has made it clear that there are grave doubts if the AP1000 nuclear reactor structure can withstand hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes and other external impacts, as required by the NRC's regulations. Late last week, the NRC said that its "staff has informed Westinghouse that the company has not demonstrated that certain structural components of the revised AP1000 shield building can withstand design basis loads," and also stated that the unsuccessful efforts to secure information had gone on for a year. The NRC announced: "This is a situation where fundamental engineering standards will have to be met before we can begin determining whether the shield building meets the agency's requirements."
Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) High Risk Program director, Sara Barczak said: "What we are saying is very simple. This alarming situation -- in which one federal agency 'hand' does not seem to know what the other federal agency 'hand' is doing -- needs to end. With billions of taxpayer dollars at stake in the proposed nuclear loan guarantees, the Department of Energy owes it to the public to get on the same page as the NRC about these serious AP1000 reactor design problems. We believe that the DOE should assure the public that utilities considering problematic nuclear reactor designs, such as the AP1000, would not qualify for these loan guarantees.
