Nuclear Water Leak in Yankee Power Plant
ATLANTA, Georgia, Jun 27 2013 (IPS) - With the announced closures of four nuclear reactors in the United States so far this year and the cancellation of proposed facilities elsewhere in the country, some activists believe the U.S. nuclear industry is beginning to crumble.
Earlier this month, Southern California Edison (SCE) announced it would close the troubled San Onofre Plant, which has two reactors and is located on the beaches of San Diego, California.
The reactors were shut down in 2012 when they were discovered to be leaking larger than normal amounts of radioactive pollution.
SCE’s announcement came after a local television news station in April 2013 published photographs and testimony showing that SCE had been using tape, plastic bags and a broomstick to fix a leaky pipe at the San Onofre Plant.
SCE had asked the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to reopen the reactors, but the company ultimately announced their decision to retire them.
In May, the utility company Dominion closed the one small nuclear reactor at the Kewaunee Plant in Carlton, Wisconsin, not because of known problems with the plant but because the company decided it was not economical to keep it open.
According to Glenn Carroll, coordinator of Nuclear Watch South, a grassroots organization that raises awareness about nuclear issues, the four closures bring the total number of nuclear reactors in the United States down to an even hundred, from 104 at the beginning of the year and 114 at the industry’s peak.
“There haven’t been any new reactors built in over 30 years. A small number of them are under construction, and none of them are going well,” Carroll told IPS.
“They’re expensive…and meanwhile, solar and wind are…garnering small wins every day.”
“[The nuclear industry] is crumbling under its own weight,” Carroll said.
.http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/06/activists-see-u-s-nuclear-industry-starting-to-crumble/
http://coinvestigators.wordpress.com/2011/02/11/nuclear-water-leak-in-yankee-power-plant/
Earlier this month, Southern California Edison (SCE) announced it would close the troubled San Onofre Plant, which has two reactors and is located on the beaches of San Diego, California.
The reactors were shut down in 2012 when they were discovered to be leaking larger than normal amounts of radioactive pollution.
SCE’s announcement came after a local television news station in April 2013 published photographs and testimony showing that SCE had been using tape, plastic bags and a broomstick to fix a leaky pipe at the San Onofre Plant.
SCE had asked the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to reopen the reactors, but the company ultimately announced their decision to retire them.
In May, the utility company Dominion closed the one small nuclear reactor at the Kewaunee Plant in Carlton, Wisconsin, not because of known problems with the plant but because the company decided it was not economical to keep it open.
According to Glenn Carroll, coordinator of Nuclear Watch South, a grassroots organization that raises awareness about nuclear issues, the four closures bring the total number of nuclear reactors in the United States down to an even hundred, from 104 at the beginning of the year and 114 at the industry’s peak.
“There haven’t been any new reactors built in over 30 years. A small number of them are under construction, and none of them are going well,” Carroll told IPS.
“They’re expensive…and meanwhile, solar and wind are…garnering small wins every day.”
“[The nuclear industry] is crumbling under its own weight,” Carroll said.
.http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/06/activists-see-u-s-nuclear-industry-starting-to-crumble/
http://coinvestigators.wordpress.com/2011/02/11/nuclear-water-leak-in-yankee-power-plant/
