Audit of nuclear plant 20 miles from Charlestown raises safety issues

Millstone nuclear power plant in Waterford, CT violated safety protocols

By Will Collette

Dominion Power operates the Milstone 2000-megawatt nuclear power station just 20 miles due west – the direction of prevailing winds – from Charlestown.

On Thursday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission released the findings of its audit of the facility and concluded Dominion “failed over the past two years to receive approvals before making changes to systems important to safety,” according to the New London Day. 

According to the Day, NRC spokesperson Neil Sheehan said there is no indication that Millstone's actions posed a danger to the public. But he said the audit findings are unusual and that most other plants show a "cleaner bill of health."

These are not simple paperwork problems. The NRC requires nuclear plant operators to notify them in advance of the types of changes Dominion made and to get the NRC’s approval.

In August, after a Special Safety Inspection, the NRC reported “failure of Millstone Unit 2 personnel to carry out their assigned roles and responsibilities and inadequate reactor power-level management during main turbine control valve testing.” 

Millstone’s Unit 1 was built in 1966. It was shut down repeatedly for equipment failures in 1996 and permanently shut down in 1998.

Construction on Unit 2 started in 1970 and it is licensed to operate until 2035. Permits for Unit 3 were issued in 1974, but it did not go on-line until 1986. It is licensed to run until 2045.

Millstone had three “events” in 2009, though none of them resulted in injury or death. 

Charlestown is outside the 10-mile zone of concern for a radioactive plume, though as the world learned from the Fukushima disaster after Japan’s earthquake, radioactive plumes can carry a lot further than 10 miles. 

Charlestown is within the 50-mile zone of concern for potential ingestion of radiation from food and water that might be contaminated by a serious “event” at Millstone. But it could be worse: imagine if Millstone was a wind farm.

There are, as you might expect, environmental groups who are concerned about safety and health issues at Millstone. 

In 1982, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the use of potassium iodide tablets or capsules as a precautionary treatment for radiation due to a nuclear accident or attack. In March 2011, US military personnel who were within 70 miles of the Fukushima reactor in Japan received potassium iodide as a prophylactic treatment. 

Potassium iodide is available over the counter at pharmacies or on-line. It is inexpensive and has a good shelf life. Charlestown residents are 20 miles down wind of a plant with a history of safety issues. Plus, in these times, nuclear power plants are terrorist A-list targets.