Two nukes within 50 miles of
Charlestown to be included in study of six power plants
By Will Collette
Most Charlestown residents
probably don’t know that we are downwind of two nuclear power plants that have
had multiple violations in the past. One is the Millstone nuclear power plant
just 20 miles due west on the other side of New London. Millstone, owned by
Virginia-based Dominion Resources, is an active facility.
The other is the decommissioned
Connecticut Yankee power plant in Haddam, 40 miles west northwest of
Charlestown, which is now being used as a storage site for high-level
radioactive waste. As I’ve
reported earlier, 3.6 million pounds of high-level radioactive waste are also being
stored at Millstone.
Both sites have been picked
as part of a small
pilot study by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to
determine whether there are statistically significantly higher rates of cancer
among adults and children living close to those plants. The study will be
conducted by the National Academy of Sciences.
Westerly and Charlestown
would easily fall within the danger zone based on prior
studies as well as the actual experience at the Fukushima nuclear disaster
caused by Japan’s earthquake and tsunami. However, only the communities
adjacent to the power plants will be studied.
Studies outside the
immediate area would only be warranted if there was a significant release of
radiation at the sites. While there have been safety
violations at both sites, there have not been any reported major releases.
The Millstone reactor’s site
on the coast has made it prone to weather-related problems. Last summer,
Millstone had an extended
shutdown when the ocean water it takes in to cool its Unit 3 reactor was too warm
to safely do the job. When Sandy was about to hit the Connecticut coast, Millstone
had to power down and erect storm barriers to prevent damage from the storm’s surge.
As the effects of climate
change affect the operating condition at plants like Millstone, and “freak”
weather becomes more commonplace, the odds of future problems at Millstone
could rise unless the plant’s owners invest in more safety measures.
But don’t hold your breath.
Their response to last summer’s rise in water temperature in Long Island Sound
was to ask the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to grant them more leeway to judge
what temperature levels are tolerable.