(21 May 2019) TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR SOME NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS. SOUNDBITE, Patrick O'Brien, Pilgrim Power Plant:
"Due to the lowering gas prices, it, really, is a very difficult market to run a nuclear power station."
ACROSS THE COUNTRY, A GROWING NUMBER OF POWER PLANTS HAVE SHUT DOWN OR ARE SET TO RETIRE – THE LATEST BEING THE VERMONT YANKEE AND PILGRIM STATION IN MASSACHUSETTS.
BUT AS ONE INDUSTRY DECLINES, ANOTHER ONE IS RAMPING UP.
NUCLEAR DEMOLITION AND WASTE MANAGEMENT COMPANIES HAVE GONE ON A BUYING SPREE FOR OLD NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS – PROMISING TO SWIFTLY CLEAN UP THE RADIOACTIVE MESS, STORE THE SPENT FUEL, AND DISMANTLE CONTAMINATED BUILDINGS.
SOUNDBITE, Scott State, NorthStar Solutions Group:
"So, we've got a large staffing pool of decommissioning experts and expect that we can actually do as many as six of these projects concurrently just in the normal course of business."
NORTHSTAR GROUP SERVICES AND HOLTEC INTERNATIONAL ARE TWO OF THE LEADING COMPANIES SET TO CAPITALIZE ON THE DETERIORATING NUCLEAR INDUSTRY.
THE COMPANIES PROMISE TO DECOMMISSION THE PLANTS IN EIGHT YEARS – RATHER THAN 60 YEARS PREVIOUS OWNERS REQUIRED TO MAKE THE SITES SAFE FOR OTHER USES.
HOLTEC'S RECENT ACQUISITIONS, INCLUDING PILGRIM STATION, STILL NEED FINAL APPROVAL FROM THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION. CITIZENS GROUPS HAVE RAISED CONCERNS ABOUT THE COMPANY'S QUALIFICATIONS.
SOUNDBITE, Mary Lambert, Anti-Nuclear Activist:
"We care that we are not stuck with a bill, OK? And we also care that the site is properly cleaned up so that public health, safety and the environment are protected."
IN AN EMAIL TO THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, A SPOKESWOMAN SAID HOLTEC IS COMMITTED TO THE OWNERSHIP OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS, TO SAFELY AND EFFICIENTLY DECOMMISSION THE FACILITIES AND ENSURE THAT THE LAND CAN BE RETURNED TO PRODUCTIVE USE. (GRAPHIC WITH SPOKESWOMAN JOY RUSSELL.)
NORTHSTAR CEO SCOTT STATE SAYS HIS COMPANY HAS RESOLVED SIMILAR CONCERNS IN VERMONT.
SOLUTIONS INCLUDE SPLITTING THE PROJECT INTO SMALLER SEGMENTS AND ONLY USING FUNDS SET ASIDE FOR DECOMISSIONING TO PAY FOR WORK THAT'S ALREADY DONE.
SOUNDBITE, Scott State, NorthStar Solutions Group:
"Beyond that, we've made specific financial guarantees to fund any cost overruns. We've also placed some specialty insurance products that, if, in fact, we find unknown unknowns we can call on insurance to fund cleanup of that sort of activity."
PAUL GUNTER, OF THE ANTI-NUCLEAR GROUP BEYOND NUCLEAR, SAYS NUCLEAR DECOMISSIONING IS COMPLICATED BY THE LACK OF A NATIONAL NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP SITE.
PAVING THE WAY FOR AN INDUSTRY FOCUSING ON DECOMMISSIONING REACTORS
DAVID MARTIN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
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