Agenda - 03-29-2007- - Laserfiche WebLink

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THIS study performed by non -NRC researchers after 9/11 shows that nuclear power plants are vulnerable to attack. More importantly, it provides insights into how the NRC dismissed the threat through reliance on secret, non- botulding analyses. All these studies, and many more like therm, strongly suggest that nuclear power plants are vulnerable to aircraft attack. Maybe the NRC Chairman does have secret paper studies prepared behind closed doors with industry representatives that reverse several decades of public studies to show that once vulnerable facilities have been magically transformed into invulnerable fortresses. Or maybe the NRC Chairman has secret studies showing that the facilities are robust and provide adequate protection against attacks by paper airplanes. NRC Chairman HIein's second sentence: "The NRC has also taken actions that require nuclear power plant operators to be able to manage large fires or explosions — no matter what caused then." [Lochbaum] What actions might those be? Certainly not any of these recent actions: In April 2006, the NRC published in the Federal Register its cockamamie scheme to allow nuclear plant owners to continue operating their reactors with known and emerging violations of fire protection regulations now and well into the future with complete immunity from sanctions. Licensees may adopt the performance -based [regulatory] option in 10 CFR 50.48(c).... The NRC will exercise enforcement discretion for existing noncompliance that could reasonably be corrected under 10 CFR 50.48(c). For those noncompliances identified during the licensee's transition process, this enforcement discretion policy will be in. effect for up to 3 years.... In addition to the 3-year discretion period, the staff may grant additional extensions to the discretion policy time for a specific plant item(s) with adequate justification. In other words, NRC inspections have revealed many nuclear plants in violation of longstanding fire protection regulations. The NRC ordered plant owners to resolve these violations years ago, but little progress has been made. The NRC gave the lagging owners more time and waived any thoughts about sanctions for their scoffing at safety regulations.... SO, the NRC is allowing "nuclear power plant operators to be able to manage large fires or explosions" by granting them indefinite "get out of jail free cards" for kriown violations of fire protection regulations.... SO, the NRC is allowing "nuclear power plant owners to be able to manage large fires or explosions" that might introduce large amounts of very combustible jet fuel by granting them permanent exemptions to fire regulations based in large part on small amoturts of combustible materials being present. The fire protection regulations (even if met and non - exempted) are intended to deal with a single fire in a single room or area. No other equipment damage is presumed to occur, other than the components within that room or area damaged by the single fire itself. Will those fire protection regulations ... prove adequate to deal with fires in multiple rooms and areas that can easily result from an aircraft crash? Will, for example, the installed fire sprinklers be able to discharge sufficient water to all the affected areas, despite rupture of one or more fire headers caused by the aircraft impact? 3